Of course a person that is motivated to learn something is better of using Mooc or self study than just copying whatever the teacher says as notes. They try to prevent kids from self study too by putting something in those notes that they won't see via self study so they will show up to the class. The whole structure has been flawed for a long time. But they have had a solution and that is the ability to supply certificates and degrees while self study won't deliver that.

Obviously the dam is not going to hold and it will eventually break when the incomes from most of those degrees will not materialize. The clock is ticking..

Unfortunately a lot of government meddling in education and industry has continued to prop up academia as we know it, however maybe it will be different "this time" with AI

(2012), and one prior discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5318644 - March 4, 2013 (62 comments)