365 Social media, networks and life Death of the university? Knowledge Production and Distribution in the Disintermediation Era. Hugo Pardo Kuklinski 1 , Cristóbal Cobo 2 , Carlos A. Scolari 3 1 Interactive Media Lab (LMI-UB) Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. 2 Oxford Internet Institute, UK. 3 Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. 1. Introduction. Opening Education. More an academic necessity than an intellectual game. “If students could take courses from anywhere, a marketplace of instruction would emerge that should lead the best to rise: the aggregated university.” (Jarvis, 2009: 215) In the 21st Century, an increasing number of citizens have access to Higher Education 157 . However, the imbalance between free contents on Internet and expensive enrolment fees, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon universities, could cause long term problems for the Higher Education system. If the on-line experience is reasonably similar in activities and quality to the teaching provided in the classroom; why not think in a disintermediation of Higher Edu- cation, just as happened in other business models like in the culture industry. What would happen if citizens and governments rejected university degrees that certify these institutions as a unique source of learning and professional legitimation? As it is well known, there is an active debate in the European Union about recognition and validation of informal learning (Council of the European Union, 2009) 158 . The aim of this debate is to design new accreditation methods beyond the constraints imposed by formal education institutions. In this context the analysis and reflection on disintermediation prac- tices in Higher Education is more an academic necessity than an intellectual game. All the communication and cultural industries have already passed through this debate: Why should Higher Education avoid the discussion on disintermediation? This article will explore questions such as: To what extent is this phenomenon reshaping the traditional role of the university? Will it cause a crisis in the educational institutions? 157 Formal education was, at the beginning of the 20 Century, a privilege of the upper class families. In 1910, Secondary students rate in USA was less to 30%, even in the richest states. 30 years later, secondary schooling was between 70% and 90% (Carr, 2008). Higher education rate was even lower, but in the last 30 years it has change from an elite to the massive university. 158 The European Commission, particularly in the division ‘Education and Training’ an active debate has been developed since the design of the Lisbon Agenda (2000) that now has evolved towards the importance to validate non-formal and informal learning within the formal education. Initiatives such as: European Qualifications Frame- work (EQF) or the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) are just a few examples of this concern. More information here: http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc52_en.htm