Rubrics Can Work Across Colleges - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A cross-institutional experiment to see whether rubric-based assessments can scale and whether students are actually learning what the assessments are intended to measure has been called a success. The project, known as the "Multi-State Collaborative," brought together 59 colleges and universities in nine states, including 28 four-year institutions and 31 two-year schools. The pilot was undertaken by two organizations: the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/24/rubrics-can-work-across-colleges.aspx

Growth In Online MBA Applications Outstrips Traditional Degree Formats - Seb Murray, Business Because

A growing number of online and flexible MBA programs have reported year-on-year growth in applications, more than traditional part-time and executive courses — highlighting the swelling appeal of digital degrees among business students. The surge in application volume for business schools’ online MBA programs is reported in the annual Application Trends Survey by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), owners of the GMAT entry test. GMAC said the trend for students to opt for digital MBAs is related to survey findings that indicate a shift in employer tuition assistance. This year, both part-time and executive MBA programs expect fewer students to have financial backing from their bosses. http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/3473/edtech-online-mba-applications-outstrip-traditional-formats

Free online courses for designers, artists and creative pros offered by FutureLearn - Digital Arts UK

FutureLearn is kicking off free online courses for pros across branding, design, animation, VFX and more. The courses have been created using £200,000 of funding from government quango Creative Skillset. FutureLearn, which describes itself as the only UK-based MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform, will allow creative pros to learn skills from brand storytelling to animation techniques from professional bodies and universities. Courses beginning in the next few weeks include Digital Storytelling: Filmmaking for the Web, Brand Storytelling: How to Use Narrative to Sell, An Introduction to Screenwriting, Film Production, and How to build a Sustainable Fashion Business. http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-business/free-online-courses-for-designers-artists-creative-pros-offered-by-futurelearn/

College Degree Not Worth Cost?: New Gallup-Purdue Poll Finds Experiential Learning Valued - Jake New, Inside Higher Ed

Just half of college alumni “strongly agree” that their education was worth what they paid for it, according to the newest data from an ongoing Gallup-Purdue University study of college graduates. Among graduates who took out student loans of any amount, 33 percent said they strongly agreed that their education was worth what they spent. As their amount of student debt increased, the graduates were less likely to see the value of their education. Also making a difference, the survey found, is the amount of experiential learning opportunity a student has while in college. If recent graduates had experienced either “an internship related to their studies, active involvement in extracurricular activities or a project that took a semester or more to complete,” they were 1.5 times more likely to strongly agree that their education was worth their expenditures. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/29/half-college-graduates-say-college-not-worth-cost-survey-finds

So you want to slash college debt? - Politico

Free college is unlikely in the U.S., but within the higher-ed world, everyone from college presidents to financiers have been hatching ideas for getting costs and student debt under control. Some ideas would create new incentives for students, others would shift responsibility to colleges; some even involve new financial instruments. Linked below, 8 out-of-the-box ideas being floated or piloted right now. http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/09/student-debt-crisis-000234

OnlyBoth benchmarks 1,899 private colleges - University Business

OnlyBoth today launched its collegiate financial benchmarking engine, which enables unbiased comparisons among 1,899 private, post-secondary educational institutions across the United States. Using federal data on colleges that follow the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) accounting standards, the new website highlights the power of benchmarking engines and the applications of automated writing. The engine delivers novel insights into how colleges perform across over a hundred financial attributes, such as income, spending, assets, salaries, gifts, grants, ratios, and endowments. Access the OnlyBoth collegiate financial benchmarking engine at http://financials.onlyboth.com. http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/onlyboth-benchmarks-1899-private-colleges

Some Free Online Classes Can Help Your Career - Natalie Kiteroeff, Bloomberg

For all their problems, free online classes may have a net positive effect on your career. A new study shows that most people who took a free massive open online course, or MOOC, say it helped their careers, including by getting them a new job or helping them start a business. “This type of research illustrates the possibilities MOOCs offer to change the educational landscape,” write the authors of the study, published Tuesday in the Harvard Business Review. The study was conducted by researchers at Coursera, an online education platform, and professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington, who have taught MOOCs. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/want-a-new-job-take-these-online-classes

Moody's: Smaller College Closures to Triple - Kellie Woodhouse, Inside Higher Ed

Closure rates of small colleges and universities will triple in the coming years, and mergers will double. Those are the predictions of a Moody’s Investor Service report released Friday that highlights a persistent inability among small colleges to increase revenue, which could lead as many as 15 institutions a year to shut their doors for good by 2017. The main struggle for many small colleges -- which are defined by Moody’s as private colleges with operating revenue below $100 million and public colleges below $200 million -- is declining enrollment. Moody’s predicts that struggling public institutions are more likely to merge into a larger system than close, in part because of the political difficulty of closing a publicly funded institution. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/28/moodys-predicts-college-closures-triple-2017

Coursera's Hunt For Feedback Reveals A Divided World - George Anders, Forbes

Although Coursera got its start in Silicon Valley, the Mountain View, Calif., company has attracted an increasingly global user base in the past three years. Currently, 51% of Coursera’s learners are in emerging markets, up substantially from the mid-20s at Coursera’s start. Koller notes that while the U.S. still provides the company’s largest pool of learners, the site’s next three countries, in terms of user popularity, are China, India and Brazil. All three are in emerging markets where English isn’t the national language, Koller observes. Eager to make the most of such opportunities, Coursera is stepping up efforts to provide more local-language content in Asia and Latin America. http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/09/22/courseras-hunt-for-feedback-reveals-a-divided-world/

Poll: Most College Students Prefer Laptops Over Tablets for School - Michael Hart, Campus Technology

Even though tablet purchases are on the rise among college students, most of them still prefer to use laptops for learning. At the same time, overwhelming majorities of students believe tablets will serve more and more educational functions in the future. According to a new Harris Poll conducted for Pearson, 52 percent of college students now own tablets. That is up from 45 percent in 2014. However, only one in 12 (8 percent) college students aged 18 and 19 (typically freshmen and sophomores) said they use a tablet every day for their school work, while two-thirds (66 percent) use a laptop every day for school. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/23/poll-most-college-students-prefer-laptops-over-tablets-for-school.aspx

Tales From the Front Lines of Adaptive Learning - David Raths, Campus Technology

Implementing adaptive learning technology in college courses can be an uphill struggle but well worth it, according to pioneering faculty members. Adaptive learning platforms in higher education are starting to produce some promising results, yet the market is still in its infancy. Instructors who volunteer to be guinea pigs for pilot implementations often end up encouraged by the results — yet exhausted by how much work is involved in retrofitting their courses to the adaptive platforms. Campus Technology interviewed several administrators and faculty members who have worked on adaptive projects about their experience. Here is what they told us: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/23/tales-from-the-front-lines-of-adaptive-learning.aspx

Udacity partners with Google to expand nanodegree program to India - Leena Rao, Fortune

Online education company Udacity will start offering classes tailored to Indian students, marking the startup’s first effort to target a country outside the U.S.The move is a major step for the company as tries turn its popular courses into a real business, something it has strived to do since its founding in 2012. In India, Udacity will offer its degrees in areas like Android development and data analyses for around $148 per month. That’s still a hefty price to pay for Indian students, but Udacity says that half of the tuition will be reimbursed to them following their graduation. http://fortune.com/2015/09/21/udacity-google-india/

Which 100 universities are the most innovative? -eCampusNews

Stanford, Harvard, MIT top inaugural list focusing on innovative policies and practices. Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University top the inaugural Reuters Top 100 ranking of the world’s most innovative universities. The Reuters Top 100 ranking aims to identify which institutions contribute the most to science and technology, and have the greatest impact on the global economy. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/most-innovative-universities-742/

"Your professor will never know!" The Must-Have College Accessory: Ringly - Jennifer Bett Communications

It’s back to school time, and there’s one must-have accessory for college students – Ringly! Ringly is a stylish ring that connects to your phone so you can stay connected while in class. Receive messages and notifications from social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder, while your phone is safe and secure in your bag. Your professor will never know! How exactly does Ringly work? Ringly fuses jewelry and technology. The brand believes technology can be more discreetly intertwined into our lives. The ring notifies you about phone calls, text messages, emails, applications, Twitter, Facebook, meeting updates, and more through vibration and light. Simply download the app and connect your ring. Ringly is compatible with both iOS and Android phones. Rings retail from $195 to $260. http://www.examiner.com/article/meet-the-must-have-college-accessory-ringly

