ELECTRONIC UNIVERSITIES

"Electronics and the Dim Future of the University'' by E. M. Noam, Science 270, pp 247-249 (1995), raises the question of whether or not universities will survive the information revolution. We expect that those that respond to the growing demand for remote electronic degrees and that retrace their steps toward the quality lost over the past three decades will survive. The others will deservedly perish.

The 35-year-old barber in Cave Junction recently remarked to me that he is now half way through college and expects to have a PhD before he retires. He then explained that, although he graduated only from high school, his high school work is now the equivalent of two years of college. As colleges deteriorate, his educational level automatically advances. The terrible truth is that this barber is right.

Universities exist to create, preserve, and transmit information. Private university tuition fees are now about $50 per lecture hour - often for lectures of questionable worth. The information revolution will demand quality - delivered remotely, quickly, and inexpensively.

•	Technology and Lifespan
•	NUCLEAR POWER
•	TURNING UP THE HEAT
•	RENEWABLE OIL FIELDS
•	ELECTRICAL LUBRICATION
•	*ELECTRONIC UNIVERSITIES*
•	STARK RAVING MAD
•	GOOD READING

Vol. 23, No. 3

Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
Volume: Issues
Issue/No.: Vol. 23, No. 3

Date: November 01, 1995 01:17 PM
Title: Technology and Lifespan