By Henry Kronk July 11, 2018
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There’s no question that higher education is a troubled system—and that is making Americans increasingly unsure of how to pursue professional training. Many say a four-year degree is a waste of money and even urge students to drop out, but there’s no shortage of data indicating that a degree translates into higher earnings. A recent survey of young Oregon workers, for example, found a community college degree can double your pay. One startup thinks it has a solution to this unique situation. OnlineDegree.com has created a suite of free online courses that, in certain institutions, can count for an entire freshman year of university.
By Henry Kronk June 11, 2018
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No matter where a student lives, higher education is expensive. Even in countries where tuition is paid for by the government, learners must spend most of the week learning, leaving little room to make a sufficient income to pay the rent. But according to Shai Resef, CEO and founder of the University of the People, the most expensive degree is one a learner begins, but never completes.
By Henry Kronk May 23, 2018
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At SUNY Empire State College, students have long been able to participate in residency programs. These opportunities typically stand adjacent to a major or minor program. They’ll involve visits to sites of interest, events that bring together experts, professors, and learners. They often involve blended—online and in-person—study. This fall semester, however, the institution will debut a new modality altogether: a virtual residency.
By Henry Kronk May 13, 2018
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Last month, the World Bank sought to quantify one’s investment in education in broad, understandable terms. Their recent study, titled ‘Returns to Investment in Education: A Decennial Review of the Global Literature,’ looked at education in terms of ROI.
By Henry Kronk May 04, 2018
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If online courses and eLearning have any advantage over traditional education, it’s scalability. On Thursday, the government of Ontario proved that in spades by making LinkedIn’s Lynda courses available to all students at the 44 universities and colleges in the province. The initiative is a collaboration between eCampusOntario, Ontario’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) and LinkedIn. More than one million college students, staff, and faculty members will have access to the online courses.
By Henry Kronk May 04, 2018
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A study on flipped learning conducted by a team from the Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health was published last month in BioMed Central Medical Education. It made a splash for a singular reason: the researchers did not observe any positive testing results in the flipped classroom.
By Henry Kronk May 03, 2018
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Toward the end of April, college completion rates for part-time students was something of a trending topic. First, an Australian study by the Grattan Institute came out which argued that colleges should inform their students how likely they are to drop out. They found that part-time students are at the greatest risk of doing so. Taking half the normal load, for Aussie learners, leads to about a 50/50 drop out rate.
By Henry Kronk May 02, 2018
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Many educators and administrators find value in eLearning, online learning, and digital education in general—but is it a good investment? A team of researchers from the Arizona State University (ASU) Action Lab at EdPlus and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) sought to answer that question with a recent study. Their conclusions were, by and large, in the affirmative.
By Henry Kronk April 25, 2018
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Walden University has many smackings of a predatory for-profit. They take a huge amount of their total revenue from federal student loans, numerous students have expressed discontent with their program via written complaint or lawsuit. Their authorization in their home state is under review. They’ve paid millions to Bill Clinton. Some of their students have worryingly high levels of debt. They spend much more on marketing than they do on actual instruction.
By Henry Kronk April 24, 2018
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“They’re like screen doors for a submarine.” That’s how Charles Trafton, a managing partner at Flowpoint Capital, described federal student loans at a recent panel at ASU GSV Summit 2018. The panel focused on a simple question: “Can income share agreements (ISAs) Transform the cost and return-on-education?” The answer, for Trafton and panelists David Cooper (Purdue), Tonio DeSorrento (Vemo), and Martha Kanter (College Promise Campaign), was a resounding ‘probably.’ DeSorrento went so far to say that, within five years, roughly have of the 20 million postsecondary students in the U.S. to have ISAs as an option for funding their education.
