Thank you for the comments. I agree with your points entirely. But many of us liked the personal touch of using a travel agent. Or the character of a local newspaper. But economic forces were too strong for these other factors to overcome. I agree that the university experience is more valuable than dealing with a travel agent. But it is also a lot more expensive. Again, if we hope to increase the number of kids going to college about the world by ten times or more (not the mention the increasing cost of a college education even after inflation), then something has to give eventually.

michael

eLearning is effective. Moveover, it is the only real solution for serving post-college, busy, working professionals.

But as much as I am a fan of eLearning, I do miss the personal interaction with fellow students in real space. My hypothesis is that part of the learning comes from the questions, sharing of interesting problems, practices and collaborative work with other learners. Universities do have a distinct advantage in being able to aggregate an interesting and motivated group that interacts during the education experience.

The Institute attracts REALLY interesting people. The new initiatives I see the Institute rolling out are in the right direction to raise learner interaction. Keep ‘em coming.