By John Sheesley, the Collegian
Education is a wonderful thing, the more you know the more you are capable of doing. But can the value of an education be measured in dollars? Universities promise to give their students the skills they will need to be successful later in life, but the fruits of the student’s labor become a diploma, a piece of paper as the evidence of higher education. The closely guarded power to issue this piece of paper has given universities and community colleges the ability to charge whatever they wish for it, limited only by the number of students they can attract. But it is only a matter of time. There are hundreds of TED talks, thousands of lectures available on iTunes U and Khanacademy.org, all available to anyone for free. Will universities continue to hold the sacred power of accreditation, or will free, community run online universities one day be able to offer an equal education and valid diplomas?
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