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[–] didntsayeeeee 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

Life pro tip: anything called "The truth about..." is probably full of lies.

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[–] Allrightsreserved 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

College could be made to be nearly free if it were internet based. When a college course of study was completed, take an exam to demonstrate competence and it would cost next to nothing as well as be available to everyone. The educational industrial complex (I just made that part up) would be understandably opposed to ultra-cheap college education.

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[–] didntsayeeeee ago 

Who is going to write all these courses? Who is going to grade all these exams? Who is going to ensure you're not cheating on the exam by paying someone else to do it for you?

Ok, let's say we do pay for all those things and by "nearly free" you mean "much cheaper". What you're describing is an online correspondence course. And those already exist, but people don't take them very seriously because you don't get as good an education when you're just sitting at home reading shit. The best way to understand something involves having an expert to whom you can ask questions when you're missing something.

The other big thing: the biggest cost of university is usually opportunity cost: four years of studying instead of working means missing out on a lot of money.

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[–] Allrightsreserved 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

It sounds as though you have not experienced the security measures associated with a modern testing center of the type used to give many certification exams. They use biometric scanners to identify you and do not permit any electronic devices or other means of cheating to be easily employed. As far as the cost of producing most basic college courses , they have been taught repeatedly at a thousand universities and colleges with only minor variations from school to school. These basic courses would not cost much to deploy and could be incrementally improved over time by positive suggestions from other lecturers to reflect the optimal teaching style or even offer more than one lecturer on the same course. Online correspondence courses did not previously have the capability of instantly accessible video lectures and all of the digital libraries that are now at your fingertips. Is the ability of a few students to ask questions about some material worth $10,000 to 55,000 per year to most students? There is likely some less costly way of accommodating the students questions than spending tens of thousands of dollars annually to occasionally ask a question. Part of the educational process is learning how to learn on your own and not requiring a teacher to cram every bit of data into your head. You are correct about the cost of spending time at college when you could be working but having online education available would democratize the process and allow people to achieve their education at much lower cost than is currently possible. They could attend class online when it was convenient for their schedule. If you were poor and had not garnered scholarships, you could still get the same education as a wealthy person (minus parties in the dorm). The national average debt for students leaving four-year schools is $30,000. For some students it is a much more (many private four year colleges charge $30,000 -55,000/year for tuition alone) and the cost is a great concern. It can take a very long time to pay off. This change is coming because the technology is going to make it possible. The people most opposed to these changes will be those with a vested interest in the status quo. Much of what passes for education at undergraduate institutions is easily accomplished at a far lower cost than the current system charges and is simply not a good value to the consumer.