business side of he

Some resources mentioned by Goldie Blumenstyk out at “The Edge” — in her posting entitled “How to Keep Old Debts From Deterring Returning Students“

Institute for College Access & Success (Ticas) has just released its annual report on what college graduates owe in student debt.
Excerpt:
Student Debt and the Class of 2019 is TICAS’ fifteenth annual report on the student loan debt of recent graduates from four-year colleges, documenting changes and variation in student debt across states and colleges. Unless otherwise noted, the figures in this report are only for public and private nonprofit colleges because virtually no for-profit colleges report what their graduates owe.Nationally, more than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt, down from the Class of 2018 (65%). Borrowers from the Class of 2019 owed an average of $28,950, a 0.9 percent decline from the average of $29,200 in 2018, continuing a trend of relatively flat student debt levels in recent years.

Solving Stranded Credits: Assessing the Scope and Effects of Transcript Withholding on Students, States, and Institutions — from sr.ithaka.org by Julia Karon, James Dean Ward, Catharine Bond Hill, & Martin Kurzweil

Excerpt:

Attention to the burden of U.S. educational debt, now at $1.7 trillion, has grown in recent years.^[1] For too many former postsecondary students—especially Black students—debt they took on to improve their lives and career prospects has instead become a financial hindrance, delaying or undermining their efforts to buy homes, build savings, or provide for their families.^[2] The debt burden is especially severe for those who never completed their postsecondary program and therefore did not receive the credentials that might have boosted their careers and incomes enough to justify taking on the debt.

Also see:

The pandemic has pushed hundreds of thousands of workers out of higher education — from chronicle.com by Dan Bauman
Excerpt:
The work-force that serves much of higher education in America has shrunk by at least 7 percent since Covid-19 arrived on American shores — a staggering, unprecedented contraction, according to federal data. And like the national economic downturn that is running parallel to this unprecedented viral outbreak, much also remains uncertain about what a “recovery” will actually look like for higher education.

The shift online has colleges looking to share courses [Wong]

On 10/05/2020, in adjunct faculty, budgets, business side of he, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, curriculum, digital learning, distance education, experimentation, faculty/staff, formal learning, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, instructional design, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, society, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, traditional / tradition, trends, United States, universities, vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

The shift online has colleges looking to share courses — from educationdive.com by Alia Wong
Dozens of institutions have joined consortia for exchanging online classes since the pandemic began, and new options have sprung up.

Excerpts:

Dozens of other small, private institutions followed thanks to the Council of Independent Colleges’ (CIC’s) Online Course Sharing Consortium, which was formed in late 2018 and today is the largest of the dozen or so networks on Acadeum.

DC: You want to talk about learning ecosystems?!!? Check out the scopes included in this landscape from HolonIQ!

On 09/17/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, Alternatives, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, assessment, Australia, Blockchain, business, business side of he, Canada, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, credentialing, curriculum, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, Europe, faculty/staff, flipping -- inverted learning, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, India, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, microlearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, productivity / tips and tricks, robotics, science, simulations, society, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Also see:

From DSC:
If this isn’t mind-blowing, I don’t know what is! Some serious morphing lies ahead of us!

From DSC:
For those folks looking for work, the article below relays some solid advice/tips to get you past the Applicant Tracking Systems out there. The last time I was searching for a position, I had no idea how prevalent these systems are out there. To quote from the article:

Because of the sheer volume, 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to manage each step of the hiring process.

If you haven’t looked for a job in a while, this will blow you away. To get your resume in front of an actual human being is a major accomplishment.

5 secrets to get you past the résumé-reading robots — from fastcompany.com by
Before your résumé gets to a recruiter, it’s read by an AI-driven Applicant Tracking System. A human resources exec advises how you can beat the robot.

From DSC:
…and by the way, this is very much relevant for faculty members and staff members out there. Consider this quote from Debora Spar, senior associate dean of Harvard Business School Online:

Many colleges and universities will suffer extreme financial stress; some – up to 345 colleges, according to one recent estimate – could be forced to close. Faculty are likely to face layoffs unprecedented in the history of U.S. higher education.

“This isn’t helping the continued backlash against traditional institutions of higher education.” [Christian]

On 09/05/2020, in 21st century, Alternatives, business side of he, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education reform, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, heutagogy, higher education, ideas, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, parents/guardians, platforms, society, sociology, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

DC: This isn’t helping the continued backlash against traditional institutions of higher education.”#highereducation #debt #tuition #learningfromthelivingclassroom #learningecosystems

https://t.co/srV971osSI

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) September 4, 2020

From DSC:
The perfect storm continues to build against traditional institutions of higher education. The backlash continues to build strength. And there WILL BE change — there’s no choice now. Alternatives to these traditional institutions of higher education continue to appear on the scene.

