Real or virtual universities?

I had the opportunity to visit the amazing campus of Monterrey Tech (I.T.E.S.M., after the initials in Spanish for the Technological Institute of Higher Studies of Monterrey) in Mexico City. It is just one of the thirty campuses that this private university, founded in 1943, operates, in which more than 100,000 persons study. Given that the ITESM, in addition to its traditional classrooms, operates one of the most important virtual universities of the world, the conflict between what is real and virtual should provide for some heated budgeting discussions. 

I can imagine the discussions. On the one side, the traditionalists take their stand, the ones who advocate more and better classrooms. They must still constitute by far the larger part of the faculty. On the other side, the virtual crowd must be growing, they who most probably argue for faster and more potent servers and for more publicity to assure ITESM’s place in the list of the surviving and thriving virtual universities. And, in this sense they are right, since in the coming years—or even months—it could be decided who will be the leading virtual university for decades to come. 

To this date, the traditionalists would have surely based their demands on the grounds that a university with a strong physical presence is the only one capable of producing the expected results. Most of us would have had to agree with them. Nonetheless, the corridors are starting to fill with rumors that analyses of early generations of virtual students have demonstrated a surprising and very real academic superiority over traditional students. I have no real proof of this, but the rumor could end up being true, since obtaining a degree through a virtual approach must surely require some very special motivation. 

What would happen if, in the not too distant future, alumni of these virtual universities were considered to be the best? To begin with, we should remember that it is the professional quality of the graduate which really matters to the labor market and not the fact that he or she enjoyed the university years. Thus, if the business sector starts demanding graduates of virtual programs, well, students might need to go the virtual route, even if it means doing it hiding in the old classrooms. 

Traditional faculties need not panic. Studying the “virtual way” requires plenty of individual assistance to students by faculty members. Thus such professors will not only be necessary, but also they could even have the opportunity to teach from the beach! Considering that a certain amount of interaction among students seems important, many traditional classrooms could still be used when converted into hotel rooms to house the virtual students for weeks at a time and provide them with some real physical contact. 

Published in El Universal, Caracas, December 2004

Virtual or real

I had the occasion to visit the impressive university campus of the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. It is just one of the thirty that this private university has, in which more than 100,000 people study. Since the TM also operates one of the most important virtual universities in the world, the conflict between the real and the virtual must be present when budgeting.

I can imagine the discussions. On the one hand, the traditionalists, those who advocate for more classrooms, who surely still constitute the majority of the teaching staff. On the other side, the virtual ones, who are probably fighting for faster servers and bigger advertising allowances with which to ensure they can stay on the list of surviving virtual universities. In the latter they are right, since it will be in the coming years... or months, that the virtual leaders of the coming decades will be defined.

To date, traditionalists have surely based their claims on the assumption that a university with a physical presence is the only university capable of producing the expected results... and most of us would tend to agree. But, the rumors are already beginning to be heard in the corridors that the analyzes of the first batches of virtual students are surprisingly showing a very real academic superiority. I am not aware of the above, but since to obtain an academic degree by studying online, surely it must require a lot of motivation, suddenly it ends up being true.

What would happen if in a few years virtual graduates are considered the best? To begin with, we must remember that what matters to the labor market is the professional quality of the graduate and not at all the fact that he has had a good time during his university years. Therefore, if companies begin to request virtual graduates, then everyone should study virtual... even from the classroom.

And the teachers should perhaps not panic. The virtual study requires individual assistance, so not only will they continue to be necessary, but they may even be able to teach their classes from the beach. Considering that some physical contact between students seems important, it will also be possible to use the many current classrooms, turning them into hotel rooms that can receive virtual students for a few weeks of physical contact.

Translated from El Universal

PS. December 2020 I tweeted "And the Nobel Prize for the best Virtual Online Teacher in the world, in the category of children under 10, goes this year to…"