Imagine if 15 years ago universities had poured money into developing best practices in online learning--using technology to hold tuition costs down, building a culture around creative online pedagogy. We would be better prepared today.

Instead, we got great climbing walls.

2. I& #39;ve read story after story in which students lament missing out on the campus experience. I fully get that, I miss campus too! I miss seeing my students at the coffee shop.

3. But I also think universities badly oversold the campus "experience" as a consumer item-plush dining halls and fitness centers, without commensurate educational investments.

4. Data I& #39;ve seen always indicates students remember and value faculty+advising staff interactions most from their college years. Can THOSE interactions be meaningful online? We act as if they can& #39;t, but we are trying to build those online relations in the middle of a disaster!

5. Why didn& #39;t we start sooner, preparing and investing for a digital inflection point when more and more higher education would go online? Didn& #39;t runaway costs send the signal that change was needed? Or did we just get lost in the beautiful "learning commons"? /end