U.S. colleges face a "perfect storm" of problems as tuition costs soar, opportunities for graduates sag, and employers complain they cannot find enough workers with key technical skills.  One solution may be found in the growing number and quality of online classes. The digital revolution might transform universities the way the Internet has already changed music, publishing, journalism, retail, and other businesses.
美國大學面臨一項完美風暴，學費驟漲、畢業生出路消退、企業抱怨找不到具備關鍵技能的員工。或許日漸增長和增進的網路課程是一項解決方案。繼網路改變音樂藝術、出版社、新聞業、零售商和其他交易後，數位革命將在大學刮起新浪潮。

   "This is pretty amazing," said the University of Virginia's David Evans, teaching an online introduction to Computer Science.

   Online classes are now taught by many top universities and offer everything from computer programing to the science of cooking.  Many classes are either free or inexpensive, and are updated more quickly than regular college curricula.

  That's important to the millions of students who learn technical and other skills from Lynda.com.  Co-founder Lynda Weinman said, “We can come to market very quickly and we can teach transient skills, so a lot of software is changing constantly and new software is being invented, and those sorts of things cannot easily make their way into college curriculum.”

   Instead of the professor lecturing to students, who then do research, study, and homework alone, many online classes flip that around, according to student and blogger John Haber, who said he is taking enough online classes to earn a four-year college degree in just one year.
相較於教授講學後只能獨自苦讀的學生，網課的學生及宣稱接受一年網課就得到大學四年學歷的部落客 Haber，認為網路課程翻轉了傳統模式。

   “They are watching the lectures at home as homework, recorded lectures, and when they get to class, they are having more active discussions, or interactions with the teachers or working on projects," he explained.
「學生可以先在家自行聽課備份、作線上習題，到校上課時，學生互相討論時間變多，老師指導學生課業的機會也多。」

   Experts say the new technology will have a “major impact” on colleges.  And some predict future classes may be a blend of online lectures and professors helping students work through difficult problems in person.
專家說明這項新技術將會對大學造成主要衝擊，有些人更預測未來教室是線上課程和教授與學生一對一個人指導的混合體。

   These would be welcome changes according to Georgetown University labor economist Tony Carnevale, who said school has to be less expensive and more focused on skills needed by employers.

“It's really quite clear that more and more people need post-secondary education and training and a lot of them are not getting it.  And in cases where they do get it, it doesn't lead to gainful employment.  Or it leads to jobs where they don’t fully use their talents, and we don’t have enough money to buy our way out of this  so the efficiency of post-secondary institutions is crucial now," he said.
越來越多人需要“post-secondary”教育(泛指普通大學或技職學校)，但是大部分人無法達到目標。假使他們真的完成學業，也不一定會得到高薪的職位，甚至捧著個與學習背景毫不相關的飯碗，社會沒有足夠的資本去遮掩這個錯誤，必須從教學制度的效能著手。

College marketing expert Chris Cullen, of the Infinia company, said competition from online alternatives, and concern about costs, will change universities.

"The consumer demands that you tell me why, give me a reason, to believe that my money, my tuition money is best spent at your institution," he said. "What is the return on my investment?  What is your value proposition?"

Cullen said top schools with strong reputations may expand in an online world, but less selective, less prestigious universities may struggle to attract students - and their tuition payments.