EdTech Harnesses Big Data To Improve Student Learning - Seb Murray, Business Because

Business schools and their partners in the nascent edtech sector are exploring digital analytics to improve students’ academic performance. Elite universities have been adapting technology used to predict a student’s final grade to improve their overall results. Edx, the edtech venture of top US universities MIT and Harvard, is conducting research into how big data can help answer key online learning questions, such as the best ways to teach complex ideas, and which parts of a course are best taught in person instead of online. By assessing course data — from mouse clicks and time spent on tasks to evaluating how students respond to assessments — the company hopes to shed light on how learners access information and master material. http://www.businessbecause.com/news/connected-classroom/3466/connected-classroom-edtech-harnesses-big-data

Connected Classroom: Business Schools Partner Mooc Disruptors For Growth - Seb Murray, Business Because

The explosion of online learning has been a double edged sword for universities. Most are focused on providing the latest digital advances to their students and investing in whizzy new technology, such as analytics dashboards and high-definition video studios. But digital has also given rise to disruptive new players. The announcement by LinkedIn that it intends to host business courses on its site by acquiring online learning platform Lydna.com for $1.5 billion is one of the latest signs that tech groups are encroaching into the world of education. For many industry executives, the notion of a professional leaving the workforce for years on end to earn a degree is a doomed model. http://www.businessbecause.com/news/connected-classroom/3465/connected-classroom-business-schools-partner-mooc-disruptors

WGU Texas chancellor explains online, competency-based approach - Ralph K.M. Haurwitz, American-Statesman

Veronica Vargas Stidvent became chancellor of the Texas arm of Western Governors University in June 2014. WGU occupies an unusual niche: It’s private, nonprofit and mostly online, with a curriculum that lets students advance at their own pace. Established in 1997 by 19 Western governors, including George W. Bush of Texas, it offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, health professions, education and information technology. As the chief executive of WGU Texas, Stidvent, 41, is enjoying annual enrollment growth of 30 percent in the Lone Star State. There are challenges as well. She wants to recruit more students in rural areas, and four-year graduation rates are mixed: 27 percent for undergraduates, 63 percent for graduate students. http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/wgu-texas-chancellor-explains-online-competency-ba/nngPx/

UPCEA And OLC Form Coalition To Advance The Interests Of Non-Traditional Learners

The University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) have formed a coalition to advance the interests of non-traditional (sometimes called "contemporary") learners and the programs that support them. "UPCEA and OLC believe the future of higher education is inexorably linked to issues facing non-traditional learners who comprise roughly 85 percent of today's student population," said Robert Hansen, Ph.D., CEO of UPCEA. "Non-traditional learners are working adults, single parents, veterans and military personnel, caregivers, and others for whom full-time classroom-based learning creates enormous challenges of time, access and cost," said Kathleen S. Ives, D.M., CEO and executive director of OLC. "The ultimate purpose of our partnership is to ensure these learners have access to high-quality courses and programs that allow them to meet the competing demands of work, family and education." http://www.upcea.edu/content.asp?contentid=445

Learning about learning: Creating a connection - Michael Patrick Rutter, Harvard Gazette

Peter Bol, Harvard’s vice provost for advances in learning (VPAL), announced Thursday the formation of the VPAL Research Group. The organization will integrate HarvardX and the research fellows’ programs from the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching (HILT), and adds new leadership and positions. “This fusion to support our growing work in the learning sciences is absolutely additive,” said Bol, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, who has served in the vice provost role for two years. “Moreover, research is following our faculty, as what is happening online and in the classroom is increasingly blurred, and researchers have already been skating across both realms. In that sense, it’s a reflection of a reality that has already existed over the past few years.” http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/learning-about-learning-creating-a-connection/

Udacity's new business model markets nanodegrees for in-demand skills - García Mathewson, Education Dive

No longer trying to tempt traditional students from higher education, Udacity's new model focuses on adults who have skills, but want to add new ones through intensive courses supported by the industry. The New York Times reports Udacity wants to teach millions of adults tech skills quickly, providing at least minimally recognized nanodegrees in five months, on average. The courses cost $200 per month for as long as students take to finish them and upon completion, Udacity reimburses half of the tuition cost. http://www.educationdive.com/news/udacitys-new-business-model-markets-nanodegrees-for-in-demand-skills/405832/

Digital Learning: Beyond the Copycat Model - Aaron Kim, Business to Community

The not-so-secret sauce to make the most of the new learning opportunities brought by the digital transformation movement is to combine the best of the consumer Internet with the peculiarities of the corporate environment, enabling new models of learning, such as peer-to-peer, just-in-time and non-structured approaches that are often overlooked when our eyes are obfuscated by the intense brightness of the big stars of the consumer learning space. http://www.business2community.com/human-resources/digital-learning-beyond-the-copycat-model-01328279

Who’s Benefiting from MOOCs, and Why - Chen Zhenghao, et.al.; Harvard Business Review

Our latest research demonstrates that among learners who complete courses, MOOCs do have a real impact: 72% of survey respondents reported career benefits and 61% reported educational benefits. Furthermore, our findings suggest that people from developing countries more frequently report benefits from taking MOOCs and, also in developing countries, people with lower socioeconomic status and with less education are more likely to report benefits. It appears that MOOCs are tangibly helping people who take the time and effort to complete courses. https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why

Microdegrees Boost Tech Learning - ERIC NIILER, Discovery News

Technology jobs are changing so fast that some believe traditional four-year degrees may be out of date by the time the college graduate starts drawing a paycheck. One firm is hoping to reverse this trend by offering “nanodegrees,” short, focused courses of study tailored the needs of individual tech firms. Silicon Valley-based Udacity was started four years ago by Sebastian Thrun, a former Google executive who kickstarted Google’s self-driving car program as well as the Google Glass wearable computer. Now he’s focused on a new platform that links the needs of tech firms with the abilities of students. Udacity offers online courses in computer-related fields like Web development, software engineering, data science and a full master’s degree in computer science from Georgia Tech. http://news.discovery.com/tech/apps/microdegrees-boost-tech-learning-150916.htm

In Online Courses, Students Learn More by Doing Than by Watching - Ellen Wexler, Wired Campus

When students enroll in MOOCs, they almost always watch a series of video lectures. But just watching videos — without also engaging interactively — is an ineffective way to learn, according to a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. The study looked at a generally available course, offered through the Georgia Institute of Technology, called “Introduction to Psychology as a Science.” Some students chose to take it as a traditional MOOC, spending most of their time watching video lectures. Others opted for a version that combined the MOOC and interactive materials produced by Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative. All of the students were assigned 11 weekly quizzes and a final examination. Those in the MOOC-only course scored an average of 57 percent on the final. Those in the combined course scored an average of 66 percent. And when students in the combined course completed an interactive activity, they learned six times as much as those who only read the material or watched a video. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/in-online-courses-students-learn-more-by-doing-than-by-watching/57365

Guidance on Competency-Based Education - Inside Higher Ed

The U.S. Department Education said Tuesday it is poised to release an extensive reference guide for institutions that are participating in an experiment on competency-based education. Since that project was begun last year, the department said it became clear that more guidance was needed -- for both colleges and accrediting agencies. The department has yet to release the document publicly, but plans to post it at this link: https://experimentalsites.ed.gov/exp/guidance.html“We believe that this guide will offer tremendous support for both experienced and new competency-based education providers as they implement this experiment,” Ted Mitchell, the under secretary of education, said in a written statement. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/09/23/guidance-competency-based-education

7 Things You Should Know About Personalized Learning - Michael Feldstein, Phil Hill, Thomas Cavanagh, EDUCAUSE

Personalized learning provides a unique, highly focused learning path for each student. Individual attention from instructors isn’t feasible in traditional educational models with large numbers of students, and personalized learning is intended to use IT systems and tools to tailor learning experiences based on student strengths, weaknesses, and pace of learning. Technologies including analytics, adaptive learning, digital courseware, and others underlie personalized learning, which builds a “profile” of each student and makes continual adjustments to learning paths based on student performance. It also provides information to help instructors better target their teaching to individual students. http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-personalized-learning?

