Earlier this week, Zephyr Teachout argued that just like newspapers, universities will be dismembered by the Web. Reader responses ranged—some agreed while others remained quite skeptical. Here are a few choice highlights:

“I'm a freelancer, and 90% of the jobs I work are connected somehow to people I met in college,” says juicifer451. “If you take courses online, you never get to meet other students. And what about reccomendations/references? ‘Why yes, WhatsamataU9558 was a great student—I don't know anything about his work habits or interpersonal skills, but his papers were good, and I'm pretty sure he wrote them himself!’ Well, at least I won't have any competition for work,” (s)he concludes.

ssorden agreed that the online university is the way of the future but is already predicting what comes after that. “My bet is the minute that this type of education starts to become a reality, that the "new" form of education will market itself as live, real, and face-to-face, ‘the way humans were meant to learn.’ I can see the ads now,” s(he) writes.

TuxedoMonkey remains unconvinced. “Chemistry degrees to people who have never synthesized a compound? Veterinary degrees to people who haven't spent time with animals? That is a deeply disturbing concept, both in practice and principle,” (s)he says.

Finally, nil293 brings up another worrying implication of the whole transition away from brick-and-mortar higher ed: “I'm surprised that the author didn't address how college is about much more than just the classroom experience.  For most kids, college is when you get away from your parents and hometown, meet new people, and see new places and learn how to care for yourself; in short a big step towards becoming an independent adult.”

Got any additional thoughts on digital diplomas? Share them with us by sending an e-mail to thesausage.tbm@gmail.com.