Newspapers were struck a death blow by Craigslist - We all know that story. But what was it like when Craisglist just got started and we did not know that was going to happen? What will it be like when a new "Craigslist" enters a new sector with all the potential to disrupt?

Well today I read 4 articles that lead me to believe that Universities - as we know them - are DEAD! The Death Star has arrived and in the end - there can be no defence.

Article 1 - The NYT - 25% of kids are unemployed - this includes most graduates who also have large student loans. If they get jobs it is in the McJob world. It will take years for this to change - see my post below - meanwhile the debt has to be paid and the summer jobs are not there. But if you don't have a degree - there is no employment that will pay enough to raise a middle class family - so there is a paradox

Article 2 - Why University costs are so high and so impossible to cut - basically the President has no power over the faculty - like the print union at the paper - the faculty have a lock on how work is done and how they are paid and will not give this up.

Article 3 (Via John Robb) A story on a new way of getting a degree on your own at your own pace for $99 a course at Straightline. A real degree using all the same material with better access to teaching - all at your onw pace and time - all at home.

Article 4 the link (John Robb) to Straighterline - a very neat idea

Here why I say DEATH. If universities cannot change their costs. If unemployment for the young lasts a decade and the only way of paying is debt - then the "smart" kids and parents will find "smart" alternatives. Straighterline is maybe the Craigslist challenge.

It's all about the economics - isn't it?

What do you think? More after the Jump from the article by Kevin Carey