Why this GROOC will help you change the world - KARL MOORE, The Globe and Mail

This is Karl Moore of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, Talking Management for The Globe and Mail. Today I am delighted to sit down with my McGill colleague Henry Mintzberg to talk about his new GROOC. So Henry, what is a GROOC? HENRY MINTZBERG – Come on Karl, everyone knows what a GROOC is, you don’t know? No, actually I am just kidding. It is a term we invented – it is a MOOC for groups. A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, you know one of these things where, you know, 150,000 people sign up and 26 finish or something like that, but not quite. So we are doing one for groups. It’s not the first time people have tried to do one for groups, but it is the first one called a GROOC so we are laying claim to the term. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/transcript-why-this-new-phenomenon-will-help-you-change-the-world/article26369313/

EdCast Launches New Interactive Learning Platform To Bridge Formal And Informal Learning - Jonathan Shieber, Tech Crunch

With an eye toward building what EdCast chief executive Karl Mehta calls “the next big social media company,” his company has launched a new interactive platform with the help of some titans of media, technology and finance. “We know we are building something that will be worth $20 billion,” says Mehta of his education startup. The goal, as he sees it, is nothing less than the transformation of learning through a blend of online classes (formal education) with bite-sized tutorials with real practitioners and specialists in certain fields (informal learning). The new 10 Minute Insight Series, which the company launched today, is a key part of that project, says Mehta. “There is not a single social media site that’s focused on knowledge networking,” says Mehta. “Everybody needs to learn every day in a social way. We are building knowledge networking.” http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/15/edcast-launches-new-interactive-learning-platform-to-bridge-formal-and-informal-learning/

What We’ve Learned From MOOCs - Candace Thille, John Mitchell and Mitchell Stevens, Inside Higher Ed

What no technology can solve is a failing business model for U.S. higher education. Citizens benefit most from education early in their lives when they are least able to pay for it themselves. Yet students and their families are now being asked to pay ever-larger proportions of the cost of higher education as government support for college has increasingly taken the form of subsidized loans. Students, parents, entrepreneurs and politicians alike are eagerly seeking alternative forms of higher education, and for a brief moment back in 2012 many wanted to believe that the simple Internet technologies embodied in MOOCs would be the next big thing. It’s not that simple. MOOCs have not fixed higher education, but they are poignant reminders of the urgent problems of college cost and access, potential forerunners of truly effective educational technology, and valuable tools for advancing the science of learning. That’s progress. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/09/22/moocs-are-no-panacea-they-can-help-improve-learning-essay

Universities Move to Flat-Rate Textbooks - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Course materials management company Rafter today announced new agreements with several colleges and universities to deploy Rafter360, technology that provides both print and digital textbooks through a flat-rate model. Students at Mars Hill University (NC), Green Mountain College (VT), the Institute of American Indian Arts (NM), Illinois College and Bethany College (KS) will now receive all course materials by the first day of class, for a reduced fee that is incorporated into their tuition. Rafter's pricing is expected to save students more than 50 percent compared to traditional textbooks. And when students have access to all their course materials up front, their chances of success improve, according to the company. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/16/universities-move-to-flat-rate-textbooks.aspx

Survey: Librarians and Faculty a Mile Apart on Need for Better Communication - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Faculty and librarians don't see eye to eye. While nearly every single academic librarian (98 percent) thinks there needs to be better communication between the library and faculty, only 45 percent of faculty think the same. They even disagree on whether or not they work together to coordinate course reserves. While 57 percent of faculty say they do, 69 percent of libraries say they don't. The only place they appear to agree with each other is on the preferred mode of communication — email; almost half of librarians push email to confer with faculty, and 61 percent of faculty do so. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/15/survey-librarians-and-faculty-a-mile-apart-on-need-for-better-communication.aspx

White House taps ASU to lead national STEM collaborative - University Business

The White House has chosen Arizona State University to lead the National STEM Collaborative, a consortium of 19 institutions of higher education and postsecondary and non-profit partners committed to supporting girls and women of color in STEM fields. The announcement by the White House Council for Women and Girls reflects the national recognition earned by ASU’s Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology (CGEST) and the Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Kimberly A. Scott, in encouraging greater access to STEM for women and girls of color. Among other achievements, Dr. Scott founded the nationally lauded CompuGirls program. http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/white-house-taps-asu-lead-national-stem-collaborative

UMUC Plans to Create a Company to Help Colleges Harness Big Data - Ellen Wexler, Chronicle of Higher Ed

The Maryland Board of Regents on Friday approved the University of Maryland University College’s request to create a for-profit business-intelligence company. The new company will offer data-analysis technology and services to universities across the country, and the revenue will go toward the university’s endowment. The company, called HelioCampus, will provide two main services: the technology to combine and analyze a university’s data, as well as analysts to help administrators understand what the data mean. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/umuc-plans-to-create-a-company-to-help-colleges-harness-big-data/57387

On Campus: Tracking effects of UW budget cuts, work on tenure policies continues - NICO SAVIDGE, Madison.com

Campuses across the University of Wisconsin System are slashing hundreds of jobs as they cope with a $250 million state budget cut, according to an organization that studies higher education. The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education is tracking how the UW System’s colleges and universities have cut costs in response to the reduction in state funding. Though their methods have varied, each of the system’s 13 campuses, as well as UW Colleges and Extension, have eliminated positions. They have done so by letting vacant jobs stay unfilled, offering buyouts, layoffs or using a combination of those strategies. http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/university/on-campus-tracking-effects-of-uw-budget-cuts-work-on/article_375c7bf5-2422-5359-8afe-1308e631a13e.html

Obama administration unveils College Scorecard to praise and criticism - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

President Obama’s College Scorecard, a shadow of the college rating system he first proposed, went live late a week ago Friday with an incredible amount of data. While supporters are happy to see new data previously unavailable to students and families researching schools, critics point to a complete lack of context for any of it, especially for schools that serve primarily nontraditional or minority populations. NPR reports the scorecard covers the old basics like cost and graduation rate, as well as new data about how much students make 10 years after entering school, what portion of first-generation students are at a school, and what percentage of students pay at least $1 of principal on their federal loans within three years of leaving school. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

http://www.educationdive.com/news/obama-administration-unveils-college-scorecard-to-praise-and-criticism/405545/

Benefits outweigh downsides in case for online learning - Emma Williams, Arkansas State Herald

For many students at Arkansas State and across the country, online learning has significantly impacted their success in earning a college degree. Arkansas State recently added four online Bachelor of Arts degree programs, one of which happens to be my major. Now, students at A-State have access to online political science, criminology, sociology and communication studies degree programs. Those enrolled in online classes have access to school at the press of a button from almost any location. Many students do not live in the area or cannot afford to live on campus for the entirety of their college career. Online classes eliminate the need to physically be at Arkansas State, making it much easier to provide an education to students who aren’t on campus. http://www.astateherald.com/opinion/benefits-outweigh-downsides-in-case-for-online-learning/article_10014f30-5cb3-11e5-8f1d-9bd232288f66.html

Would-Be Disruptor Modern States Shifts Gears - Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed

Modern States Education Alliance, an organization initially billed as an accreditor for nontraditional providers of education, is changing its focus and taking a more direct route to increasing access to higher education, its founders say. Last week, the organization recruited another set of institutions to join in that effort: the Texas State University System. Freshman Year for Free is one step toward Modern States’ goal. Starting next year, the initiative will offer about 30 massive open online courses designed to help students pass standardized placement tests for which many colleges award credit. “We want to be an on-ramp to college education for students of varying backgrounds and ages,” Vise said, adding that the courses could benefit high school students, members of the military, adult learners and students looking to complete degrees. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/14/modern-states-education-alliance-shifts-focus-away-accreditation

Free Freshman Year? Texas State Hopes To Try It Out - MATTHEW WATKINS TEXAS TRIBUNE

The Texas State University System has an idea for future students busy with families and jobs: Don't even show up on campus freshman year. Starting next fall, the school plans to encourage nontraditional students to take free massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, before they arrive on campus. If they take 10 courses and pass tests for college credit, students could show up at school with a year's work complete before paying a single tuition bill. http://keranews.org/post/free-freshman-year-texas-state-hopes-try-it-out

UC Irvine Extension Launches Five New Online Specializations Through Coursera - UC Irvine

