Disruption of Traditional Universities

Why do many people dream of going to Oxford, Cambridge, MIT, or Harvard? Is it because they feel that these establishments provide them with the best education, or is it something else?

There is a dimension of prestige offered by these establishments in addition to the core offering of "a good education." It is this dimension, prestige, that is important for many of these universities' would-be customers.

The Open University in the UK and the University of Phoenix in the US cannot compete along this prestige dimension, but what they do offer is the dimension of accessibility and convenience. As they start to become established and release their very capable graduates into industry; their prestige dimension also starts to improve. When this happens, these universities will pose a real threat to traditional universities.

It may take years for this to happen, but it is an example of disruption in action.