Provider Paradox, Universities in the Information Ecosystem, Term Paper

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Provider Paradox, Universities in the Information Ecosystem," author Siva Vaidhyanathan criticizes the growing trend of commercialism seen in many American universities today. Schools like Columbia University are "marketing" themselves, similar to the way private companies market their brand names. Columbia, for example, has lent its name to a consortium of institutions that offer a form of boutique learning via the Internet. For a fee of $500 per course, a learner may download a copy of copyrighted material for his or her own personal use. MIT, on the other hand, is providing web access to its courses.

For Vaidhyanathan, these practices contribute to the changing views and goals of education. By selling access to their courses and marketing their name, education itself becomes a product. The information they provide becomes a commodity. The university is now akin to a store, selling knowledge and information the way a hardware store sells hammers and nails.

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Proponents of this arrangement believe that universities stand to benefit, because of higher revenue and a greater number of students. However, Vaidhyanathan points out that this practice also takes away from the previous roles played by universities and other educational institutions. Instead of its previous role as a marketplace of ideas, schools and universities now are generators of revenue.

Furthermore, to generate market worth, the universities often have to assume the opposite function. Since market worth is related to scarcity, many universities assume the task of "regulating" the information or knowledge that they disseminate. Thus, while Columbia's www.fathom.comostensibly allows outsiders to benefit from the knowledge "owned" or controlled by the university, Columbia is now acting….....

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