University of California, Irvine Extension, the continuing education unit of UC Irvine and an innovator in online and open education, today announced that five new Specializations will be available through Coursera, the world's largest open online education provider. The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are designed to Expand Learning Opportunities for Gaining Skills and Marketability in Today's Workforce. The five Specializations consist of online training and a sequence of development sessions specific to in demand interest fields such as 'The Internet of Things,' 'Academic English for non-English speakers,' 'Optobotics,' 'iOS Programming,' and 'Conflict Management.' http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uc-irvine-extension-launches-five-new-online-specializations-through-coursera-2015-09-08

Know Your Time Management Limits as an Online Student - John LaMar, US News

A full-time job and a full-time course load aren't workable for every online student. After closing five tabs on my Chrome Web browser and another eight course documents, I looked at my schedule for the upcoming week: three and a half hours of free time left – not for a day, but for the entire week. My typical day as an online bachelor's student was looking like this: wake up at 5:45 a.m., get to work by 7 a.m. at the latest, do an hour of class work before starting my job at 8 a.m., work eight hours while taking an hour lunch break to study, go home, take a 20-minute power nap before eating, then do another three to four hours of studying before falling asleep. The next day, the routine began again. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/09/11/know-your-time-management-limits-as-an-online-student

Looking to boost enrollment, N.C. A&T turns to online courses - John Newsom, News & Record

N.C. A&T last year became the largest historically black college in the nation. This year, A&T thinks it can grow even bigger. University officials said Friday that A&T will emphasize — and expand — its online course offerings and degree programs to better meet the area’s educational needs and increase enrollment. A&T in its long-range plan set a goal of growing to 13,500 students by 2020 and to 15,000 students in the decade after that. But enrollment growth in recent years has been slow. http://www.greensboro.com/news/schools/looking-to-boost-enrollment-n-c-a-t-turns-to/article_b419f1f7-0081-5434-8997-55a3c2949ddc.html

Mobile Journaling App Helps Students Document Field Learning - Meg Lloyd, Campus Technology

Tying together timelines, note-taking, geolocation and multimedia, The Traveler provides a cutting-edge mobile journaling experience for students working in the field, starting with the ability to record and visualize their pathways. In order to analyze field experiences effectively, students needed to make more detailed records of their in-the-field observations. They needed a way to collect thoughts and discussions in the field and be able to link them to photographs, notes, sketches and other documentation. Recognizing that mobile technology could provide a useful tool to meet those needs, Ball State's Information Technology team developed The Traveler, an Android app that allows students to create a record and visualization of their pathways, based on timelines, effective note-taking, geolocation and annotated multimedia curation. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/08/mobile-journaling-app-helps-students-document-field-learning.aspx

Harvard Business School Begins Offering Credit for some Online Extension Courses - Campus Technology

Beginning in January, students who take select courses in Harvard Business School's online digital education initiative, also known as HBX, will receive college credit for them. Students who receive the HBX Certificate of Readiness (CORe) after passing three business fundamentals courses — business analytics, economics for managers and financial accounting — will receive eight undergraduate credits from the Harvard Extension School. Previously, those who took the courses, conceived a year and a half ago as an online counterpart to the on-campus Harvard Business School experience, received only the credential but no college credit. The eight units can count toward an undergraduate degree from the extension school and, if transferable, used toward a degree at another university. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/10/harvard-business-school-begins-offering-credit-for-some-online-extension-courses.aspx?admgarea=news

The biggest potential, and biggest challenge, to Big Data in higher ed - Troy Williams, eCampus News

Slimming down the big data discussion to what really matters. The era of big data in higher education has arrived. However, it’s important for campuses to figure out how to properly capture, manage, and use this data wisely in order to improve student outcomes and retention at their institution. If the data is not properly utilized, the institution runs the risk of wasting both time and money. It’s imperative that this data is properly gathered and assessed in order to turn the results into useful information that will help enhance the institution for both current and future students. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/big-data-higher-265/

What learners do during MOOCs–and why it matters - Ron Bethke, eCampus News

A new report examines learner activities during MOOCs, and the importance of integrating certain tools. Course design may take a back seat to personal and environmental factors, and notetaking is just as critical during MOOCs as in face-to-face courses. These are just a few of the findings of new qualitative research that examines the experiences and practices of students who participate in MOOCs. Published by Dr. George Veletsianos and two other colleagues in the British Journal of Educational Technology in May this year, the study aims to provide an understanding of how people experience MOOCs and why they engage in particular activities in the ways that they do. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/mooc-learner-experiences-769/

Choice of college major influences lifetime earnings more than simply getting a degree - University of Kansas

A new study based on longitudinal data confirms a college degree provides an advantage in lifetimes earnings, but a related decision once students make it to college could prove to be even more crucial. The study that includes a University of Kansas researcher found large lifetime earnings gaps depending on a student's field of study. For examples, men who major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields, and earning a bachelor's degree achieved roughly $700,000 to $800,000 higher 40-year lifetime earnings from ages 20 to 59 than social science or liberal arts majors. Related to gender, college degrees no matter the field of study seem to benefit women with higher earnings compared with women who only graduated high school. For men in some fields of study, the earnings return would not be as high as a woman over her high school counterparts. "This is not because college-educated women earn more than equally educated men," Kim said, "but because labor market opportunities for less educated women are so scarce." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uok-coc091115.php

Why Higher Ed Needs to Step Up Its IT Security Game - David Weldon, Campus Technology

Jane LeClair, chief operating officer at the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College in Washington, DC, recently stressed the need for higher education to step up its game around IT security. And she urged colleges and universities that haven't already done so to embrace the role of the chief information security officer, or CISO. LeClair appeared at the Campus Technology 2015 conference in Boston speaking on the topic "Cybersecurity at the C-Level: Preparing Future Leaders.' While she discussed the need for more cybersecurity professionals at all levels of the organization, she stressed the growing demand for a single accountable IT security individual that can hold his or her own with other top executives in the organization. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/10/why-higher-ed-needs-to-step-up-its-it-security-game.aspx

Why We Should Build Classes Around Mobile Tech -Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

Using an app he created, in classes he has configured around mobile technology, Ronald Yaros is preparing his students for a future that will revolve around their technological skills. "Today's students are tomorrow's information producers and consumers," said Yaros, who is an associate professor at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. "In the past five years, we have seen tectonic changes in how younger people adopt, adapt, and utilize mobile technology for virtually every aspect of their lives. For the next five years, I'm interested in how evolving technology will continue to change the ways in which users interact with information." According to Yaros, without a systemic change in how we engage students in and outside of class, technology can be — and often is — viewed as getting in the way of learning. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/09/08/why-we-should-build-classes-around-mobile-tech.aspx

Will future global development education be short and online? - Kelli Rogers, Devex

Short-term courses and certificates are gaining ground, especially for mid-career professionals who might not have the wish, time or money to devote to a full-time master’s degree. Diving into details of 3-D printing for social good, earning a certificate in refugees, displacement and forced migration studies or tackling the essentials of nonprofit strategy is only getting easier when it comes to education access — especially when it can all be accomplished online. Startups like TechChange, along with established institutions like Massachusetts’ Clark University or the U.K.’s distance learning focused Open University are beefing up both their short-term and online learning options. Last week’s newly launched Philanthropy University, meanwhile, is offering its online classroom for free to students around the world who wish to do social good. https://www.devex.com/news/will-future-global-development-education-be-short-and-online-86755

Perkins Loan Program on the federal budget chopping block - WMTV

In another fight to spread education opportunities, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are up against a pressing deadline. The latest deadline is to reauthorize the Federal Perkins Loan Program which it is set to expire at the end of the month. The program benefits thousands of lower-income students across the country who are in need of significant financial assistance. If the program isn’t reauthorized by the September 30 deadline, many students across the country will lose access to federal financial aid they use to attend colleges and universities. http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Perkins-Loan-Program-on-the-federal-budget-chopping-block-326149221.html

Soaring Student Loan Burden Poses Risk To Economic Growth - Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

Students around the country — and often their parents — have racked up so much college debt since the recession that it now threatens the nation’s economic growth. The debt weighs down millions of Americans who might otherwise buy homes or start businesses. And the financial horror stories of debt-saddled students, combined with continued increases in tuition, could deter others from attending college and could produce a less-educated workforce. “The impact on future (economic) growth could be quite significant,” said Cristian deRitis, who analyzes consumer credit economics for Moody’s Analytics. The amount of outstanding student loans has skyrocketed 76 percent to almost $1.2 trillion since 2009 as college costs have shot up and graduates have had difficulty finding good-paying jobs. http://swtimes.com/nationworld/soaring-student-loan-burden-poses-risk-economic-growth

