Online Classes May Force Changes at Universities

May 30, 2013

U.S. colleges face a "perfect storm" of problems as tuition costs soar, opportunities for graduates sag, and employers complain they cannot find enough workers with key technical skills. One solution may be found in the growing number and quality of online classes. The digital revolution might transform universities the way the Internet has already changed music, publishing, journalism, retail, and other businesses.

"This is pretty amazing," said the University of Virginia's David Evans, teaching an online introduction to Computer Science.

Online classes are now taught by many top universities and offer everything from computer programing to the science of cooking. Many classes are either free or inexpensive, and are updated more quickly than regular college curricula.

That's important to the millions of students who learn technical and other skills from Lynda.com. Co-founder Lynda Weinman said, “We can come to market very quickly and we can teach transient skills, so a lot of software is changing constantly and new software is being invented, and those sorts of things cannot easily make their way into college curriculum.”

Instead of the professor lecturing to students, who then do research, study, and homework alone, many online classes flip that around, according to student and blogger John Haber, who said he is taking enough online classes to earn a four-year college degree in just one year.