Remember when they said that in the future you’d have a flying car, food in the form of a pill (who wants that) and teleportation, but instead all we got was weird Miley Cyrus dance routines with teddy bears? Well there’s one thing we were promised in the future that is now here: college by computer. And it’s called a “MOOC.”

What a MOOC is

MOOC stands for MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES. They are classes that are taught on site at an actual university (like Berkely or MIT) but are broadcast on the web to thousands and potentially millions of students around the world either via streaming or by use of a video site such as YouTube. While most MOOCs are simply individual classes that are provided to users, some MOOCs (known sometimes as XMOOCS) enhance the experience by offering on-line quizzes, message boards and chat functions that create an on-line community, sometimes led by a teacher, that replicates the traditional college experience.

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Still facing staggering budget shortfalls the UC school system in California is now entertaining a radical new tuition program that could change the way college kids pay for their schooling.

Proposed by UC Riverside campus newspaper editor Chris LoCascio, the plan would see a student paying a flat 5% of their wages following graduation instead of an up-front investment amount paid before the education begins. The no tuition proposal would offer discounts for transfer students, graduates who work in public service careers and those who stay and work in the state. Students from other states and countries would pay 6%.

System President Mark G. Yudof met with the Riverside students during a UC regents meeting on Wednesday and was “very impressed” with the plan. Though impressed as he may be with the plan, UC officials were still troubled by the vague payment enforcement ideas put forth.

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A George Washington University professor turned in her letter of resignation recently after allegations arouse that she gave A-grades to an entire class of students despite never once actually holding a class or assigning any materials. (more…)

Now more than ever it’s important to get a good education. But with costs on the rise and the job market still suffering doing so can seem daunting, nigh impossible. In a recent speech at the University of Colorado in Denver, President Obama acknowledged this and announced that he wants a student debt relief program to go into effect sooner than previously announced. (more…)

A new petition cycling through the halls of Cornell is raising the question in many people’s minds – with the exorbitant amount  of money paid for a traditional college education, especially an Ivy League one, should internet bandwidth restrictions still be applied to students living on campus?

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