Is E-learning the future? - Stephen Chartrand, Brock Press

Despite the stereotype that university students are beer-guzzling spendthrifts, the reality is that most students today have to take on one or two part-time jobs just to make ends meet. When you add up the hours, going to lecture, writing papers, preparing for exams and working part-time it can be incredibly difficult to maintain a flexible and balanced schedule.As Dhirendra Kumar wrote in a white paper for North Carolina State University, “Online methods of education can be a highly effective alternative method of education for the students who are matured, self-disciplined and motivated, well organized and having a high degree of time management skills, but it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners and has difficulty assuming responsibilities required by the online courses.” http://www.brockpress.com/2015/09/is-e-learning-the-future/

Ball State University on-campus enrollment down, online brings total up - Seth Slabaugh, Star-Press

On-campus enrollment at Ball State University has dropped for the fourth consecutive year, but overall enrollment is up as the number of online students grows. The school has 16,602 on-campus students this fall, down from 18,241 in the fall of 2011. That means 1,639 fewer students are taking classes on the main campus this fall than four years ago, a decrease of 9 percent. One faculty member is calling the trend “pretty worrisome,” another says it is typical for schools such as Ball State and a third attributes the decline to the high cost of a college education and concerns over student debt. http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2015/09/12/bsu-campus-enrollment-total/72157660/

Which college degrees are in the most, least demand? by GREG HINZ, Crain's Chicago

"While it's encouraging to see accelerated growth in STEM-related college programs, the slowdown in overall degree completions—especially those tied to developing strong communications and critical-thinking skills—is concerning," said CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson. His reference was to the fact that while the number of new degrees grew a healthy 6.9 percent in 2011 compared with 2010, the year-to-year hike in 2014 was just 0.8 percent. "Nearly half of employers say they currently have job vacancies but can't find skilled candidates to fill them," Ferguson added. "We need to do a better job informing students and workers about which fields are in demand and growing." http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150908/BLOGS02/150909867/which-college-degrees-are-in-the-most-least-demand

Udacity, Coursera and edX Now Claim Over 24 Million Students - EdSurge

Shortly after the “Big Three” MOOC providers launched in 2012, nearly everyone focused on user numbers as a sign of their scale and reach. For anyone still keeping tabs on the numbers race, Udacity, Coursera and edX recently shared new figures. EdX shared it hit the 5 million student mark in August. That same month, Coursera claimed 15 million registered users to accompany news of its latest funding round. And in a recent interview with The Economist, Udacity CEO Sebastian Thrun said the company serves “some 4 [million] registered users worldwide, and about 60,000 working on nanodegrees at anyone one time.” He also added that more than 60 percent of Udacity students complete their courses. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-09-08-udacity-coursera-and-edx-now-claim-over-24-million-students

The New College Scorecard Revealed - Michael Stratford, Inside Higher Ed

The Obama administration over the weekend unveiled the revamped college information website it created instead of its original plan to rate colleges, releasing a trove of new federal data about the nation’s colleges and universities. These new data show publicly, for the first time, the share of a college’s former students who make some progress in paying down their federal loans within the first three years after leaving college. And they provide the first comprehensive look at how much students who receive federal loans and Pell Grants end up earning after they leave a specific college, both in the short term and long term. The White House released the new data and website on Saturday morning, in advance of President Obama's trip today to Iowa, where he will speak about college costs at a town hall event with high school students. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/14/obama-administration-publishes-new-college-earnings-loan-repayment-data

Gamifying the Educational Experience - Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed

Many parents and some psychologists decry videogames as a waste of time – or worse, as actually harmful. Videogames, according to this view, are socially isolating and desensitizing, conveying age-inappropriate images, fostering addictive behavior, creating attention problems, discouraging physical activity, inducing repetitive stress injuries, hypersexualizing men and demeaning women, suppressing emotional responses to aggression and violence, and cultivating feelings of hostility, aggression, and misogyny. However accurate or inaccurate such claims might be, there is no doubt that videogames offer important lessons that can improve teaching and learning. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/gamifying-educational-experience

U-Michigan to Invest $100M in Big Data Initiative - Greg Slabodkin, Health Data Management

The University of Michigan over five years will invest $100 million in a big data initiative with researchers seeking insights in four targeted areas—healthcare, learning analytics, social sciences, and transportation. Improving personalized healthcare delivery is at the heart of the health sciences/medicine component of the university’s Data Science Initiative. As part of the Data Science Initiative, U-M will hire 35 new faculty members, expand the university’s research computing capacity and strengthen its data management, storage, analytics and training resources. “We have a substantial personalized health/precision medicine footprint here,” says Alfred Hero, Ph.D., co-director of the new Michigan Institute for Data Science, which was created under the initiative and has an interdisciplinary core faculty of 40 data scientists. “There’s roughly $10 million that will be invested for the computational infrastructure for handling very large data sets.” http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/University-of-Michigan-Invests-in-Big-Data-Initiative-51212-1.html

Future of higher education - Rosebank College, Johannesburg

What does the future of higher education look like? According to Moses Motha, Teaching and Learning Manager at Rosebank College, a brand of The Independent Institute of Education: "The future of higher education is intricately intertwined with the use of technology and online learning." Technology will be used to integrate teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom. This technology will be used to engage students by making lectures more interactive, while at the same time allowing lecturers to keep track of whether students understand the material. Technology will also help instructors offer a wide range of learning opportunities and types of information for students. http://pressoffice.mg.co.za/rosebankcollege/PressRelease.php?StoryID=261124

Udemy sees 200% rise in revenue, online learning demand increases - Natalie Marsh, the Pie News

Online learning platform, Udemy, has seen an increase in revenue of 200% year on year, as the demand for skills-based online learning increases.Udemy, which launched in 2010 in the US, provides free and paid-for online courses tailored for skills-based learning in subjects including language learning, office productivity and IT and software. Courses are created by instructors themselves, who receive all of the revenue, minus the payment fees, if they bring students to their course, or half of the revenue if students were brought in by Udemy. The revenue increase of the platform overall has risen since last year, when it was displaying a growth of 160%. http://thepienews.com/news/udemy-sees-200-rise-in-revenue-online-learning-demand-increases/

As textbook prices skyrocket, college students, professors seek alternatives - TREVOR METCALFE, Register-Bee

Danville Community College student Jessica Newman is taking 18 credit hours this fall, with a tuition price tag of about $2,500. When Newman looked for the books for her five classes at the DCC bookstore, she said the cost was just over $1,000. “That’s nearly half of my tuition spent again on textbooks,” Newman said. With college textbook prices rising exponentially during the past several years, local students and teachers say they are seeking alternatives to purchasing new books every semester. According to data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, textbook priced have risen three times the rate of inflation since 1977. http://www.godanriver.com/news/danville/as-textbook-prices-skyrocket-college-students-professors-seek-alternatives/article_2ac96ef0-5354-11e5-b787-e726b65ce323.html

Oakland Community College may halt most online classes - Kim Kozlowski, The Detroit News

Oakland Community College plans to reapply for accreditation for a virtual campus, hoping to undo a snag that could lead to most of its online classes being canceled for the winter term. The possibility of mass course cancellations arose after the state’s largest community college was denied accreditation for online programs that would let students earn degrees while taking most or all of their courses outside traditional classrooms. Officials would not characterize the magnitude of the cuts to online classes, taken by 3,000 students, or about 12 percent of OCC’s 24,000 students. But OCC is examining 257 accredited courses to see if they meet standards for online degrees set by the Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutions that evaluate colleges. http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2015/08/28/occ-online/71290028/

Can MOOCs make the grade for federal training? - Bianca Spinosa, FCW

So given the increasing demand for workers with cybersecurity and data analytics skills, could MOOCs be one of the keys to federal training needs? Ryan Corey believes they can help. Corey has been in the cybersecurity field for 13 years, and in January, he co-founded Cybrary, a company that offers free courses on a range of cyber skills. Corey said he launched Cybrary in part because he thinks people — and federal workers in particular — shouldn’t have to pay big bucks for IT and cybersecurity training and because it was clear that cyber skills should be more broadly distributed. To stay afloat without charging tuition, Cybrary relies on advertising and fees students must pay if they want certificates of completion. The company also offers an enterprise platform that teaches compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act and end-user security awareness training for organizations. He has even turned to Kickstarter for funding. http://fcw.com/articles/2015/09/04/feature-moocs.aspx

