Private College for $11,000 a Year? Libertarian Businessman Creates an Alternative to Higher Ed Waste - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Jim Epstein:
January 25, 2019 - "Bob Luddy is the founder and owner of CaptiveAire, the world's largest commercial kitchen ventilation manufacturer, with $500 million in 2018 revenues, zero debt, 1,300 employees, and factories in seven states. His latest venture is a non-profit college that seeks to slash typical costs and improve quality, offering an alternative to the wasteful practices of higher ed.
"Thales College, which is launching this fall in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, isn't Luddy's first education venture. He started a charter school in 1998, and a Catholic school in 2001. The charter, Franklin Academy, is the third largest in North Carolina.... But, in Luddy's view, charters have limited potential for disruption because state regulators won't consent to radical approaches.
"So in 2007 he launched Thales Academy, a network of K-12 private schools affordable for working-class families....Thales keeps costs down by cutting out virtually all administrative employees and nonessentials.... Annual tuition is $5,300 for elementary school, and $6,000 for junior high and high school.
"Luddy's latest project brings his brand of cost cutting and innovation to higher education. Students will pay $10,667 annually for a degree that will take just three years, since classes will run 45 weeks per year rather than the conventional 30.... Thales will be a teaching college, where the faculty doesn't face pressure to publish or perish. Lectures will be offered online, so that students can watch (and rewatch) at home. Since online learning can't replicate the value of one-on-one mentoring, each student will get at least an hour per week alone with a professor....
"Thales College won't seek accreditation because doing so would be a 'hindrance,' says Dr. Timothy Hall, who will serve as the school's director of operations and academics. Accrediting institutions require that colleges have research libraries and a certain number of Ph.D.s on their faculty, according to Hall. Luddy sees college research libraries as a waste of money in the online age, and Hall says that the school will hire the best teachers, whether they have doctorate degrees or not.
"Lack of accreditation means students won't be eligible for federal loans, and if they decide to transfer schools, other accredited institutions may decline to honor the credits they've accrued.... Hall's 'not sure' if not being accredited will disqualify Thales alums from admission to some graduate programs, but anticipates that most will go right into the workforce....
"In Luddy's view, ending all federal subsidies would be the fastest and most effective way to upend higher education. But that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Societal change comes not through advocacy, but via 'exit:' Create alternatives and people will vote with their wallets."
Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2019/01/25/private-college-for-11000-a-year-liberta
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January 25, 2019 - "Bob Luddy is the founder and owner of CaptiveAire, the world's largest commercial kitchen ventilation manufacturer, with $500 million in 2018 revenues, zero debt, 1,300 employees, and factories in seven states. His latest venture is a non-profit college that seeks to slash typical costs and improve quality, offering an alternative to the wasteful practices of higher ed.
"Thales College, which is launching this fall in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, isn't Luddy's first education venture. He started a charter school in 1998, and a Catholic school in 2001. The charter, Franklin Academy, is the third largest in North Carolina.... But, in Luddy's view, charters have limited potential for disruption because state regulators won't consent to radical approaches.
"So in 2007 he launched Thales Academy, a network of K-12 private schools affordable for working-class families....Thales keeps costs down by cutting out virtually all administrative employees and nonessentials.... Annual tuition is $5,300 for elementary school, and $6,000 for junior high and high school.
"Luddy's latest project brings his brand of cost cutting and innovation to higher education. Students will pay $10,667 annually for a degree that will take just three years, since classes will run 45 weeks per year rather than the conventional 30.... Thales will be a teaching college, where the faculty doesn't face pressure to publish or perish. Lectures will be offered online, so that students can watch (and rewatch) at home. Since online learning can't replicate the value of one-on-one mentoring, each student will get at least an hour per week alone with a professor....
"Thales College won't seek accreditation because doing so would be a 'hindrance,' says Dr. Timothy Hall, who will serve as the school's director of operations and academics. Accrediting institutions require that colleges have research libraries and a certain number of Ph.D.s on their faculty, according to Hall. Luddy sees college research libraries as a waste of money in the online age, and Hall says that the school will hire the best teachers, whether they have doctorate degrees or not.
"Lack of accreditation means students won't be eligible for federal loans, and if they decide to transfer schools, other accredited institutions may decline to honor the credits they've accrued.... Hall's 'not sure' if not being accredited will disqualify Thales alums from admission to some graduate programs, but anticipates that most will go right into the workforce....
"In Luddy's view, ending all federal subsidies would be the fastest and most effective way to upend higher education. But that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Societal change comes not through advocacy, but via 'exit:' Create alternatives and people will vote with their wallets."
Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2019/01/25/private-college-for-11000-a-year-liberta
'via Blog this'
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