Dying under its own weight

"When I heard some student organization at Wisconsin was handing out dildos to students who would protest a conservative speaker last week, it just reinforced to me the time for change is now." 

I know one is supposed to be very supportive of their alma mater. I guess I get an "F" on that one. Don't get me wrong - the "U" which my wife and I attended in the 1970's was a much different place than it is today. It was for the most part, good. And I was proud to graduate from there, even though the "U" did not have an exciting football team since Moses was a boy. But it was affordable for both of us, and helped up land career type jobs. 

I have talked about this many times in my blog posts. I am fascinated by future trends. Transportation, medical, manufacturing and of course, education. You can already see the changes starting to come in education. More accredited on-line courses. More accredited on-line degrees. Less brick and mortar, more on demand. It just seems like the entire higher education system is primed and ready for an Amazon like moment.

Back to the present. It was been suggested by the smartest people in the room who run the University of Minnesota, the best way to handle increased costs is to pass them on to non-resident students. According to the University President (who never met a cost he did not love), that is a whole lot easier than trying to budget. It is easier for the "U", but a killer for those poor students who are about to get walloped with a 15% tuition increase. But who cares about them, right?

Guess what? Young people come here from all over the world to attend our University. Why? Quality. The pharmacy program at the University is ranked second in the nation. The engineering programs are some of the best in the country - maybe even the world. And the medical school is top notch. Yes, our University has been a magnet for decades for those with dreams. 

Here is the irony. I went to business school at the University. I learned how to budget an organization. How the University President has missed out on that course (in all his learning) is beyond me. As good as our University is, it is going to die under its own weight if it cannot control its costs. And now that the Republicans are in control of the state coffers (and not the free spending Democrats), they are demanding accountability from the University. The University President said "no thanks" to that demand, and went on to soak non-resident students.

I guess I am okay with schools of higher learning going through some kind of metamorphosis. When I heard a student organization at Wisconsin was handing out dildos to students who would protest a conservative speaker last week, it just reinforced to me the time for change is now. 

So good bye brick and mortar. Good bye long haired commie freaks who masquerade as college professors. Good bye student organizations who limit free speech by conservatives. Good bye student debt which takes decades to pay off. And hello virtual class rooms. Hello, on line classes and degrees. Hello real learning, without all the crapola which today, goes with it.