Professors will effectively lose the autonomy to write their own syllabi, and again intellectual diversity will suffer. These deleterious impacts, therefore, must be traded off against the benefits of competition and geographic flexibility that radical modularity promises. In particular, these impacts lessen the argument in favor of pushing courses toward an all-virtual format, and motivate the search for appropriate hybrid forms. The university is, among other things, a factory for creating social networks. For most universities, these networks are primarily regional in nature.
Social networks are a crucial component of a region's economic and political health.
They also contribute to the health of the university, which in many cases could not function without alumni connections and contributions. Suitably designed and administered, computer networks should make it easier for universities to maintain the networks they have built, and they should also increase the institutional incentive to invest in building such networks. Universities may therefore be motivated to treat their students more humanely and integrate them more systematically into existing networks. The robust networks that result could provide the foundation for the intellectual life of a region, not to mention the basis for a market in continuing education. Too often, schools teach students how to be in school.