Over the last several decades, traditional institutions of higher education had the chance to step in and do something. They didn’t take nearly enough action. As in other industries, these days of the Coronavirus just hasten the changes that were already afoot.

Also see:

Alternative Credentials on the Rise — from insidehighered.com by Paul Fain, with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource
Interest is growing in short-term, online credentials amid the pandemic. Will they become viable alternative pathways to well-paying jobs?

Artificial Intelligence for Learning: How to use AI to Support Employee Development [Donald Clark]

On 09/02/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, business, business side of he, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, faculty/staff, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning theories, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, research, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

So what is the book about? — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark; which discusses his book entitled, Artificial Intelligence for Learning: How to use AI to Support Employee Development

Excerpt:

AI changes everything. It changes how we work, shop, travel, entertain ourselves, socialize, deal with finance and healthcare. When online, AI mediates almost everything – Google, Google Scholar, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, Netflix. It would be bizarre to imagine that AI will have no role to play in learning – it already has.

Both informally and formally, AI is now embedded in many of the tools real learners use for online learning – we search for knowledge using AI (Google, Google Scholar), we search for practical knowledge using AI (YouTube), Duolingo for languages, and CPD is becoming common on social media, almost all mediated by AI. It is everywhere, just largely invisible. This book is partly about the role of AI in informal learning but it is largely about its existing and potential role in formal learning – in schools, Universities and the workplace. AI changes the world, so it changes why we learn, what we learn and how we learn.

Also see:

Abandon lectures: increase attendance, attitudes and attainment — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark
Excerpt:
The groups were taught a module in a physics course, in three one hour sessions in one week. In short; attendance increased, measured attitudes were better (students enjoyed the experience (90%) and thought that the whole course would be better if taught this way (77%)). More importantly students in the experimental group outperformed the control group, doing more than twice as well in assessment than the control group.

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education [Schwartz]

On 08/31/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, culture, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, IT in HE, online learning, pace of change, parents/guardians, platforms, reinvent, remote teaching and learning, society, staying relevant, surviving, teaching & learning, teaching online, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education — from educationdive.com by Natalie Schwartz

Dive Brief:

The pandemic will hasten a transformation of higher education business models, according to a new Moody’s Investors Service report.
The crisis will accelerate many colleges’ plans to grow their online footprints, though not all schools have the resources to invest in digital infrastructure, the report notes. They will also likely expand non-degree and certificate programs.
Analysts predict that once the pandemic subsides, some colleges will struggle if they haven’t established a strong online presence.

“Some universities previously resistant to change will have to take more expansive steps to adapt to this transformation,” Pranav Sharma, assistant vice president at Moody’s, said in a statement. “Not all universities, however, have the resources or culture to move quickly and the coronavirus will expedite existential threats for some.”

Also see:

Active Learning while Physically Distant — from blogs.acu.edu

Excerpt:

Use a Google Form as an entrance or exit ticket. Upon entering class, a quick google form can engage students with a couple of quick questions. A google form as an exit ticket can provide good insight into student learning that day.

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

On 08/27/2020, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, distance education, education technology, face-to-face, future of higher education, higher education, new business models, online learning, online media, platforms, remote teaching and learning, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein

Excerpts:

Third, COVID-19 will accelerate the need of colleges and universities to find ways of continuing to serve their graduates for 20 or 40 years rather than for two or four. Quite simply, they will need revenue at a time when the pace and breadth of reskilling needs in the workplace is accelerating. These students will need online or blended educational experience, which will mean that more instructors will be called upon to teach using new modalities.
…
Major changes in the market
This shift online will drastically shift approaches to curricular materials at both the individual instructor and the institutional levels.
…
Meanwhile, institutions will face two pedagogy-related challenges. First, they will have to work very hard to retain students who are under increased financial stress and may struggle in an online environment more than they would in a residential program. Since the colleges will also be under financial stress, they will need to retain every student possible. They will no longer have the luxury of simply letting faculty teach however they like and accepting that some of them are not good at helping their students to succeed.

