I don’t know about you guys but when Bill Gates talks about technology, I listen.  A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education  cites Mr. Gates opinion that technology has the power to make a first class education available to anyone, not just those sitting in the classroom of a school with a $200,000 price tag.

According to Gates speech, posted on You Tube by an attendee at a Techonomy Conference in California, the internet will soon deliver some of the best lectures in the world for free to those who want it.  He refers to the elite education you can get at higher tier schools as “place-based” meaning that you are only privy to the top lectures and classroom experiences if you are at Harvard or MIT.  In the current economy, the ability to pay for schools with such a high price tag is diminishing but the desire to have a strong education is not.  According to Gates, access to some of the best lectures in the world will make a “place-based” education less important and accessible to anyone with the desire to get it. 

I tend to agree with this position.  If a person has the desire and the ability to study at a higher level, why should the size of their pocketbook be a deterrent?  So, what do you think?  Will access to internet change the importance of “place-based” colleges?

Best,

Kerry