Higher Education

From Gothpoodle

At some point, the child has mastered all the basic skills and is ready to operate in the wider world. Sometime between the ages of 15 and 19, he will begin his higher education. Aside from radical Isolates and other fringers, the vast majority of people in the Fifth Wave societies participate in university-level education for at least a few years.

The Fifth Wave University

In 2100, colleges and universities exist more in virtual than in real space. Many courses with a heavy emphasis on lecture and research can be taken entirely via telepresence. Even laboratory research can be done through telepresence when necessary. Meanwhile, most universities have made “co-op” arrangements with corporate or government institutions to help students gain practical experience. All of this means that even the largest universities have become “remote learning centers,” with the bulk of their student populations attending over the web.

In general, the usual progression of a century ago (live at home through secondary education, move onto a university campus, then make an independent home after graduation) no longer holds. Most students in Fifth Wave societies live in their parents’ home until completing their formal education, usually between the ages of 22 and 26. Meanwhile, most universities also have a substantial continuing education program, tailored to the needs of adults who wish to acquire or reinforce new skills.

The trend toward learning with telepresence has given students a great deal of control over their educations. Higher education is much more diverse than it was a century ago. Students can easily study abroad, attend schools sponsored by specific corporations or social institutions, or experiment with different instructional styles. Many students take a mix-and-match approach, signing up for individual courses from different educational institutions. To accommodate this market, universities have broken down their old curricula into smaller modules. A student might take a basic liberal arts module from one school, study master’s-level mathematics at another, and then sign on with a corporate academy to earn certification as an electronic engineer.

Traditional Universities

Some universities resist telepresence. In these cases, students are encouraged or even required to live on campus. In some cases this is to encourage the development of social skills; these schools behave much like youth hostels with a strong educational component. Other universities have a distinctive religious or ideological background, and wish to keep their students partially isolated from mainstream society to help encourage acquisition of the proper memes. Finally, some universities still teach skills that require extensive physical training (athletics, dance, the martial arts). While even these skills can be taught using some VR methods, there is no substitute for physical practice under the eye of a skilled instructor.