In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to provide all its citizens access to a free public education. Over the next 66 years, every other state made the same guarantee. Massachusetts may again be a geographic hotspot that signals the displacement from the old to the new. Just as key sectors of the American economy have experienced huge and disruptive transformations--shifts that have resulted in radical change from one way of thinking or organizing to another--higher education is transforming. Case in point is the recent announcement by MIT and Harvard of their collaboration and creation of online courses through EdX. Courses are offered free of charge, and students will be able to earn certificates in mastery. This MIT-Harvard initiative points to something much deeper within the higher education fabric. A paradigm shift is occurring in American higher education, and many of the traditional forms of higher education may be headed for oblivion. A convergence of forces driving change in higher education is forcing people to ponder such fundamental questions as what a university is, what a course is, what a student is and what is the meaning of a college credential. These drivers of change may be re-creating people's views on these essential questions. Disruptive technologies, the eroding sustainability of the higher education business model, tuition tipping points and onerous student debt burdens are increasingly forcing people to question of the value of a college degree.