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by xmunoz 1922 days ago
> many countries

Most developed countries have made this workable. The failure of US higher ed to make itself affordable or accessible does not preclude the value of higher education. The fact that private companies see this as an opportunity for market disruption is bleak at best and dystopian at worst.
2 comments
nr2x 1922 days ago
As a professor at a top institution I can say with certainty the entire US higher education system is fatally broken and the student loan bubble will burst to disastrous results. The situation as it stands is so bad that I welcome any other ideas, though returning to the state funding model is most preferable. The Cal state system is still amazing despite decades of attempts to do it damage, we need a real renaissance of public funding to save what we have.

The problem with Europe is with few exceptions the research output is a faint shadow of what US, and increasingly Chinese, institutions produce. Likewise, you see a lot of tech companies growing in US and China and while Europe lags further and further behind.

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908B64B197 1922 days ago
> The problem with Europe is with few exceptions the research output is a faint shadow of what US, and increasingly Chinese, institutions produce. Likewise, you see a lot of tech companies growing in US and China and while Europe lags further and further behind.

I wonder what the picture looks like if you include Europeans researchers and founders here in the US.

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nr2x 1921 days ago
I have many, many colleagues from EU: French, German, Italian, Belgian, Croatian, all among the best in the field. None of them remotely interested in going back. I’m actually an American who lived in EU for several years and loved it.
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rchaud 1922 days ago
Even in taxpayer-funded education systems, the majority of people will not earn a degree. Part of that is because many people enter the workforce straight out of high school. If you work 8-hour shifts at a McDonalds or at a factory, when are you supposed to go to class?

That's why this type of program is needed. Google is not claiming that this is supposed to replace university. It is only business-news-lite websites like Inc and Fast Company that need to sensationalize every headline.

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