IVORY TOWER explores the future of higher education and why education has become so expensive.

IVORY TOWER documents the massive rise in tuition prices and the declining quality of University education in the last 30 years as student loan debt has skyrocketed past $1 trillion (more than credit card debt).

The documentary asks: Is University still worth the cost? From the halls of Harvard, to public colleges in financial crisis, to Silicon Valley, filmmaker Andrew Rossi assembles an urgent portrait of a great American institution at the breaking point.

Through profiles at Arizona State, Cooper Union, and San Jose State —among several others—IVORY TOWER reveals how colleges in the United States, long regarded as leaders in higher education, came to embrace a business model that often promotes expansion over quality learning. But along the way we also find unique programs, from Stanford to the free desert school Deep Springs, the UnCollege movement, to the historically black all women’s college Spelman, where the potential for life-changing college experiences endure. Ultimately, IVORY TOWER asks: What price will society pay if higher education cannot revolutionize University as we know it and evolve a sustainable economic model?

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Let’s start a debate.

We want to spark a debate about the crisis in higher education in Canada — in British Columbia in particular — where the average student loan debt load has skyrocketed to $35,000 (which is higher than the average in most US states). Vancouver also has the distinction of the most underemployed graduates in Canada and the lowest starting salaries in North America.

This is a 19+ event. After the documentary, we will have a discussion at a nearby lounge on Commercial Drive for people interested in discussing the film.

Showing one night only! Sunday, September 14th at 7 PM at the Rio Theatre.

The $20 tickets come with The HyperLearning Toolkit (more information at this link).