As we work on a larger scale, the advantages of appropriate assessment, and the dangers of inappropriate assessment, grow. Sometimes this goal may require changing the organization of academic work. This is just one of the new grand challenges posed by the Third Revolution research and experimentation challenges that are too big for only one institution to handle. Paradoxically, while this revolution makes education more accessible, it also creates new barriers to entry. Unfortunately this risk is heightened when proponents and government representatives hype virtual education mainly as a way of saving money.
Technology is no longer a niche activity.
But many universities and colleges are still organized as though technology were the preserve of a few experts and can be handled apart from the main academic concerns of the institution.