5 Steps for Adopting Virtual Learning for the Government Worker - FRIEDA K. EDGETTE, NATALIE S. MATTHEWS, Government Technology

It's gotten harder to get government workers the training they need. Online learning can help to fill the gap. GovLoop, an online training and collaboration community that describes itself as "the knowledge network for government," surveyed its members and found that almost 90 percent of respondents had attended at least one virtual learning event in 2014, up 2 percent from 2013. It's not hard to see why that number has been growing: Going virtual eliminates geographic, spatial and time constraints, since learners can attend from any convenient location. Webinars and virtual classroom tools such as surveys, whiteboards and text chat facilitate session engagement and appeal to participants' different learning styles. Archived recordings of sessions allow for on-demand and repeat viewings. And the cost savings related to travel, lodging, and lost time and office productivity are significant. http://www.govtech.com/internet/Adopting-Virtual-Learning-for-the-Government-Worker.html

@ISSUE: Compelling statistics on distance learning - BORIS VILIC, Courier-Post

Over the last decade, we have witnessed tremendous changes in distance learning. For example, in 2014 a record-breaking 5.2 million higher education students enrolled in at least one online course. The number of chief academic officers who consider online education as critical to their institution’s strategy also reached an all-time high (at 70.8 percent). However, despite this tremendous growth and myriad studies examining student learning outcomes in online classes, the question whether “distance learning is making the grade” still reverberates in the halls of the Academy. When engaging in lively discussion about distance education, and rather than solely relying on statistics and research data, I usually try to tell my colleagues personal stories to explain why I believe in distance education. http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/09/04/issue-compelling-statistics-distance-learning/71722750/

CBE Approvals: Tugged in Two Directions - Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

A surge in new competency-based degree programs has created challenges for the accreditors tasked with approving them. They must seek to ensure academic quality without quashing promising ideas, while also dealing with sluggish and sometimes confusing guidance from the federal government. That was the message from top officials of three regional accrediting agencies, who spoke to a group the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) brought together here.While many colleges are mulling direct assessment, few have moved forward. The U.S. Department of Education has granted approval to just three institutions so far. The feds’ blessing is important because it allows programs to be eligible for federal financial aid.Elizabeth Sibolski, president of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, didn’t mince words when she described how the commission has worked with the department on colleges’ applications for direct-assessment programs. The process “has been incredibly frustrating,” she said. “I am really rather disappointed.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/10/accreditors-role-expansion-competency-based-education

Meet GROOC: McGill's new online course has a group-learning twist - JENNIFER LEWINGTON, The Globe and Mail

First came the MOOCs, referring to massive open online courses that offer free access to higher-education learning through the Internet. Now comes the GROOC: a group-based version of MOOCs developed and delivered by professors at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, including internationally recognized management guru Henry Mintzberg. So far, students from more than 100 countries have signed up for Social Learning for Social Impact, an 11-week online course beginning Sept. 16 with the goal of inspiring global collaboration on sustainable social change. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/business-education/meet-grooc-new-online-course-has-a-group-learning-twist/article26215533/

Why a college degree isn't worth what it once was - Jeff Spross, the Week

In this world, a college degree is essentially a "fire me last" sign. As rising inequality bumps less-educated people off the twig entirely, the college-educated fill the spots while graduate degrees get what the college-educated once did. So first incomes for high school graduates stagnate, then incomes for the college-educated stagnate too. And now only graduate incomes are still rising. http://theweek.com/articles/575139/why-college-degree-isnt-worth-what-once

Competency-based programs reimagine college credit Sherrie Negrea, University Business

After years of quiet evolution, the competency-based education movement is now poised for explosive growth, with several hundred colleges and universities developing programs that fundamentally redefine the college degree. An estimated 34 U.S. institutions now offer some form of competency-based learning, according to research by Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. But that number is expected to multiply significantly as a new wave of schools embraces the model. http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/competency-programs-reimagine-college-credit

Keeping Up With Competency - Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Roughly 600 colleges are in the design phase for a new competency-based education program, are actively creating one or already have a program in place. That’s up from an estimated 52 institutions last year. Amid this quick expansion, a group of college officials is meeting in Phoenix next month to share information about how to develop competency-based credentials. The agenda also features discussions about what academic quality should look like in those programs. Public Agenda, a nonprofit group that seeks to bring a nonpartisan lens to tricky issues, is hosting the meeting, dubbed the CBExchange. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the work. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/10/amid-competency-based-education-boom-meeting-help-colleges-do-it-right

Penn State launches new program to teach grad students to teach online - Hilary Appelman, Penn State

Graduate students traditionally teach the way they were taught. But more and more they are finding themselves teaching in online classrooms, where the old rules don’t necessarily apply. A new Graduate Student Online Teaching Certificate program is being offered to Penn State graduate students for the first time this fall with the goal of improving the quality of instruction online. Larry Boggess, director of online faculty development for Penn State World Campus, had hoped to attract 30 students to the course. So far, more than 350 have enrolled from across Penn State’s colleges and campuses. http://news.psu.edu/story/367847/2015/09/02/academics/penn-state-launches-new-program-teach-grad-students-teach-online

EdX Users Cheat Through MOOC-Specific Method, Study Says - C. RAMSEY FAHS, Harvard Crimson

Roughly 1 percent of certificates granted by Harvard’s and MIT’s school-specific edX platforms were earned by users engaging in a form of cheating never before possible in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms, according to a working paper released by researchers from the two schools. The paper—authored by MIT Ph.D. candidate Curtis G. Northcutt, MIT professor Isaac L. Chuang, and HarvardX research committee co-chair Andrew D. Ho—studied a previously unexamined form of cheating known as "copying answers using multiple existences online," or CAMEO. Users engaging in CAMEO register for a given course with multiple accounts, one of which is designated the “master” account. They then use non-master “harvester” accounts to click through assessments as quickly as possible until the grading tool provides correct answers. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/9/3/cameo-cheating-method-mooc/

Free Online Course Connects Ex-Inmates With The Job Skills They Need - Joseph Erbentraut, The Huffington Post

Imagine this scenario: Instead of a judge sentencing an offender to hundreds of hours of community service while behind bars, they are sentenced to hundreds of hours of educational courses -- and those courses are offered for free. Such is the vision of Mike Feerick, the founder of Alison, a Galway, Ireland-based provider of online coursework. Earlier this year, the company debuted a new set of courses called the Advanced Diploma in Workforce Re-entry Skills which is specifically designed for formerly incarcerated Americans. The goal, Feerick explained to BBC in July, is to boost ex-inmates’ job skills and academic credentials while simultaneously reducing their risk of reoffending. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/online-course-prison-education-recidivism_55e4cf3ae4b0aec9f3544bd5

Harvard launches new 'virtual classroom,' where students watch class from anywhere - Collin Binkley, The Associated Press

The newest classroom at Harvard's business school has no desks or chairs. Instead, the professor teaches facing a towering digital screen that stretches from wall to wall, filled with the live video feeds of up to 60 students tuned in from their computers. In the futuristic classroom, housed in a television studio three kilometres from campus, class plays out like a giant video conference. Students can jump in to ask questions or respond to their classmates. The professor can stop a lecture to quiz individual students, or send the group a quick online poll. http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/harvard-launches-new-virtual-classroom-where-students-watch-class-from-anywhere-1.2542216

McGill U, EdX Partner on MOOC for Groups - Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

McGill University is partnering with edX to launch what they institutions are calling a "GROOC," or a massive open online course (MOOC) for groups. The new course, "Social Learning for Social Impact," launches next month and "aims to inspire social change through global collaboration of like-minded people working to create positive, sustainable impact," according to a news release. Features of the GROOC include: A curriculum geared toward group, rather than individual, learning; Ongoing feedback from trained facilitators; Groups formed through a matchmaking process that will pair students according to interests in particular problems or themes; and Social changes themes determined by the students. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/08/31/mcgill-u-edx-partner-on-mooc-for-groups.aspx

The Online College Revolution #infographic - College Choice

This infographic highlights data related to the growth of online learning. Online learning has already disrupted higher education, as more and more colleges react to student demand by offering classes online. And as our technological capacity expands and classes get better and better, there’s no reason to see the online college revolution as a temporary one. http://www.collegechoice.net/online-college-revolution/

