‘Unless they change radically a lot of these places are likely to go under in coming years’
The College Fix’s Christian Schneider on Wednesday offered his thoughts on how COVID-19 may be the needle that completely pops the higher education bubble, noting “when large universities shift their course offerings online during a global pandemic, it might get students wondering – why would they continue to pay exorbitant fees for dorms, meal plans, and parking, when they can get the same instruction sitting at home in front of their computers?”
“Once a large university proves it can provide a reasonable facsimile of its course offerings without the enormous expense, students may start to demand they do so.”
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Thursday followed up with similar thoughts on his nightly news show, pointing out that “an entire nation has just been shown that it’s possible to deliver higher education in an entirely different way.”
“You don’t have to drive to campus, buy textbooks, pay for room and board in order to get an education. You can do the whole thing online. Now this fact won’t change everyone’s behavior — affluent families will continue on as they always have.”
But for middle class families, “suddenly an online education doesn’t sound so crazy,” Carlson said. “Your kids won’t like it as much, hanging around at a fraternity is a lot more fun than staying home and studying on a computer screen — but so what? And actually, is that a downside?”
He added colleges have been “bleeding the middle class dry for decades” and “the charade is exposed.”
“Unless they change radically a lot of these places are likely to go under in coming years,” Carlson said. “There is not enough federal bailout money in the treasury to save every pointless university.”
MORE: How COVID-19 may be the needle that completely pops the higher education bubble
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
Add to the Discussion