Online Disruption, MOOC Mania, and Change in Higher Education – How Crazy (or Bad) Will it Get?

By on June 10, 2013 in Access and Affordability, Business of Education, Cost of a Degree, Economy, Learning Outcomes Assessment, Online Education, Student Persistence, Student Retention, Trends in Higher Education

(keynote delivered at the Distance Learning Administration Conference on June 5, 2013)

I began writing this speech nearly three months ago.  A week and a half ago, I wrapped it up and thought I had better run through it one last time in case any new educational technology had been released that I needed to discuss today.  While nothing notable has been released, I am sure that somewhere, someone with a background in technology is working on the next great thing to sell to students and/or institutions.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Preparing K-12 Students for Post K-12 Years

By on May 23, 2013 in Accountability, k-12 education

Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”  As an educator, I believe Mr. Franklin’s statement is accurate.  Recently, however, an international ranking of educational success found that despite its role as a global superpower, the United States lags behind other countries.  Top performers include Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan, Estonia, Japan, and Korea.  Finland grabbed the top spot while the United States ranked 17th in the world in science and 24th in math.  Yesterday, The Washington Post published data from the ACT that speaks to the “gap” in college preparedness. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Why Private Schools are Dying Out

By on May 20, 2013 in Cost of a Degree, k-12 education, Online Education

On May 16, 2013, The Atlantic published an article written by Chester Finn, titled “Why Private Schools Are Dying Out.” Finn explores private schools in America and why they’re “dying out.”  While most of the article discusses the situation as it applies to private schools, the author also writes that non-elite, private colleges are also burdened with similar challenges, namely needing to heavily discount tuition in order to attract students.

Many years ago when I was a seventh grader, I was fortunate to be awarded an academic scholarship to attend a private school in Baltimore at nearly no cost to my parents. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Celebrating Innovation in Education at the 2013 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

By on May 15, 2013 in Online Education, Student Persistence, Technology, Trends in Higher Education

Last week, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and the Milken Family Foundation hosted the fourth annual Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition.  The competition website  explains that “there is an urgent need to find ways to reach and educate every person” while also noting that “The United States is the largest exporter of education in the world, and education is our country’s fifth largest export.”  The competition brings together educational entrepreneurs intent on finding new ways to reach and educate more people around the world . … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

College (Un)Bound by Jeffrey J. Selingo

By on May 14, 2013 in Book Reviews, Business of Education, Trends in Higher Education

college unboundAs a writer, editor, and now Editor-at-Large for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeff Selingo has observed and written about higher education for more than 15 years.  My assessment of his observations noted in his book, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What it Means for Students,  is not unlike a statistician analyzing a very large dataset where every independent variable is technically significant.  Similar to a statistician looking to hone in on the most significant independent variables in the previous situation, Selingo has directed the primary focus of the book to the coming disruption of traditional colleges and universities.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Nature and Needs of Higher Education

By on May 2, 2013 in Trends in Higher Education, Uncategorized

When reading research reports, I have a habit of noting specific citations if they interest me.  Whether I subsequently access the original source depends on how much time I have and whether the topic is relevant to an article or paper that I am writing.   I don’t retrieve older source documents as often as newer ones, since much of my writing involves online learning, a field that is evolving almost as quickly as the technology that supports it changes.  During the past year or so, I read a paper or two related to higher education policy that mentioned a 1952 report that the Rockefeller Foundation commissioned to examine the financing of American higher education. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

By on April 29, 2013 in Book Reviews

 Contagious

It’s hard not to hear about a YouTube video that goes viral these days.  With billions accessing the Internet globally, anyone with a product to market can theoretically tap the power of the Internet to  create demand for their product after generating a positive buzz on any number of consumer accessed websites.  Jonah Berger is the James G. Campbell Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and has extensively researched word-of-mouth and social transmission of messages. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Education Innovation: Fad or Burgeoning Industry?

By on April 24, 2013 in Business of Education, Online Education, Technology, Trends in Higher Education

I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Education Innovation Summit 2013 in Phoenix.  Co-sponsored by Arizona State University (ASU) and GSV Advisors, this year’s event was the fourth and the largest by far.  Because of my role in online education at American Public University System (APUS), I have been a member of the ASU/GSV advisory board and have attended all four conferences.  Each year attendance has grown at an impressive rate with estimated figures of 200, 400, 800, and 1400 for each consecutive annual conference. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Earth Day

By on April 22, 2013 in American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, Environment

Today is Earth Day and it seems fitting to share an update about American Public University System’s (APUS) most recent sustainability initiatives and accomplishments. 

Big Green BoxRecycling is one of the most fundamental elements of sustainable practices.  At APUS, we have had a recycling program for many years.  A year ago, we expanded the program to include battery recycling using The Big Green Box program.  The cost to purchase The Big Green Box includes the fees for all recycling and a prepaid shipping label to return the box when it is full. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Higher Education in the Digital Age by William Bowen

By on April 15, 2013 in Book Reviews, Online Education, Technology, Trends in Higher Education

Higher Education in the Digital AgeBill Bowen is an economist, president emeritus of Princeton University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as founding chairman of ITHAKA.  His most recent book, Higher Education in the Digital Age, received much advanced press so I pre-ordered a copy through Amazon.

Stanford University President John Hennessy invited Bowen to deliver the 2012 Tanner Lectures given last October.  Higher Education in the Digital Age is a revised publication of the lectures given.  The book is organized in a way to explore two current topics in higher education: 1) the cost disease and productivity concept in higher education and 2) whether the deployment of technology and online learning in particular can cure the cost disease. … Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }