As the world's famous academic excellence, Oxford could be losing its candidates. Laurence Brockliss, a historian, says that the university's learning method may not be able to recruit best students from various backgrounds as it does not have online courses.
The professor mentioned about Oxford and Cambridge as an 'exclusivity' and being perceived as 'not a place for ordinary'. Brockliss who studies the Oxford background and history further explained how online degrees offering would gain more numbers on the applications. Undergraduate degrees have never been offered as online courses in Oxford so far. The historian believes that if they do, it would mean an experiment for improvement.
Furthermore, referring to an article from University Herald on student living in a van due to the rise of tuition fees has also proven that many students have struggled with university learning and housing cost.
Given the fact that many universities are going online, Brockliss found that the oldest university may not be as good as it used to be when it comes to connecting with public. The author of The University of Oxford said that there has not been any social profile from Oxford that could bridge the gap as Sir Isaiah Berlin did.
According to the Isaiah Berlin Virtual Library, he was a distinctive thinker who voiced and encouraged people on ideas on radios. Based on Brockliss book, Berlin made the outside world think of Oxford as 'reachable' by the public because of his regular appearance in the media.
Reported by the OxfordMail, Brockliss made a comment on how university like Oxford may face uncomfortable future but does not think of it as a threat. However, universities should be aware that many online courses for undergraduate studies are being developed with similar quality. Residential universities may have to compete head to head with open universities in the future.
