Are Universities Losing their Control as Pillars of Learning?

They've long been considered the hallowed portals of education; they're sought after by those seeking not just an education, but one that comes with prestige and status as well; and they set high standards, for admission and in terms of coursework. However, are universities still the powerhouses of learning they were all these years? Do they still exercise control in the world of academia and are they still considered the best when it comes to learning?
These questions arise because of the popularity and widespread prevalence of online education and e-learning initiatives. The Internet has revolutionized the way we do so many things, and most significantly, it has changed the face of education as we knew it. Today, learning and knowledge come to you instead of forcing you to go in search of it. So if it's a degree you're aspiring for, you don't have to look further than the Internet. A few searches and some diligent research can find you the best education from the comfort of your home.
You don't have to sweat it out to gain admission to a fancy college; you don't have to run from pillar to post looking for a place in a college that enjoys a good reputation; and you don't have to spend oodles of money in the pursuit of an education. Online education is as good as its traditional counterpart, if you know how to choose the right school and the right degree and have the right temperament.
However, in spite of all the advantages that online education offers, there's one major drawback that prevents it from being the first choice of most students - its acceptability with employers and the professional world. It's a prejudice that arose from the days when diploma mills ruled the roost and "sold" degrees or provided fraudulent ones; and since then, online education has been perceived as a low-quality alternative to conventional education.
However, the status of online education today is a far cry from what it was a few years ago; more and more institutions are going down this road, even ones steeped in tradition like MIT and Harvard. Open Courseware is the latest rage that's driving the popularity of e-learning through the roof. It's almost like universities have woken up to the fact that online education is the teaching methodology of the future, and are rushing to jump onto this speeding bandwagon - this list of free online courses provided by the top universities in the country proves this point.
Bill Gates was referring to this trend when he said that five years from now, the best education will be available for free on the web, and that its combined power will be greater than that of any single university. However, he also stressed that there must be a system in place to award equal credit for knowledge, whether you gained it through an MIT degree or from a bunch of online courses.
It's this acceptability and perception of what's best and what's not that will determine if universities continue to remain the pillars of learning they are today or if they will fall by the wayside and give way to online learning.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Mark Davies, he writes on the topic of Online Masters Degree . He welcomes your comments at his email id: markdavies247<@>gmail<.>com.