'Open university' wave of the future

I saw the editorial entitled "No Cash" and thought I might comment that the decline in support for the university is no accident. The governor and members of the state Legislature have realized that the present method of education is going out of style. It is too expensive and inefficient.

I saw the British system called the Open University several years ago; it now extends over all of Europe - all in English. The courses are given over TV, anyone can watch them at no cost, and if you want to take the exam they are given in various cities at stated times. Do the graduates get jobs? One company told me, "if we could we would only hire Open University graduates, they are self-motivated."

You can go as fast as you like with this system, communicate with the professor and the students by e-mail. If you want to see what is going on call up on your computer. One prediction by the Head of the University of Maryland System is that half the colleges in the United States will close by 2012 see Science, Vol. 272, Pg. 172, 21 June 1996.

What is the UA doing in this area - need you ask? - "nothing." Pima College is the local contact.

By S. Hoenig (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 21, 1997