Arts: Will online learning challenge the tuition spikes at universities?

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The Book Club The Great Divergence Will online learning challenge the tuition spikes at universities? By Matthew Yglesias Posted Thursday, Apr 26, 2012, at 10:45 AM ET Tim, My first impulse was to defend the honor of conservative non-denunciations of the president's plan by saying he's not proposing tuition caps—he's just proposing to limit what schools can do while enjoying generous federal subsidies. But then I remembered that this was precisely the issue in the administration's controversial efforts to regulate the for-profit college sector. So maybe it really just is rank hypocrisy. Certainly I've started to get the sense that culture-war politics is becoming an economic danger, preventing people from thinking straight about the value of college education. You say prediction is a mug's game, but before we impose price controls on college tuition, I'd like to know what the consequences would be. It seems to me that top schools might simply wink and nudge and admit students whose parents are likely to "donate" money in excess of formal tuition. After all, even today the most inegalitarian feature of the higher-education system is the admissions process. The most selective schools overwhelmingly accept students from wealthier families, and these institutions that are dedicating themselves to the least-needy get the most funding. That's true of the fancy private schools, but it's also true in state university systems, where flagship campuses serving a relatively exclusive clientele get more taxpayer dollars than their humbler colleagues. I won't try to draw you into any further futurism, but it does strike me that the growth of online learning tools means that a ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Lithwick: Solicitor General Verrilli Botches Another Oral Argument The Most Embarrassing Moments From the Worst House of Representatives Ever What Happens When an Israeli Chef and a Palestinian Chef Share a Kitchen	Advertisement
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