Online Education in a Time of Financial Uncertainty

How is "web 2.0" straining second-tier universities during a time of financial uncertainty? A new article in the Chronicle of Higher Education indicates that new online courses and web offerings are challenging the relevance of such institutions.

For years, annual tuition costs have risen faster than inflation making college increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, content from top universities is being made available online. In many cases, a course at an average university may be no better than the free material offered by an elite university like MIT,  a podcast from iTunes U, or a course offered through an online institution at a cheaper price.

Elite universities, state-supported research colleges, and highly ranked liberal-arts schools will undoubtedly survive. Yet, second-tier universities will have to find ways to adjust themselves to the changing climate of higher education.