Udacity, with eye to eventual IPO, says revenue more than doubled in 2017

https://m.investing.com/news/technology-news/udacity-with-eye-to-eventual-ipo-says-revenue-more-than-doubled-in-2017-1314743?ampMode=1

 

There is a future in online education. There may be a lesson here for those struggling black institutions. If you offer a great product, the world may come knocking. Good for Udacity! Vision is everything.

 

Aren't we supposed to hate for-profit education companies?

 

The hate is at your pleasure.

 

There is nothing inherently bad about for-profit education companies. I think what many of us came to hate were their methods. An underlying principle was for-profits can deliver a higher quality education, better and cheaper than the government. I firmly believe if that principle is broken then governments shouldn’t be funding an inferior and more expensive product. The government is already in/capable of doing it.

 

a key distinction between a company like Udacity and an accredited college (for-profit or not) is that Udacity is a peer-to-peer marketplace. If I have a special knack for making bread, I can turn that into a course on Udemy and teach it there. Everybody gets a little piece of the revenue. Back during Black Friday, they had essentially all of their courses available for $10. TONS of the parents on my FB group took advantage, I did too. Not *everything* has to generate college credit or a credential - so I'm willing to spend ten bucks from time to time. Think about Sal Khan, he was a youtuber - seriously, who remembers his early videos? I certainly do, and he has made a terrific impact on the world of education. Now, as much as I hate to say it, if I'm paying big bucks to a college, I'm less concerned about learning and love and unicorns and puppies- what I'm *paying for* is a valid credential that I can use in some way. If I'm paying a little bit of pocket change to follow my bliss, I'm not nearly as discerning - if I like it, great, I'll sign up for a second class, if I don't no biggie. I don't think anyone is really that mad about paying ten bucks to learn photography. Paying $100,000 to a school that thinks it's doing ME a favor is altogether different.

EDIT to add...gosh I've gotten a little jaded over the years.