25
Jun

2014

The Top Reason College-Level Education Is Likely to Go Online

Jun 25, 2014 | 1:19 pm
Blog Education
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learnMost Americans are probably not very familiar with the concept of asset bubbles. Though the years from 2007 until 2010 saw the unwinding of a massive bubble in the housing market, it could still be argued that the average person is not quite sure what an asset bubble is or how it affects their lives. But, as anyone who has paid attention to the price of college tuition over the past couple of decades will assert, college and university tuition has increased at an astounding rate. Now, some experts are warning that such increases are the result of a student loan bubble which is poised to burst and change college education forever.

According to investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban college tuitions have increased as a result of an unsustainable amount of easy money from Sallie Mae, through the means of easy student loans Cuban says that this easy money has led to a record $1 trillion dollars in student loan debt which is holding the economy back. Furthermore, and perhaps most surprisingly, Cuban believes that when the student loan bubble bursts it will have a significant effect on the economy and lead to far lower tuition at the nation’s colleges and universities.

It is not necessarily a foregone conclusion that the student loan bubble will burst in such a way as to adversely affect college tuitions. However, as many university students will attest, college and university tuitions have increased at an astounding rate over the past two decades, and something must be done. If Cuban is right, and a bursting of the student loan bubble leads to significantly lower tuition rates –as a result of students not being able to pay the current tuitions – this could be one of the most significant factors contributing to the rise of online college and university courses.

Online courses offer significant advantages over in-person courses. On the students’ end when taking online classes there is no need to actually appear for class, which means less time in traffic, less time preparing to go to class, and more time for studying and working. On the universities’ end online classes can be far cheaper than in-person classes as such expenses as heating, air conditioning, lighting, and other in-person related expenses, can be significantly reduced. In the case that colleges and universities are suddenly required to significantly cut costs, one of the most reasonable ways to do so will be to offer more courses online. Overall, this change over could positively affect both the student and the institution.