The Slow Death of the University
I wonder if this death of criticism is misty eyed nastolgia for a future that either never, or rarely existed.Let's not forget that our so-called great universities:- For a long time excluded women, Jews and many minorities.- Were the providence of only the technocratic elite.- Did very little research before the 20th century.And now that the costs escalate out of control, is it any wonder that they have to go more commercial?Some back of the envelope math: If every student takes 10 classes a year (5 per semester) and every professor teaches 5 classes per year to 20 students each, and gets paid 100K all-in, then the per-student faculty labor cost is 100K10/(205) = 10K per year.  That's not too bad for critical learning.  Expand the classes to 40 and you can cut the cost in half, or give the faculty a big raise.