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The $6,600 Master's Degree.

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Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#11

Post by timedoctor »

This is just the beginning. I can see a future where top ranked universities offer online degrees at a small fraction of the current prices.

In fact I think the pricing will be separated out so that the lectures are 100% free and you pay for examinations or for tutoring or for small group mentoring with professors.

The logical conclusion is mega-universities that teach to millions of people in multiple countries around the world and out-compete existing universities leading to a large percentage of current universities being shut down or used only for courses where in-person training is necessary (for example medicine, some engineering courses etc).

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#12

Post by jval »

This is completely right. Most of the commenters here keep thinking about it from the perspective of people in countries that already have great access to education, but disruption begins with people who don't already have access to a product or are struggling to afford the existing alternatives.

In the case of education, these people are most likely to reside in the developing world - there are billions of people in places like the BRIC nations for whom $6,600 is a really reasonable price to access education over the internet without having to leave their current homes, families and commitments. Not only that, they get to put Georgia Tech on their resume and apply for jobs domestically and overseas (especially in the US) where people will recognise their qualifications, even if they have an online masters and not a masters.

The scale of something like this is difficult to fathom - we are talking many times the population of the US and Europe combined who could benefit from something like this. This is why we are witnessing something truly revolutionary.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#13

Post by jessriedel »

tseabrooks wrote: post #9

Maybe this depends greatly on the particular discipline you're in. In the US it's not that difficult to get your Master's degree in C.S. for free + monthly stipend, at least in my experience. I know a number of people across the natural science disciplines who TA'd / RA'd their way through Grad School. I might be misunderstanding how common this is but it seems any discussion of Grad School cost should discuss the fa…

My understanding is that this is only true if you are on the PhD track. Natural science departments subsidize the master's students with the expectation that most will labor for the professors for 3-5 years as part of their PhD research. The TAing does not actually cover the costs.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#15

Post by pbw »

A rich modern society will spend most of its money on two things: education and health-care. The appetite for education will increase so quickly that in-person degree programs will continue to do okay as premium offerings even as online degrees flourish. Long term online will "win" but it will take decades. Look at how few 100% telecommute there really are. Yes the trend is there but the actual transition is slow, consider the rush hour traffic in any big city.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#16

Post by marquis »

bayesianhorse wrote: post #4

I'm in favor of furthering online education, moocs, educational content in general and even certification programs along these lines. But I also have to ask: If this degree costs 20% of a traditional Master's education, is it even worth 20% as much? The degree clearly states "Online Master". We might see a value developing here, but there is an equal chance that the early students get ripped off big time. They might…

While I agree, in that attending college is in part the social experience in interacting with peers, one-on-one time with lecturers/TAs and lab work, this is a step forward to allowing anyone who wants to learn have that opportunity, and use the technology we have to improve on that technology so future-learning just gets better and better. Tiny steps.

An enterprising person may well setup a facilitator experience, where students gather to watch online lectures and do group labs, at a fraction of the cost (plus not having to pay board away from home) and having the best materials to work with.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#17

Post by p4bl0 »

As a French person my first reaction to the title was "that's awfully expensive!". Then I thought about the US education system and thought "Oh, the title must actually imply that it's cheap…". I still had to go read the article to make sure. And then I learned that it's actually an online master. So my (second) first reaction was that it's cool to be able to get a master's degree from a top university from almost anywhere in the world, but then I realized that the people who would benefit the most from this are in developing countries and $6,600 is already way, way, way too much there (and that's not taking into account the fact that these courses are video-driven and that available internet broadband might also be a problem). So I guess that's not really who it is intended for, which implies that it is a "second class" degree for US student. Not sure how I should feel about this.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#18

Post by anxx »

With the internet, most education is free. When we pay education, we mainly pay for 1) exclusivity (there are not a million other people attending Harvard) and 2) standards (standard exams within an accredited curriculum, so the GPA and major will mean something). Increasing the amount of online education preserves the standards, but removes / broadens the exclusivity. I am not sure this is a great thing for people from Georgia Tech; they now have to compete with a lot more people for similar jobs.

An online education with tough admissions would be better if one tries to preserve the brand (and thus provide insurance* to the program trainees).

* by insurance, I refer to insurance of employability, like Peter Thiel described in his PandoMonthly interview.

Re: The $6,600 Master's Degree.

#19

Post by mtgx »

jval wrote: post #12

This is completely right. Most of the commenters here keep thinking about it from the perspective of people in countries that already have great access to education, but disruption begins with people who don't already have access to a product or are struggling to afford the existing alternatives. In the case of education, these people are most likely to reside in the developing world - there are billions of people in…

I agree with your general theory, but I don't think $6,600 is "reasonable" for a college degree in BRIC nations. I think even in the more developed countries in Europe that's at the high-end of what it costs to get one. It only seems reasonable for an American, who usually pays what - $100,000-$200,000?

$2,000 is what I'd call "reasonable", although if we're really thinking about truly revolutionizing education for the other 3+ billion people, it needs to go even cheaper than that. Everyone should get access to the same level of quality education, and their financial situation should not be a major impediment.

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