At issue is the basic job description of a professor. Individual professors' lectures could be replaced by multimedia Web sites that could include video clips of famous scholars in the field. With so many of their responsibilities removed, professors could spend more time leading discussions that take place in classrooms and in on-line chat areas. Even if institutions had to pay providers for courses or Web-site access, such a realignment might save money by allowing fewer salaried faculty members to serve the same number of students. What's unclear is how widespread such changes will become, and how many faculty members they will affect.
Faculty members spend much of their time conveying information.
New technology offers tantalizing prospects at a time when universities are under tremendous pressure to cut costs. Some college administrators, especially those at two-year colleges, fear that unless colleges change their ways, they may lose students to commercial institutions that use video tapes and other technology to offer courses at greatly reduced rates. But some observers say the idea that CD-ROMs and Web sites are as effective as faculty members is flawed and dangerous. Doing away with human contact would be disastrous. And bowing to market pressures could corrupt higher education, some say.