ASU Global Freshman Academy diverse platforms designed to enhance online learning experience - Arizona State University

The Global Freshman Academy is unique in many ways — allowing students to take classes before deciding whether to pay for the credit, charging only $200 per class credit and accepting students without requiring SATs or a transcript. The new program has another innovation as well: It uses a technology that’s so personalized every student learns the class material a different way. The method comes through a partnership with a Silicon Valley company that provided software that “learns” each student’s knowledge level and presents new lessons and review material at the exact time that the brain is most receptive to them. https://asunews.asu.edu/20150831-diverse-platforms-online-success

Penn reaches all corners of the globe through online learning - CAROLINE SIMON, Daily Pennsylvanian

It can be difficult to reach people from all corners of the globe, but Penn professor Brian Bushee’s financial accounting course, offered through the massive online open course provider Coursera, has found its way to students in every single country, excluding the Vatican City, Cuba and North Korea. According to Coursera statistics, nearly 400,000 students have signed up for Bushee’s course since he began offering it in 2013, with nearly 25,000 earning certificates of completion. In some parts of the world, Bushee’s students lack formal education, traveling to internet cafes twice a week in search of financial knowledge that will help them break into the business world. Although accounting is a subject more objective than some, Bushee said he has had to adjust the curriculum so that it would mesh with the financial systems of countries outside the United States. http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/09/online-learning-global-engagement

3 tips for alternative credentialing - Laura Devaney, eCampus News

To create a strategic framework for alternative credntialing Eduventures is recommending that institutions focus on the following three priorities: 1. Define your alternative credentialing options, whether they are certificates, badges, formal statements of accomplishment, or endorsements of some kind. 2. Determine the aim of these credentials. Are they to validate mastery of a particular skill? Do they really only serve as a more structured pathway to degree attainment? Or are they simply to demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning? 3. Articulate ways which alternative credentials can augment traditional degrees or create a viable substitute to degree attainment. When properly positioned to the market, this strategic framework can help define a value proposition that makes these programs a viable option for adult learners. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/alternative-credentialing-report-792/

Is College Even Still Worth It? - Laura Shin, Forbes

“On virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment—from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the share employed full time—young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education,” said a February 2014 Pew Research Center report. Over the generations, the gap between the two groups has only widened. Ultimately, while the value of a college degree has remained relatively flat from the Silent Generation, through the Boomers and Gen Xers to the Millennials, the value of a high school diploma has plummeted over the same time. So if the cost of college and the earning prospects of bachelor’s degree holders give you pause, banish the thought: not having the degree is much worse. http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/08/26/is-college-even-still-worth-it/

Higher Education's Faulty Economics: How We Got Here - Tom Lindsay, Forbes

But while the proposals differ, their differences are less important than what they share. What they all have in common is a fundamental misunderstanding of what’s driving the crisis that all sides seek to solve. They fail to understand that the factors composing the dilemma we face—tuition hyperinflation, burdensome student-loan debt, and poor student learning—are to some extent branches of the same tree, whose roots are found in the well-intentioned but what has proved to be catastrophically naïve assumption that virtually all high school graduates should go to college. Higher-education reformers look at this bleak picture and wonder why all the ostensible solutions to the higher-education crisis serve only to double-down on the misguided premise that produced the crisis in the first place. Until and unless we jettison our utopian expectations, increasing numbers of students will continue to pay more and more and learn less and less. http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2015/08/29/higher-educations-faulty-economics-how-we-got-here/

Colleges embrace the question 'How can we do that online?' - Amy Lane, Crain's Detroit Business

"The challenge is keeping up with the pace of advances, and technology, and try not to follow the fads, and just stick to what is good for our students, and their success ultimately," said Ahmad Ezzeddine, associate vice president for educational outreach and international programs at Wayne State University. One approach to improved online learning is to present course information in smaller segments, Ezzeddine said. "When someone is online, the attention span is a lot shorter. You need to maintain the interest of students, so having them watch a three-hour lecture is not going to be effective," he said. Students want "more action-oriented learning, in smaller doses," and clear relevance, said Ed Borbely, director of the University of Michigan's Integrative Systems and Design graduate degree-granting division housed in the College of Engineering. "There's less tolerance for 'Just sit back, someday you might use this.' " http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150830/NEWS/308309995/colleges-embrace-the-question-how-can-we-do-that-online

Robots tighten gap in distance learning - KIRK PINHO, Crain's Detroit

Christine Greenhow, assistant professor of counseling, educational psychology and special education at Michigan State University's College of Education is bringing the concept of telecommuting to the academy using robotic technology. During a spring course in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology Ph.D. program, 13 of 15 students participated using iPads affixed on top of either a stationary robot that swivels to interact with another student or a robot that moves around the classroom to do the same. Greenhow, who used the robot technology that was developed by the College of Educational Psychology and Special Education/College of Education Design Studio, said she saw the need for a virtual classroom after Ph.D. students taking most of their classes online "felt a sense of distance" between themselves and the teacher, as well as their fellow students. "Online and on-campus students recorded that when their colleagues were in robot form, each group felt more physically there." http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150830/NEWS/308309996/robots-tighten-gap-in-distance-learning

Massive online courses grow; what's in it for the universities? - Kirk Pinho, Crain's Detroit

Depending on whom you ask, universities benefit in a few different ways. For some, the upside is that the courses may sow seeds for the MOOC students to eventually enroll at the university, generating revenue. For others, there are educational benefits in that they give professors a sort of educational sandbox in which they can experiment with new and emerging methods of delivering content and course themes. And some argue that the benefit is largely social in nature by offering high-level educational opportunities to a group of students that may otherwise be unable to afford them. "They provide the general populace with an opportunity to have lifelong learning experiences and exposure to new content," said Geralyn Stephens, associate professor, clinical, in teacher education in Wayne State University's College of Education. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150830/NEWS/308309998/massive-online-courses-grow-whats-in-it-for-the-universities

Buying Books on a Budget - Ariele Vaccaro, Milwaukee Courier

It’s nothing new to you, but the painful sting of knowing your bank account has just been emptied always seems to linger even after you’ve left the college bookstore. At that point, all you can do is take solace in the fact that you’re not the only one. According to the College Board, an American post-secondary student spends, on average, $1,200 a semester on textbooks. Some standalone books can cost more than $200. And the thing is, you have to eat, too. There’s a silver lining, though. With the rise of online shopping and textbook rental, your university can no longer make a monopoly of your textbook needs. Instead, you have the option to shop around at a number of different online vendors and pick out what works for you http://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2015/08/29/buying-books-on-a-budget/

New qualitative research explores students' MOOC concerns - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

A new qualitative study asks traditional college students what they think about massive open online courses, finding a number of concerns that mirror those of administrators. According to eCampus News, the students found reason for concern when it comes to the accuracy of course content and instructor quality, responding that it is nice that people with information can share it in a MOOC platform but also a drawback to the system because their teaching materials are not necessarily peer-reviewed. Almost a quarter of interviewees said outcomes were a major concern, pointing to course credit for MOOCs as a way to legitimize them for students. http://www.educationdive.com/news/new-qualitative-research-explores-students-mooc-concerns/404459/

E-Advisement: Technology-Supported Advising Services - Jimmy Solis, EDUCAUSE Review

Applying technology to the process of general academic advisement yields the more flexible, mobile approach called e-advisement, as explained in this case study. E-advisement integrates videoconferencing hardware (a webcam) and contemporary software with IM and uses online instructional tools in an advising capacity to improve student success. Further research should examine more student narratives in order to gain a better understanding of the student perspective and where they see themselves at the intersection of technology, academic advisement, and accessibility. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/8/e-advisement-technology-supported-advising-services

Getting an MBA while you're on the road: How to pull it off - Anne Fisher, Fortune

Studying on the fly will present some challenges, but it can be done. Lara Martini, who is Microsoft’s director of commercial markets strategy for Latin America, finished her MBA last fall despite traveling more than half the time. (In fact, when I spoke to her, she was at the airport in Miami, headed for Bogota.) “Travel is really the main reason most of my fellow students and I were enrolled in online programs,” she says. “People have become accustomed to working remotely, so this is really an extension of that.” http://fortune.com/2015/08/28/mba-business-school-online/

University of Alberta offers popular ‘Dino 101’ course in app form - Emily Mertz, Global News

