Re:Coursera S-1 IPO
by yunesj on Saturday March 06, 2021 @08:33AM
(#26367226)
> I thought we were against for-profit education?
Jeeze, not everyone on HN has the same viewpoint!
These categories of schools just have different funding mechanisms and thus different incentive structures. Compared to private nonprofits, for-profits can crowdfund creation of the school, but give up some ownership. On the other hand, public nonprofits are controlled by politicians and the general public.
> why did [many people] think that one for-profit is bad, and the other gets a free pass
I suppose for most people it was a value judgement, rather than an ideological one. The same reason why someone might dislike McDonald’s, but still like Veganburg. Bang-per-buck, many Coursera classes are a better value than those at other schools, whether they are for-profit, private nonprofit, or public.
Jeeze, not everyone on HN has the same viewpoint!
These categories of schools just have different funding mechanisms and thus different incentive structures. Compared to private nonprofits, for-profits can crowdfund creation of the school, but give up some ownership. On the other hand, public nonprofits are controlled by politicians and the general public.
> why did [many people] think that one for-profit is bad, and the other gets a free pass
I suppose for most people it was a value judgement, rather than an ideological one. The same reason why someone might dislike McDonald’s, but still like Veganburg. Bang-per-buck, many Coursera classes are a better value than those at other schools, whether they are for-profit, private nonprofit, or public.