A very interesting article in The Atlantic Cities considers whether advancing technology will make the traditional college campus obsolete. Online learning allows students access to classes from the very best universities regardless of where they are located. We can't know what the ultimate impact of this will be on the physical form of campus, or whether it will lead the total disappearance of the residential campus as we know it. But surely it will have an impact.

The traditional residential campus is in part a product of the limited transportation technology at the time this education model came to be. Before cars and trains, it was practical for students to live at their school. Most schools now have a substantial commuter student population and many are schools have no on-campus housing.

I think that we are in the very early stage of the development of online learning. We don't yet know what works and what doesn't. However, I happen to believe that the in-person experience matters. It seems to me that in-person meetings are always more productive than conference calls, for example.

Thomas Jefferson designed the University of Virginia to foster student-professor relationships because he felt that his bond with his teachers was central to his education. If that relationship matters, I worry that it is harder to develop online than in person.

I am eager to see how the technology develops and the creative ways people use it. But I suspect that the value of the residential college campus will be appreciated despite advances in technology.