Are we going to see ...

[YaSO]

It appears that online distance education is gaining much popularity; as you all know online distance education does not require you to live close to the university's campus. So in theory, it's perfectly Ok for the university to be located oversea. Outsourcing trend probably will not stop ... Here's the question. Are we going to see colleges and universities being outsourced to oversea in the future? Is it possible? Education budget is getting cut and tuitions are rising; I don't want to be so pessimistic, but it's kind of hard to see anything getting cheaper than it is today. Outsourcing of education utilizing online education, possible scenario?

[philipwhite]

Well it is somewhat of an interesting idea. Right now a large number of professors in US colleges come to the US to teach from foreign countries. I'm sure the US would love to have those same professors but pay them less by having them remain in their home countries. A total outsourcing won't ever happen. Online learning is a way of education that works for some but not for others.

I still think the cost of outsourcing is rising. A lot of jobs have drifted to China from India or Malaysia. India still has an advantage on call center/support staffing because Indians have a good command of English.

[YaSO]

I still think the cost of outsourcing is rising. A lot of jobs have drifted to China from India or Malaysia. India still has an advantage on call center/support staffing because Indians have a good command of English.
I hear Indian universities have great engineering programs, and in fact, that is one of reasons why many IT heavy weights are setting up new offices in India including major research centers. Considering the fact that Indians have a good command of English, isn't it a feasible idea that they teach CS/EE at Indian online universities and Americans and British learn from them? Quality should be as good as US/UK online universities and cost should still be lower, right?