[Hyena]

They don't need to generate a profit and it would be preferable if there was no profitable business model for it. Donations to both MIT and Harvard are considered charitable; making more of their classes freely available online would justify that.

[jknupp]

To say it would be preferable if there were no profitable business model is short-sighted. It would mean that the only entities capable of undertaking something like this would be existing universities (and the wave of private companies offering a wide curriculum of online courses would end). Those universities that attempted something similar would at best be able to merely recoup costs. In short, the higher education revolution would amount to existing universities putting classes online. Why in the world is that preferable?

[waterlesscloud]

New charitable organizations would also be able to enter the market.