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democratic university

Tue, 2006-11-07 09:03 — aaron
Teaser: 

how about a democratic university? run by students and staff, ala sudbury schools? all decisions get made by majority vote, one person, one vote. a weekly school meeting where anyone can make a motion. the emphasis on learning, real learning, and community building as a beneficial side effect. no tenure -- professors are elected each year, and students may lead classes when desired (see school for designing a society). and students can take classes or not as they desire, and graduation is determined by vote after convincing the school community of one's merit in graduating. read more, dear friend.

Body: 

accreditation is the biggest stumbling block i can think of right now. it's an expensive process, that requires the approval of an outside agency, which may be slow to accept the model and grant it. and without accreditation, it may be difficult for many people to want to help foot the costs.

on the other hand, the opportunities for innovation in this model are huge, and there may be enough people who understand that learning is its own reward, regardless of whether there's a degree attached. also, there are many, many things that could be done to diminish expenses (little administrative overhead, maybe having things happen mainly remotely, with intensive retreats ala goddard).

so yes, i have something up my sleeve. stay tuned...

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