Carrol
-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Fisher Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2012 12:50 AM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] A Glimpse into the Fate of Ph.D's currently
I know I'm coming late to this party, but we started talking about something like Joanna's idea below a while ago. Don't we think that this is ultimately where higher ed is headed anyway? I mean, if a degree from phoenix can be meaningful, or even pseudo-meaningful, then an organization of trained, talented, skilled, responsible people charging reasonable rates for real classes ought to be doable. and it is kind of old-school, really. like, medieval-school.
the thing about Phoenix, IIRC, is that their expansion plan has been buying up accreditations, basically. But I have been thinking for a few years that the accreditation model is in its death throes even if no one recognizes it yet. Sooner or later the elite institutions, who surely need accreditors less than the accrediting bodies need them, will tell the accrediting bodies to go fuck themselves. This will happen I'm guessing, and yes I am just making this up, when the accreditors finally get too big for their britches and start making actual demands of elite institutions.
Maybe this is wrong, but I need someone to tell me how and why.
But then "institutions" like the one Joanna is talking about make a lot more sense, when accreditation is recognized for the bullshit it is. but certainly even if my fantasy turns out to be historically true, in the meantime, it's also true that certifying with degrees would be a part of the game that an "institution" like this couldn't really play.
anyway, maybe we're done with this thread, but i'd be curious to extend it if anyone wants to play.
we can file it with the odd discussions we've had about a proper news publication in the past . . .
On Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 6:18 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> I wonder what would happen if faculty got together and incorporated into
> virtual universities. You could charge $100 for a course and make a decent
> living teaching two or three classes to 20-30 students. Have people come
to
> your house, or find class space to rent. Cheaper education for the
> students; better working conditions for the teachers. Most public schools
> are closed after 5 p.m., so you could maybe use those class spaces.
>
> But as the wizard of Oz tells us, it's the diploma that matters. So the
> teachers would have to figure out how to have the right to bestow the holy
> diploma.
>
> Just sayin, this might be more feasable than changing the current higher
> ed system.
>
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