It doesn't have to be free... it just has to cost less than 20k a year to be disruptive. This has the potential to be very disruptive.
One of the things that excites me the most is not only the potential to eliminate the massive load of debt that your average graduate inherits when they're finished with college, but it also lowers the barrier of entry to classes. So a person who already has graduated can study a cross-discipline a lot easier. I think the amount of people have an expertise in very different areas is going to increase. A lot of potential opens up if/when that becomes a trend.
Believe it or not PA has one of the highest rates for in-state tuition. The per credit hour rate for my post 9/11 G.I. bill is based on the highest in-state tuition for a state school. Last time I checked the per credit hour rate for PA was about $900 while in California it was around $300. If I didn't already know better I probably would have guessed that it was the other way around.
When I went to Georgia State (started in 2002) it cost about $4k/yr (not that I paid any of that, I made about $6k a year after tuition and fees from scholarships).
Now that my little brother is going there, it costs him about $10k a year in tuition and fees.
One of the things that excites me the most is not only the potential to eliminate the massive load of debt that your average graduate inherits when they're finished with college, but it also lowers the barrier of entry to classes. So a person who already has graduated can study a cross-discipline a lot easier. I think the amount of people have an expertise in very different areas is going to increase. A lot of potential opens up if/when that becomes a trend.