I'm not sure if this gentleman has a thesis but Harvard online education is worth not much. The whole value proposition of Harvard is that you socialise and bond with the sort of people who get in to Harvard. You probably have the phone number of whoever runs Goldman Sachs [0] and you know the President of Whereveristan's daughter because she was in your class. The little things in life.
It is possible but unlikely that Harvard has Secret Math and Unknown Physics that their undergrads are exposed to, but their literary and philosophical studies are going to have access to the same books as everyone else. Online-only Harvard has as much value as any top-10% university on the globe. There is absolutely no shortage of incredibly clever people who are willing to explain things to a student. I think we had an article the other week pointing out that hiring a private tutor is a better option if what matters is the quality of education.
[0] Although I see the new CEO doesn't come from Harvard. Last bloke did though.
It is possible but unlikely that Harvard has Secret Math and Unknown Physics that their undergrads are exposed to, but their literary and philosophical studies are going to have access to the same books as everyone else. Online-only Harvard has as much value as any top-10% university on the globe. There is absolutely no shortage of incredibly clever people who are willing to explain things to a student. I think we had an article the other week pointing out that hiring a private tutor is a better option if what matters is the quality of education.
[0] Although I see the new CEO doesn't come from Harvard. Last bloke did though.