After a conversation with an ed tech entrepreneur about the rapidly evolving field of non-credit credentials, I looked for a book or paper in my collection that I thought highlighted some of the issues with non-credit offerings from education institutions. I remembered I had a copy of WorkForce Rx written by Van Ton-Quinlivan in 2021 and decided to reread it.
If you want to read the most thoroughly researched book about higher ed credentials and the current and future issues involving them, you should read Paul Gaston’s and Michelle Van Noy’s book, Credentials. Paul and Michelle have extensive academic backgrounds including learning outcomes, curriculum mapping, and the connection between workforce development and education. From my perspective, their academic experiences are extremely helpful and relevant to the pending transformation of traditional higher education.
I’ve known Deborah M. Seymour and Kathleen Ives for a number of years. In addition to other positions, Deborah was chief academic innovation officer at the American Council on Education (ACE) and Kathleen was CEO of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). When I was president of APUS, we engaged Deborah for a consulting assignment related to an online innovation that we wanted to implement.
Two recent books about higher education that I’ve read and reviewed, After the Ivory Tower Falls and The Great Upheaval, provided excellent context and analysis about why higher education will transform or perish. The College Devaluation Crisis, written by Jason Wingard and published in late 2021, provides a business-like analytical approach to an industry in decline.
Author and journalist Will Bunch’s introduction in After the Ivory Tower Falls provides an overview of his book in three sentences:
I’ve known Bob Zemsky since he was my professor and doctoral dissertation chair at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. I met Lori Carrell, Chancellor of the University of Minnesota – Rochester on a Zoom call when I began participating as an advisor with the three year baccalaureate degree project led by her and Bob Zemsky.
A friend of mine called me just before the holidays, confirmed my home address, and said that he was sending me a book that he wanted me to read. George and I served together on the Board of Trustees of our alma mater, McDonogh School, and he wanted to hear my thoughts about the book.
Privilege was written by a sociology professor, Shamus Rahman Khan, an alumnus of St.
