One of the things that I found most frustrating at the beginning of my career as a graduate student was that there were many interesting classes being offered at other institutions (or even through different programs within my institution) that I could not easily take if I wanted them to 1. Show up on my transcript and 2. Count toward graduation.
There are clearly important academic reasons for this: First, institutions have different entrance requirements and they may want to ensure that all students in a particular class meet that standard; second, classes are typically approved by faculty senate or other governing body to ensure that the syllabus meets acceptable standards within the institution — accepting an other institution’s classes means that the quality of the class must be taken on some level of faith; third, even if a student were able to easily take a graduate level course at another institution, there would have to be some grade reconciliation between the two schools. There are also substantial financial disincentives to simplified articulation systems between institutions — and by preventing students from seeking extramural course work, universities are able to monopolistically control tuition fees.
At one end of the spectrum, loose articulation standards create one of the avenues for diploma mills to function. However, at the other, the lack of efficient, flexible, yet academically rigorous articulation systems is one of the drags on innovation within the modern university system.
While I do not fully agree with the sentiment offered by David Wiley that “Universities will be irelevant by 2020″, the ability to rapidly integrate course work from multiple IHEs into a customized learning experience — that also meets home institution academic standards — seems like an achievable and necessary step.