Weird. Every single learning program I have been a part of that helped me towards my current profession was long-distance... I taught myself how to program on the Internet and turned it into a career that pays for every single aspect of my life. Why can't that work at a university? You can learn anything from anywhere, why let physical boundaries limit you. I learned about half I know from distance (books, web): opera, classical music, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, et cetera. I'm not really sure what you mean, and can't relate to your viewpoint.

Relatedly, I honestly don't understand how people fetishize educational institutions but it seems very common. Perhaps I am a bit more sensitive than others, never having been to a 4 year university, but I always thought it was all about learning. When did preserving the institutions of education become more important than actual education?

~ Immensely Prideful Autodidact