higher education
Personalized Learning
UExcel: University credit by exam
I joined the Western Governor’s University board almost 10 years ago because I was enthusiastic about the idea of credits for competencies. More recently, I’ve been investigating pathways to US universities for international students. Given both of these interests, I was pleased to read about UExcel:…
Personalized Learning
Free higher ed courses not great USED investment
Rick Hess makes a series of good arguments that the $500m ‘online skills laboratory’ isn’t a great investment. In the mixed provider post secondary space, quality content isn’t the top barrier. It’s pricing that reflects the sunk costs of existing institutions. A healthy market will make investment in…
Personalized Learning
It’s the learning, stupid
This week I had the good fortune to meet Jamie P. Merisotis, President, Lumina Foundation for Education. As one of the few higher ed funders, he’s pushing an exciting agenda with a big goal: Over the next 16 years, Lumina wants to increase the percentage of Americans with college…
Personalized Learning
Are data systems worth the risk/cost?
National Journal asked “are state data systems worth the risk?” The terminal outcomes of K-12 aren’t only test scores and graduation rates, they should include college completion and employment. We can’t really measure K-12 effectiveness without the ability to know where high school leavers/graduates go. Our college dropout…
Personalized Learning
DigiPen prepares gamers for jobs
My wife and I visited DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond today. It’s a private college located between Microsoft and Nintendo in Redmond WA. They offer associate, bachelor, and masters degrees in game development. The curriculum is no game–it’s packed with math and science. An MS degree requires 154…
Personalized Learning
Picking the right college is about to get easier
It’s only the beginning of the school year but for high school juniors the college preparation and selection clock is ticking. For those planning to attend college, the last two years of high school are a busy timeline with a series of complicated milestones: tests, essay, online searches,…
Personalized Learning
The education bubble
Marketplace economics correspondent Chris Ferrell suggested that we’re nearing the end of an “education bubble” where college is not worth what families are spending. Ferrell suggested that the hyperinflation in higher ed costs is mainly because of widely available inexpensive student loans. Ferrell suggests that…
Personalized Learning
Online learning news & views
1. Met the management team of Provost last week and was impressed with their plans. They’re the first 2nd gen virtual provider that I know—they’re developing their content as learning objects with the ability to customize the curriculum for each learner by level and modality. Also…
Personalized Learning
Improving college completion
There are some obvious strategies for improving college completion starting with improved preparation and a stronger college advising and support programs. Less obvious but perhaps most powerful would be improving completion incentives for colleges. They currently have perverse incentives to churn-and-burn underclassman. The lower division is…
Personalized Learning
Virtual alignment of high school & college
We’re seeing the beginning of aligned high school and college assets online. Apex led the way with online AP courses—the most popular college credit strategy—and most online providers including K12 followed suit. Milken’s impressive education portfolio includes KC Distance Learning (Keystone,…