Facilitation, Not Barriers Colleges and universities currently emphasize prerequisites and conditions, screening and control. A key presupposition of both works is the importance of thinking in terms of learner needs, not teaching franchises. Currently, most teaching and course credits and degrees are bundled together seamlessly in accredited institutions, with credentialed faculty, controlled by various combinations of accrediting associations and government agencies. A learning franchise, on the other hand, provides access to powerful learning systems, information and knowledge bases, scholarly exchange networks, with customizable learning modules and systems open to anyone who needs them and can compensate the provider. Measurement and certification are important for many but not all learners.
Students can pay for as little or as much mentoring as they choose.
Massy and Zemsky point out that technology allows education providers to separate some key functions traditionally bundled together. Compelling lecturers, for example, may reach a broad audience beyond the campus via networks, while different faculty may be involved in helping learners design and navigate programs of study, or in mentoring and certifying. Learning and certification of mastery are currently combined structurally, through grading and degree programs. Separation of these elements would have interesting consequences. Or the certification might go to a group rather than an individual in cases where an employer needs a team capable of specialized work.