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It is possible to make education cheaper and more efficient – this is a promise offered by technology. It is imperative however to be very careful on what you wish for. The major issue we face today is the phenomenally rising college fees in spite of technological advances. So, where is the end to all this? Where exactly will families put their foot down and say – no more!

Critics and experts feel that this will happen sometime very soon. The situation today is such that skills and knowledge acquired by students is being decoupled by university credentialing. There is a steep fall in the cost of learning materials predominantly due to resources such as iTunes U and MIT.

Sites such as eduFire and Udemy offer online classes at a fraction of a cost or even for free teaching similar material as the universities. There are sites like Veri launched at TechStars NYC Demo Day that spread and organize accumulated knowledge. A disruptive role is being played by start-ups with regard to textbooks and other learning materials.

Though many refer to this as disruption, it is interesting to note that it is in the relative sense. All discussions and talks related to technology is only about one segment of education namely skills training.

Looking at it closely, we find that there is a vast difference between the actual college experience that is independent of technology and the training provided by higher education which can actually be separated entirely from institutions.

As we look back at American history, there was never a time when job training had something to do with college. All essential training required by people was given to them through apprenticeships, primary school and on-job training without having to attend college at all.

Maybe, technology has the power to take us back to that stage. It is in fact excellent if this could get cheaper for students. It is however wishful thinking to pretend that this will offer enhanced higher education access or universities as we know them will be eliminated.

Post secondary education, especially in disciplines such as philosophy majors are not very practical. They may lead to a job eventually but are not really direct routes. The rich and affluent simply love the physical, real colleges and do everything in their capacity to ensure that they thrive and prosper.

In other words, while technology can provide access to college lectures online, they cannot really provide students with the college experience. Technology therefore is incidental more than disruptive.

There is no doubt that more technology will result in increased job training efficiency. However it is highly disruptive in the sense that it will separate job training from college. Though this may not be a big deal, it will lead to a situation where colleges will be accessed only by the elite American minority.

More students in America will have access to education through technology but people will be kept away from prestigious credentials. It will be more difficult to gain access to inefficient credentials.