Mark Cuban on College

Mark Cuban's discussion of college is well worth a read.  He asks some very good questions.  His comparison of the four-year college to the newspaper business is spot on.

Here are a few points of my own: 1) Many 18 year olds are not ready for college.  If that is the case then wait a year or two until it is a good fit; 2) I can guarantee that most of those that graduate with $100,000 in student loans will feel the pressure and have far fewer options when they graduate; 3) If you collect $75,000 in student debt and don't graduate, then you are really up a creek without a paddle.

The cost of college matters.  Experiencing almost any subject for $20 a unit is a very low risk.  On the other hand "investing" $2,000 per unit ought to be amazingly useful in preparing you for the real world where you have to pay your bills and earn a living (and repay your college loans).

I am taking an excellent class at coursera.org on modeling that is outstanding - and it's free.

Many students are not prepared for college!

Excellent piece about how many students are unprepared for college.  Attending college when you had trouble with high school may not be the prescription for developing marketing skills for the job market.

San Jose State Will Ramp Up Online Offerings

At least some colleges and universities are attacking the old business model.  The problem is that most incumbents do a horrible job of replacing themselves.  It normally takes an aggressive outsider to send the old model to the grave.

This article is worth a read.

The End of the University as We Know It

Very well written piece by Nathan Harden.  

I loved the enthusiasm and agree that this is where we should be headed.  But because of all the subsidies for the existing system and parents and students that therefore don't really pay much attention to what kind of debt they are picking up I think that change will be far slower than in the music industry.

Prospects of free online college education looking up!

"Here is a sample of free courses offered.

Foundations of Computer graphics
Circuits and electronics
Artificial intelligence
Software as a service
Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Computation
Introduction to Solid State Chemistry"
Granted - nothing in gender studies or puppetry - but just maybe that will catch on as well.

An optimistic piece by Mish Shedlock

A college finally finds a way to reduce their tuition costs.

Good for Belmont Abbey College.  A college finally finds a way to reduce their tuition costs.  

Get started early as an entrepeneur

Why wait until after college to become an entrepreneur?  A good example of taking chances
while you are young.