New report urges greater PSE access in California

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:35:00 +0000

A new report from the California-based 20 Million Minds Foundation (2MMF) argues for “The Right to Educational Access” in a state where hundreds of thousands of residents have been turned away from public PSE institutions. 2MMF believes a tech disruption will improve access to higher education, particularly for high-demand first- and second-year courses. The California state senate is still considering a proposal to force public colleges and universities to accept MOOC transfer credits, but the report authors warn that MOOCs should serve merely as “a safety valve” when all else fails, and urge public institutions to do a better job at their own online offerings, inverted classrooms, and transferability of online credit. California faculty are concerned that the “Steinberg bill” would surrender too much power to the private sector, and urge increased funding for public institutions instead. Governor Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal, released this week, includes $37 million for new higher ed technology.

Inside Higher Ed | 2MMF Report (From Academica May 17, 2013)

Note: As we have said in books and presentations these references to “Education Rights” are not helpful unless you are talking about legal rights that can be enforced in court. Given the nature of the knowledge economy, diversity of the knowledge base and the incredibly diverse nature of workplace and business demands it is not possible to have a legal right to free or even subsidized education in every area of knowledge. Students should be able to pursue their chosen path wit studies of choice and not what others restrict them to. At least then they have their “shot”. The closest thing we have to a right to education is the right of a student consumer to freely enter contract transactions with persons that can help them enhance their state of knowledge. Product innovation is the key to reducing cost and not government money that is and will remain scarce.

Georgia Tech to offer MOOC-like graduate degree

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:34:00 +0000

The Georgia Institute of Technology, AT&T, and Udacity have partnered to offer a Master’s in Computer Science degree through a massive open online course (MOOC)-like online learning program. The parties anticipate that the cost to complete the degree will be a mere 1/6 of the cost of the full on-campus master’s program. It is expected that students will take 3 years to finish the program, paying total tuition of about $7,000. AT&T has donated $2 million to the program to ensure financial stability in the first year, indicating their willingness to take online degrees seriously. While critics have described the new degree program as offering a “watered-down” degree, Georgia Tech officials say this is not the case, and that the program is designed to be just as challenging as in-class instruction. Different enrolment tracks will be offered, including students seeking degrees and those who will be able to take the classes for free or to receive certification for that class for a small fee. (From Academica May 16, 2013)

Chronicle of Higher Education

Inside Higher Education

Student visa scrutiny causes fear

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:39:57 +0000

Further scrutiny of student visas worries US educators Since the Boston Marathon bombings, the US government has ordered increased scrutiny of foreign students. Educators wonder if subjecting every international student to additional border screening is an overreaction. They worry the student-visa system could be scapegoated. Educators worry about how the stepped-up screening of foreign students may be perceived abroad. Institutions are reporting that students arriving in the US are experiencing delays at border checkpoints since the implementation of new procedures. Problems have been particularly acute at universities near US borders, with commuter students from Canada and Mexico. At Buffalo-based D’Youville College, students commuting from Canada have been consistently required to undergo secondary inspection, and have faced delays generally ranging from 20 minutes to an hour on weekdays, while Detroit-based Wayne State University has advised border commuters to add 1.5 hours to their trip. An official at Washington’s American University worries more that safety concerns related to the bombings could discourage students from studying in the US. She says the visa scrutiny could hamper overseas enrolment, which US colleges have stepped up in recent years. ”We say we want you, and then we make it difficult for you to come here.”

Chronicle of Higher Education| Inside Higher Ed | From Academica Group May 10, 2013

Carleton launches microgiving platform

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:27:30 +0000

From Academica May 10, 2013

Carleton University’s new Future Funder microgiving platform takes a page out of the books of crowdfunding success stories like Indiegogo and Kickstarter. The Future Funder platform allows people to browse through and pledge their support for one of many innovative student or faculty projects at the university. The crowdfunding model has yet to be employed extensively by Canada’s education sector, but Carleton hopes that Future Funder can revolutionize the way people support PSE. The platform also maximizes the potential of social media: each project can easily be shared with like-minded donors within personal and professional networks via Facebook and Twitter, building a larger group of supporters and expanding beyond the Carleton community.

