I don’t know how the availability of educational content online has anything to do what I said. And nowhere did I say that the only place one can get an education is within an institution. Your comment is a pretty big strawman.
Educational institutions in the United States have become customer-focused corporations in all but name. While it’s nice that information is available for personal use via the Internet (although frankly most of it has already been available in public libraries for the last century), that’s a separate point. The discussion is about educational institutions, not the ability of one to self-educate.
The point is: if you’re doing an economic analysis on the value of an education, you’ve already lost. Institutions which once were dedicated to timeless academic values are now mostly about making a buck. If you went to university a century ago, it was probably to pursue an academic career. If you go now, it’s probably to get a better job.
The fact that you as an individual can watch a YouTube course doesn’t change the fact that influential institutions have a dramatic effect on popular culture, society and politics, and ergo graduates of those institutions will shape society.
Educational institutions in the United States have become customer-focused corporations in all but name. While it’s nice that information is available for personal use via the Internet (although frankly most of it has already been available in public libraries for the last century), that’s a separate point. The discussion is about educational institutions, not the ability of one to self-educate.
The point is: if you’re doing an economic analysis on the value of an education, you’ve already lost. Institutions which once were dedicated to timeless academic values are now mostly about making a buck. If you went to university a century ago, it was probably to pursue an academic career. If you go now, it’s probably to get a better job.
The fact that you as an individual can watch a YouTube course doesn’t change the fact that influential institutions have a dramatic effect on popular culture, society and politics, and ergo graduates of those institutions will shape society.