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Comment by edw519 | Hacker News Reader

Students starting school this year may be part of the last generation for which "going to college" means packing up, getting a dorm room and listening to tenured professors.

Will they also be the last generation to listen to radio now that TV has been invented and the last generation to drive cars now that airplanes have been invented?

OP overlooks a whole bunch of other needs that colleges fulfill. The interaction with other students, both in class and at home. The interaction with professors. The contacts made. The opportunities to explore many new things by virture of actually being there.

Technology is great. It moves us forward in many ways. But in many situations, nothing is a substitute for actually being there.

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This is exactly right. This is why I don't understand many of the "just learn online" posts on HN. If you're going to college for only the information, then I think there's no reason to come. However, there is much more offered than just information.

But the question is is this advantage worth the ever-increasing tuition prices for most students? Before there wasn't a choice, now we'll see what the market effect of the competition of different education models will result in.

I place a high value on the immersive interaction with other students that come even outside the classroom with campus life. A few years ago I even chided some incoming students for considering cell phones a necessity for keeping in touch with people at home and friends who had gone to other schools, since I think that separation was an important part of going away to school.

Having established my bonafides as a crusty traditionalist, I need to point out that the very fact that we are all discussing this issue is evidence that technology may provide reasonable substitutes for the interactions you speak of. They may be a weak substitute for the premium product, but that doesn't mean that they don't have huge benefits to those who can't afford the premium product, whose only options are either nothing at all, or whatever is offered at the nearest community college (not to knock community colleges). Is there any reason we don't think the virtual offerings will improve in the future?

Agreed. I think the online classes/online colleges will supplement rather than replace traditional colleges.

They can be convenient for someone at a traditional college who has scheduling issues and they can help people attend college who otherwise would not be able to, but I suspect that there will be plenty of need for the things physical colleges provide above and beyond simple information for a long time.

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