Very few colleges and universities have any idea of the cost of offering the various courses listed in the institutional catalog. And why are none considering the Amazon. The answer seems obvious. These last two words are important. Residential means that the students find their learning venue on the campus.
Instruction means labor intensive.
The lower the student-teacher ratio the better. Providing learning opportunities outside the realm of residential instruction is frequently viewed as yet another potential cross- subsidy to the cost of residential instruction. Lest you think I am imagining this, let me suggest you review the public utterances of your local college or university president on this subject. One sure way to invite new competitors is to price the cost of new learning offerings artificially high in order to subsidize high-cost residential instruction. We should apply the same yardstick to our distance offerings as we apply to our residential.