It first paved the way as a free, online course open to all and now Dino 101 is being offered as an electronic textbook in app form. The University of Alberta will offer Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology, starting Sept. 4, through Coursera. It’s the university’s first foray into the ever-expanding world of open online education. “We’re mindful of our students and the tremendous pressures on them with tuition and the additional costs of education such as textbooks,” said Jonathan Schaeffer, dean of the faculty of science. “We wanted to build something that was fun, engaging and at a price point that added real value to the student learning experience.” http://globalnews.ca/news/2202782/university-of-alberta-offers-popular-dino-101-course-in-app-form/

UMUC to eliminate textbooks - Associated Press

The University of Maryland University College plans to eliminate textbooks this fall to save students money by using resources online. Kara Van Dam, a vice provost, said Thursday students will be able use a variety of materials like readings and videos online at no cost. Van Dam says the change will save students thousands of dollars over their academic program. She says other universities are taking similar steps, but UMUC is a front runner in making a transition of this magnitude. http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/maryland/2015/08/27/maryland-university-eliminate-textbooks/32484205/

OpenStax texts predicted to save students $25 million - eCampus News

Rice University-based nonprofit OpenStax College has unveiled three new textbooks and said its growing catalog of free textbooks will save students an estimated $25 million in the 2015-16 academic year. OpenStax College uses philanthropic gifts from major foundations to produce open educational resources — full-color, peer-reviewed online textbooks that have the same look and feel as books that cost $100 or more. All OpenStax College textbooks are available free online and at low cost in print. The publisher, which launched with two titles in 2012, today offers 15 titles that have been used by more than 540,000 students and adopted by instructors in more than 2,000 courses worldwide. Its three newest titles — Algebra and Trigonometry, College Algebra and Chemistry — reflect OpenStax College’s commitment to publish titles for the most-attended college courses. http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/open-texts-students-672/

Minecraft in the Classroom - Chris Havergal, Times Higher Education

In lists of the next big higher education technology trends, Minecraft may not figure too highly. But that could be about to change, with a series of projects at the University of Hull, in Britain, demonstrating the pedagogical potential of the world-building computer game. “Excavating” a medieval village and building public understanding of the work of a renowned Yorkshire architect are among the ways in which Minecraft has been used at the institution. Joel Mills, Hull’s technology enhanced learning adviser, has also run a massive open online course about the use of the game in teaching, which attracted 3,000 participants. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/28/university-hull-demonstrates-pedagogical-potential-world-building-game

Penn State Starts Network for Entrepreneurs With Focus on Online Learning - Mary Ellen McIntire, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Education-technology companies are hot these days. So are online programs by universities. Pennsylvania State University hopes to tap into both trends with a new effort to turn its campus into an innovation hub for ed-tech companies. The effort is called the EdTech Network, and officials hope it will spark entrepreneurship around the campus geared toward improving services for online students, said Craig D. Weidemann, the university’s vice provost for online education. That could help Penn State reach its 10-year goal of increasing enrollments in its online World Campus to 45,000 students. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/penn-state-starts-network-for-entrepreneurs-with-focus-on-online-learning/57321

The Move from Course Management to Course Networking - Mary Grush, Campus Technology

Over the past 18-plus years, LMS pioneer-developer Ali Jafari has applied his extensive research in learning technologies to the creation of learning management systems. Working at IU, he founded Oncourse — the first open source LMS and the basis and springboard for Sakai — and ANGEL Learning, which became a major competitor in the LMS marketplace and was ultimately acquired by Blackboard. His designs have taken their place among the world's leading learning management systems. But in 2011, with his creation of CourseNetworking (theCN.com), Jafari's work began to take a distinct turn, focusing more on social, global, and collaboration technologies. It's what he has identified as the move from course management to course networking. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/08/18/the-move-from-course-management-to-course-networking.aspx

E-Texts and the Future of the College Bookstore - Rand Spiwak, Campus Technology

The acceptance and adoption of digital content in the classroom has been a slow, but, progressing evolution. Until all of the components of a successful conversion were available to higher education, adoption had been limited and digital content experiences less than desirable. Now, these components (interactive digital content, fully functional learning-experience platform software, hardware, connectivity and affordability) are readily available and are being piloted and implemented at increasing rates of acceptance and success. Students are demanding lower-cost alternatives to the current printed textbook and are seeking those alternatives through various means. Out of a hundred students, 50 percent or more don't acquire a textbook because of cost, rather than availability; another 30 to 35 percent seek less expensive used textbooks from college bookstores, online sources, other students or anywhere they find a source. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/08/26/e-texts-and-the-future-of-the-college-bookstore.aspx

Penn State World Campus launches program on California marine base - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

Penn State’s World Campus will add a residential element with a new undergraduate labor and employment relations program at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot, which will offer its first class this semester. The Daily Collegian reports that the location will eventually offer graduate classes in homeland security, human resources and employment relations, and supply chain management. An admissions counselor and outreach coordinator have been hired to work in the area, recruiting military personnel as well as those in the region without any connection to the military. http://www.educationdive.com/news/penn-state-world-campus-launches-program-on-california-marine-base/404699/

Americans are Learning Online - YouGov

The national US student loan debt currently stands at around 1.2 trillion dollars and the cost of a college degree continues to rise. Online learning may be a way to keep down those costs. 36% of Americans have embarked on an online learning course, the number driven primarily by millennials at 46% but more than a quarter of the over 55s (28%) have also participated in some form of online learning. 35% of all Americans would consider taking an online course in the next 12 months. Of those adult Americans who have taken an online learning course more than half (57%) have taken single classes outside of a full program but 40% have taken a full program leading to accreditation. 20% have taken a full online program leading to a degree or post-graduate degree. https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/08/26/americans-are-online-learning/

Report Identifies Barriers to Adopting Alternative Credentials - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

To help make alternative credentials a more viable option for adult learners, Eduventures recommends that institutions create a strategic framework by focusing on three areas: Define your alternative credentialing options, whether they are certificates, badges, formal statements of accomplishment, or endorsements of some kind. Determine the aim of these credentials. Are they to validate mastery of a particular skill? Do they really only serve as a more structured pathway to degree attainment? Or are they simply to demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning? Articulate ways which alternative credentials can augment traditional degrees or create a viable substitute to degree attainment. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/08/27/report-identifies-barriers-to-adopting-alternative-credentials.aspx

Pixar teaches kids the math behind the movies through online course - Jonathan Bloom, KGO

Pixar created films like "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc." but the latest production from the Emeryville-based animation studios stars a different cast of characters, ones like algebra and trigonometry. It's the first chapter in a new effort to get kids, who are excited about Pixar's movies, to be enthusiastic about learning. Working with the online educators at Khan Academy, they built a free online course that's truly interactive. "They're simplified versions of tools that artists use here at Pixar," Derose said. The lectures are given by Pixar animators. They start with the basics and get into the nitty-gritty. http://abc7news.com/education/pixar-teaches-kids-the-math-behind-the-movies-in-online-class/958656/

Adapting courses for the digital era: the professors' perspective - CAROLINE SIMON, the Daily Pennsylvanian

For the thousands of students from 195 countries who enroll in one of Penn’s online courses, the benefit of free, accessible education is obvious. But the professors who spend hours planning lessons, recording lectures and moderating online forums benefit from the surge in online learning as well. Fifty-seven faculty members at Penn currently offer courses through the massive open online course provider Coursera, a number that may rise as the University begins its recently announced partnership with edX, another MOOC provider. As of this year, online courses are offered by all of Penn’s 12 schools. http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/08/moocs-from-professors-perspectives

Can MOOCs Become Part of Best Practices in Online Learning? - Yoram Neumann, University Business

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have captured the headlines in higher education in the past year. These new platforms were developed to enable both open access and large scale participation in online courses. Many top tier universities are joining the MOOCs bandwagon, afraid of missing an important piece of the Web-based phenomenon. It is our goal as educators to assess whether or not they can become a best practice in online learning. There is still a long way to go for the current MOOCs to adopt the best practices and provide a quality of online learning experience resulting in maximized retention and lifelong sustainable learning in a coherent degree program. However, MOOCs can play an effective role of supplementary learning or continuing education without entering into degree granting arena. If this path is selected, MOOCs will have a valuable role to play but it will not become part of the core activities of institutions of higher learning. http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/can-moocs-become-part-best-practices-online-learning