It’s commonly believed that higher education suffers from an acute case of “Baumol’s Cost Disease,” an affliction that causes labor-intensive industries to become less productive over time. It takes a professor just as long to deliver a 90-minute lecture today as it did 100 years ago, the thinking goes. But other industries have radically increased productivity in the meantime, often via use of technology, driving up the cost of highly-skilled labor across the labor market. In other words, colleges have to pay a premium for productivity increases they don’t actually get, which is why tuition is now a zillion billion dollars and anyone planning to send their kids to a private college should expect to be in in debt for the rest of their, and their children’s children’s, natural lives.
EVENT: Computers, Professors, and the Cost of Higher Education
Note: Pushing this back to the top as a reminder to sign up, and also because the magazine article in question is now live to the world, here. Read it! Right now!
In fact, this is wrong. Colleges are perfectly capable of becoming more productive in the same way that lots of other industries have–by substituting capital for labor and replacing lots of expensive employees with less-expensive computers. It’s not a theoretical idea–hundreds of colleges are doing this right now and more are jumping on board every day. Given that colleges are about to be mightily screwed by recession-induced budget cuts, this trend is likely to accelerate. But you haven’t heard about it, in part because the significant cost-savings aren’t being passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. This is the subject of new article I’ve written for Washington Monthly which you can–nay, must–read here.
And to see a sure-to-be-fascinating discussion of these issues, live and in person, featuring a panel full of experts, plus myself, sign up for and attend this Education Sector Event, to be held on the morning of December 2nd here in Washington, DC. Ask questions, heckle, throw things, get free magazines and related materials–it’s sure to be a great time.
Better Benefits: Reforming Teacher Pensions for a Changing Work Force
The Course of Innovation: Using Technology to Transform Higher Education 
09/03/10 | Kris Amundson gives Virginia policymakers a true/false quiz on the condition of K-12 public education in the state.
09/02/10 | Elena Silva compares two proposals for the next generation of computer-based assessments funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
09/01/10 | Forrest Hinton explains why consumer choice and market forces are currently weak influences on higher education quality. 
09/01/10 | Chad Aldeman's and Kevin Carey's thoughts on value-added teacher evaluations are featured in The Atlantic
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