Carleton News Release

As institutions struggle, Royal Roads increases staff and programs

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:08:19 +0000

As many PSE institutions struggle with deficits, Royal Roads University plans to add programs and hire 30 more staff. Governors approved a budget that foresees a 12% increase in full-time domestic enrolment in 2013-14, a 7% increase in faculty and staff, and a $1.7-million investment in new programs. The plan follows three years of sustained growth during which the number of full-time domestic students increased by 22% to 2,500. Targeted primarily at mid-career professionals, Royal Roads receives less government funding than other institutions, but can charge higher tuition. It delivers most courses through blended learning. Students, most of whom are in graduate studies, spend a couple of weeks on campus before returning to jobs and completing course work online. It is an efficient way of generating education and minimizing the costs of delivery,” says Royal Roads’ president Allan Cahoon. (From Academica May 7, 2013)

Victoria Times Colonist

uAlberta arts grad students sustain 20% budget cut

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:03:24 +0000

The University of Alberta’s Faculty of Arts has slashed its graduate student budget by 20%, meaning undergraduate students will have fewer teaching assistants and research assistants in their classes, according to one uAlberta political science professor. The cuts will have consequences in terms of what happens in classrooms, he said. In addition to marking and other duties, TAs allow him to break up a large class into smaller groups, which is incredibly beneficial for students. PSE institutions across the province are dropping programs and staff as they attempt to manage cuts to funding announced in the March budget. The university also announced earlier last week that applications and admissions to a small French business administration program have been suspended (Academica News Feed May 6).

Metro Edmonton

PhD students turning to “alt-ac” careers

admin — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:06:52 +0000

Many humanities PhDs have put their training to work in careers that aren’t on the faculty track. A University of Virginia study recently explored how these graduates came to pursue alternative academic, or “alt-ac,” careers. Of the 779 grads surveyed, 74% said at the beginning of their programs that they intended to become tenured professors. Of those, 80% of them said they were fairly or completely certain. None of those surveyed became tenured professors. A 2011 report by the National Science Foundation found that 43% of humanities PhD recipients did not have any job commitments after completing their academic programs. Humanities departments should temper their students’ expectations about finding a career in academe before even admitting them and continue to highlight alt-ac opportunities. In addition, the report suggests, in order to eliminate the stigma that an alt-ac career amounts to “selling out,” departments need to expand how they track job placements and invite successful grads back as mentors. (Academica May 3, 2013)

Inside Higher Ed

Outdated restrictions limit apprenticeships

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:14:32 +0000

Outdated provincial rules needlessly limit the number of apprenticeships available to trades workers. A C. D. Howe report argues that reforming those regulations is crucial to meeting demand for skilled workers. Many employers report shortages of skilled workers. Federal and provincial governments target grant and tax credit programs to encourage workers to become apprentices, but many provincial regulations limit how many apprentices firms may hire. This red tape restricts program efforts and limits apprenticeship opportunities. Governments set regulations on journeyperson-apprentice ratios and on whether workers must complete a certified apprenticeship to work in an occupation. The rules are meant to protect workers and the public by encouraging training. Report authors say entry restrictions are not the best means to regulate work quality and safety. They say governments should focus on regulating quality of work and safety standards. (From Academica May 2, 103)

Note: It could be argued that these rules also target protecting current tradesmen and not the public. We generally argue that governments should not control markets. They generally over shoot or under shoot and cause surpluses or deficits. If a person has a passion for a type of work they should prevail and not have doors slammed in their face. If public finances are the issue then private educators should be able to meet that demand.

C.D. Howe News Release

Pan-European MOOC Opens

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:57:07 +0000

Partners from 11 European countries, including the UK’s Open University, have signed up to OpenupEd, which currently provides access to about 40 free courses in 12 different languages. Supported by the European Commission, the site contains a database of courses ranging from mathematics to fiction writing, with each partner institution offering its courses via its own website. The OpenupEd site has university partners in France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, UK, Russia, Turkey and Israel. Courses are available in all of the countries’ native languages, as well as Arabic, and range from 20 to 200 hours of study. All courses may lead to recognition such as a certificate of completion or a credit certificate that may count towards a degree. (Academica May 1, 2013)

Times Higher Education

US high schools, colleges at odds on students’ preparedness

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:25:42 +0000

A new survey from American College Testing (ACT) demonstrates the continued gap between those who teach in secondary school and those who teach in PSE when it comes to their perceptions of the college preparation of today’s students. Close to 90% of responding high school teachers told ACT their students are either “well” or “very well” prepared for PSE-level work in their subject area after leaving their courses. But just 26% of college instructors surveyed reported that their incoming students are either “well” or “very well” prepared for first-year credit-bearing courses in their subject area. The percentages are virtually unchanged from a similar survey conducted in 2009. (Academica April 30, 2013)

ACT News Release | Inside Higher Ed