Banks are institutions, true. But it’s more accurate to say they ARE the system rather than a part of it. Our system is built on banks, it’s kind of the definition of capitalism.

Universities just aren’t in the same league. There aren’t any developed countries without banks. But Switzerland, for example, does pretty well with a relatively small number of people going to university.

It’s ridiculous to expect Higher Education to become obsolete. But I’d question whether we need universities in their current form. Like banks, they weren’t formed in an industrial era mindset either, but got industrialsed – some of them kicking and screaming – into their current incoherent form. They ARE too bloated – who needs ‘graduates’ in golf, arts management or [insert name of weak course in sensationalis manner]?

Universities doing what most of us imagine them to do (repositories of learning, basic research, supportive nurseries of ideas) will never be obsolete. But universities doing what many/most of them actually do – we could lose that in a heartbeat. There would be ripples but they would provide as many opportunities as negatively unintended consequences.

They provide four basic services: academic community, teaching, research and accreditation. Only two of those need to be done in a university setting. The teaching could be done anywhere – and better, in the UK at least. UK lecturers (and I suspect in much of the world) may be Subject Matter Experts but their teaching is abysmal. And accreditation? I question the very principle of an institution providing teaching AND accreditation.

Not obsolete, no. But ripe for some Schumpeterian disruptive innovation, yes.