SJSU partners with Udacity and SUNY announces Open SUNY

[rebel100]

So, many for profit companies are indeed trying to help people get educated at a lower cost than at the traditional university, but it continues to perpetuate the illusion that a degree equals money, success or status in life and job.
I also lump book companies into the for profit realm, for which SL is based upon.
Then many of the new free places to learn like KHAN, Coursera, Udacity are where the world needs to aspire to; that knowledge should be universally available to those who want it.

Now my beef with SL is their unscrupulous mishandling of their "credibility" to start requiring proctoring. Funny but ALEKS is only $20 a month and didn't require that change! Add that they are venture capital backed, so they have an inherent need to return a profit, and funny that the tutoring service SL uses is their CEO's former company which he sold a few years back. So while the CEO is a super smart Harvard grad, look at how hard he tries to get online education de-regulated, he is not doing it to get the above universal knowledge out there, its so he can make the company appeal to more people, hence driving more profit. Another annoyance with SL, for me being in IT, I refuse to trust their website, it was several people on this forum who had to point out to them that they didn't actually have a secure website. I had many emails with them, they claimed to fix it, but all it looks like to me was they enabled only part of it securely, but I didn't care enough to continue arguing with them.

I feel for where your coming from...but I have to disagree on a few points. First profit, non-profit, public, private they all have to get funded somehow. As a taxpayer you and I help fund public colleges. Even with that "State" schools have to advertise, diversify, and attract students in order to remain competitive. There is a reason college football (and a few other sports) are such a big deal for a school...they bring in revenue. Just because the cost is less to you as a student doesn't mean it wasn't paid for by someone. When I took the 2 years worth of PELL grant money I was basically on need based public assistance, I'm grateful for that but I'm very aware that someone else paid for that education. I think I spent that money well, miserly even...that was part of my responsibility to the taxpayers that ultimately footed the bill. School costs money....if it was all free who would pay the teachers? Who would foot the bill for the internet connection? Who would send you a diploma or transcripts?

You see, in the end, they are all "for profit". They have to perpetuate the idea that you will be better off with a degree...because we live in a society that places a value in your degree. This is not the fault of the big bad for profit college machine...its a reflection of the circumstances that exist in higher education, and in our greater world. No one requires you to have a degree to achieve status, success, or wealth. However it's a lot easier to achieve those things, generally speaking, with a degree.

I don't believe straighterline's business concept could have been brought to market by an accredited school. I think the politics of higher education would have (did) prevent it. It took a guy with an idea, a little financial backing, a can do entrepreneurial spirit to pull it off. I have no qualms about his former company handling aspects of his business...he built that too and knows it can perform as he wants it to. I share some of your personal concerns in regards to privacy...but we should all thank God on a regular bases that we live in a society that doesn't just allow this...but encourages it through the medium of money and profit.

I love that there are FEMA and Saylor.org courses for free. Did you know that saylor was founded by a businessman? One who earned his profits elsewhere and sinks his money into saylor as a labor of love? But here again capitalism provided this. FEMA is your tax dollars at work (though I think the college credit portion was really an unplanned and unintended consequence of the FEMA's goals)....but its being paid for.

Aleks is an experimental offshoot of a publishing house...another for profit entity.

Now we can talk about the system abuses of some for profits like Uof Phoenix if you like...but we can also delve into the misdoings of a certain high profile non profit schools football program that has produced more assaulted kids than Heisman trophy winners. Point is it's not the profit that is the issue. Profit is good. Money is indifferent...it's how you apply it that matters.

I have more but I gotta hit the road for now. I will be traveling down a public road...with tolls....whats up with that???

Best,
Mike