Why is Education so costly?
I read this article http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CollegeandFamily/Moneyinyour20s/P136091.asp
It is just painful reading. Students getting into $25-50k, even $100K in debt to get an education is not right. I am sure any number of academics and economists would argue it is “worth” it. But is it worth 30% more in real inflation-adjusted terms than 10 years ago?
I believe part of the reason is that the education establishment just doesn’t operate with a sufficient degree of cost-consciousness, like any normal business subject to market forces should. And unlike private businesses they have no incentive to exploit technology to lower the cost of doing business.
Just a few examples I can think of to lower costs to students:
1. Student self-service model, with pre-recorded lectures, while students interact with professors via the internet to clarify the material
2. Internet based collaboration among students, with discussion groups and such, moderated by faculty
3. Dramatically reduce the administrative overhead - there are way too many administrators to actual classroom instructors in most universities today
4. Encourage more part time students - I just don’t see why an MBA has to be a full time program costing $100K or more