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I wasn't aware that @nytimes opinion columnists did paid advertorials in their dedicated spaces. I'm wondering where the disclosure is on this tribute to Minerva because as a piece of logical argument, it's incoherent. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/opinion/sunday/minerva-college-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
The piece is framed by the title of how to go to college during a pandemic and then even notes that the Minerva model entails students flying all over the world to spend a semester in different spots. WTF?
The pivot is that Minerva proves you don't need college campuses - a big cost - and is therefore much cheaper. Let's check in on that price.
$32k is at least double the in-state tuition of even the flagship state universities which have the largest campuses filled with the kinds of "luxuries" this article claims are a waste of money. I'll say it again, WTF?
Minerva replaced "country-club" campuses with international jet set lifestyle. This is innovation? Semester in Hyderabad for everyone!
This rhetorical turn is the point that a conscientious writer would've known he was full of shit. But of course the goal of this piece is to put forward a particular narrative about how education should work.
Minerva's solution is to offload costs to the cities in which they situate students. Innovation!
This is simply a description of quality online education practices which can be achieved by any institution, particularly if they have the resources of Minerva which has attracted hundreds of millions in venture capital money.
The op-ed proposes that we need a "radical" rethinking of higher education. I couldn't agree more. Here's my radical proposal. FUND FUCKING PUBLIC POST SECONDARY EDUCATION!
I will now spend the rest of the day working on the manuscript for "Sustainable. Resilient. Free.: The Future of Public Higher Education" which is grounded in the actual world we live in and is a blueprint to make higher ed accessible to all. https://beltpublishing.com/collections/pre-order/products/sustainable-resilient-free-the-future-of-public-higher-education
Addendum: If the pandemic has shown us anything it's that yes, we need campuses, which are spaces of physical communion, which is something human beings actually need. Quality online education is also a necessity, but neither replaces the other.
