"MITx" is the project MIT is pursuing wherein they offer online classes for free AND provide a credential that you did indeed master the subject.
These credentials, of course, will not be recognized by the rest of the educational system because it would destroy the monopoly they have over millions of innocent people. Thousands of worthless, washed up hippie professors would have to get real jobs instead of screwing over youth for $400 a credit.
There is good news however. What ultimately gives universities their power is not the fact they recognize each others' credits, but that employers recognize the credits or acknowledge the value of a degree from a university. I know people in this country are very slow, and HR consciously works against productivity and progress, but slowly companies are starting to realize just how worthless most college degrees and their graduates are. And I'm willing to bet that in due time employers will start to accept credentials from free online colleges like Khan's Academy or MITx as equal, if not better than a traditional brick and mortar university because the student was obviously self-motivated.
I therefore officially declare that I will hire graduates from MITx should I ever be in the position of power to hire people. Actually, I would prefer them. Now if the rest of the Fortune 500 companies would join me, we could fundamentally change the country for the better.
I see they offer 'Women's and Gender Studies"...
ReplyDeleteWill the take back the night marches be some sort of virtual thingie? How do they intend to incorporate the false accusations and hostile environment for males in an online situation? What form will the indoctrination with false statistical 'facts' take? Are you sure this will work?
It will be interesting to see what kinds of programs they offer because, while educational institutions will not recognise these credentials, I’m certain a lot of businesses would see some value in them. While I personally wouldn’t advocate hiring someone based on a certification they received from an online course, I could see a lot of businesses prioritizing the candidates who have these kinds of certifications ahead of other candidates who have a similar education and work experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm becoming convinced that the so-called "liberal arts" education that is packaged with every university degree through general requirements is a largely unnecessary cost of time and money for little gain.
ReplyDeleteMuch of that is duplicating the education already delivered in high school, so why bother? And much of the high school curriculum is a repeat of the same stuff in each grade. How many freaking years English literature or American history is really needed?
Employers are looking for people with skills that can hit the ground running. They don't say, Wow, you have a year of German, sehr gut! This is almost as if they'd be better off working a tech college programs or training internally via unpaid internships.
The university system as we know it will die, and all it will take is for people (students and employers) to understand its declining value.
When you boil it right down, what is a university degree? It's an IQ certification.
ReplyDeleteAssessing an individual's IQ does not require 4 years and $150K.
Such a racket.
I've known educrats my whole life, and they all think exactly alike. Borg-eaucrats.
Udacity is doing similar things, it seems, but it claims not to be affiliated with any University.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is Google's attempt to cut through the bullshit.
The difference here seems to be that the college setting up this system and offering certification, is MIT. I think you might be hard pressed to find a large group of people to call MIT a worthless institute. On the other hand it might be harder to confirm the John Doe Institutes free online certification is worthwhile. It might be, but will it be the applicants job to provide information that confirms their education arises from a legitimate source,or will it be the person doing the hiring? If the latter then might that not make them more of an effort to hire people graduating from the online courseload? Just a few thoughts on why MITx is a bit different of an example than other types.
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