News of college admissions scandals - at several highly-respected institutions - made headlines last week. Public outcry of the news reveals a troubling reality: despite a $1.5 trillion (and growing) student debt crisis, the perceived value of traditional higher education remains sky high.

Reputable universities have a lot to offer its students. On-campus students build networks, learn directly from knowledgeable faculty, use state-of-the-art facilities, and so much more. But traditional universities and colleges don’t appear to be scaling very well. Why? Because the number of college-bound students is increasing while government funding to higher education is decreasing. Tuition is soaring, but the quality of education is not. Furthermore, the pace of technological change is increasing, and I don’t believe that most universities are keeping up.

The value of a college degree has been unquestioned for several generations. That is - in part - why the problem continues to grow today. To clarify, I still see tremendous value in attending a highly-ranked university. But only an increasingly smaller fraction of people will get such an opportunity as the population continues to grow. A college degree shouldn’t continue to be accepted as a good investment at face value. There is an urgent need to create new opportunities for higher education.

I believe the solution is around the corner. Online programs have the potential to be affordable, scalable, and reputable. I have been exploring massive open online courses (MOOCs) since 2013, and am astonished to see how far along they’ve come. The online education sector is still in its budding days; the ceiling is nowhere in sight, and I’m eager to watch it grow.