ABSTRACT
The iron triangle hypothesis implies that quality is determined by dividing the quantity of academic resources by the number of students; for example, that quality is determined to a substantial degree by institutional student–faculty ratio or average class size. Though many institutional presidents believed in the iron triangle, their institutions are peppered with efforts to improve quality, to improve access, and to improve affordability, as though the three were unrelated. This chapter suggests that the constellation’s elements, in concert, help sustain and scale one another’s contributions to related, cumulative gains in quality of learning, equitable access, and stakeholder affordability, that is, 3fold gains. The losses resulting from the addition of reading and writing are real and substantial. The gains and losses resulting from the introduction of reading and writing are similar to those resulting from the creation of universities on campuses, and from the introduction of the internet.