The Fed’s Evolution Is Coming to a Computer Screen Near You [Smialek]

On 08/27/2020, in business, business side of he, corporate / business world, digital learning, distance education, economics, Google, multimedia, online learning, online media, platforms, policy, society, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The Fed’s Evolution Is Coming to a Computer Screen Near You — from nytimes.com by Jeanna Smialek
The 2020 version of the Federal Reserve’s loftiest annual meeting will be webcast this week, allowing the public to tune in for the first time. It could be the stage for an important policy shift.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

On Thursday, Chair Jerome H. Powell will have a chance to update America on the central bank’s soon-to-conclude framework review, in which it has revisited its policy tools for good and bad times, in a speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual conference. The storied gathering of elite economists has been held behind closed doors in Jackson Hole, Wyo., since 1982. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be held remotely and streamed on the Kansas City Fed’s YouTube page this year, allowing the public to tune in for the first time ever.

From DSC:
May this be the start of something new!!! How cool/rewarding would it have been for our economics-related courses to be able to tap into this from a remote distance…then discuss (and track) things afterward!

Addendum:

What is the Fed’s new policy framework, and why does it matter? — from reuters.com by Ann Saphir
Excerpt:
Here are five things to know about the Federal Reserve’s new strategy for achieving stable prices and maximum employment. The landmark policy shift was announced on Thursday.

Alternative Credentials, Scaled Degrees, and the New Higher Ed Matthew Effect — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kim
The potential impact of elite-branded affordable online certificates and degrees on regionally-branded tuition-dependent colleges and universities.

Excerpt:

I pulled those quotes from the 8/10/20 IHE article At Home, Workers Seek Alternative Credentials. Given the crazy times, I’m not sure if that article is getting the attention across higher ed that it deserves. Everyone is entirely focused on the near-term challenges of academic continuity during the pandemic. And that is the right place to be focusing. You can’t plan for the long-term when the short-term is so unstable.

But today, I’m going to ask you to do just that. If you can, step back from thinking about COVID-19 and what is happening to your school in the fall, and give some thought to the medium-to-long-term impact of the rise of alternative credentials and scaled degrees to your institution.

First, let me ask you a question. How does your school balance its books? Where does the money come from?

For those in academia who still assert that higher ed isn’t a business [Christian]

On 08/15/2020, in business side of he, colleges, Daniel S. Christian, higher education, society, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

DC: For those in academia who still claim higher ed isn’t a business, please explain this one to me.https://t.co/4VufkA5dRL

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) August 14, 2020

Addendum on 8/27/20…oh yeah…and this one too is along these lines:

UCLA Sues Under Armour And Says Force Majeure Doesn’t Excuse $200 Million Obligation — from abovethelaw.com by Darren Heitner
The complaint argues that a financially troubled Under Armour is using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to terminate their contract.

First They Came for Adjuncts, Now They’ll Come for Tenure: And who will be left to stop them? — from chronicle.com by Ed Burmila

Excerpts:

If, by their own accord or by caving to outside political pressures, university administrators take the current crisis as an opportunity to eliminate tenure once and for all, who’s going to stop them?

Put another way: Are there enough academic workers with a stake in the tenure system left to defend it?
…
As go the adjuncts and the nonacademic staff today, so go the tenured faculty tomorrow.

It is in the interest of tenured faculty to fight for their non-tenure-track colleagues. But the key question, as The Chronicle’s Emma Pettit asks, is: Will it be too little too late? When contingent labor protested for years about poor working conditions, it did not find many allies willing to fight alongside it. Now the roles are reversed: Tenured faculty will soon need the rest of the profession to help fight attempts to erode tenure.

Addendum on 8/20/20:

Higher ed group offers ideas for supporting contingent faculty — from educationdive.com by Hallie Busta

Dive Brief:

Support for non-tenure-track faculty members continues to be a concern amid pandemic-related cutbacks and pushback over how some campuses plan to reopen.
A faculty industry group this week put out a list of principles and recommendations for institutions to protect those instructors, calling for them to get paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, and extended access to rehire or promotion opportunities.
The ideas come as calls for greater shared governance grow across the sector in light of the ongoing health crisis.

Cisco Webex: Is this level of audio quality in your videoconferencing products? If not, please purchase/integrate this co’s tech. [Christian]

On 07/28/2020, in A/V -- audio/visual, business, business side of he, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, ideas, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, media/film, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, platforms, presentations, quality, second screen apps, smart classrooms, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, TVs, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

[DC] Cisco Webex: Is this level of audio quality in your videoconferencing products? If not, please purchase/integrate this co's tech.

"Your answer to high-quality audio for remote learning.
High-Quality Audio for Multi-User/Multi-Location Conferencing"https://t.co/XreOLVTXMj pic.twitter.com/Akut67piRe

— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) July 28, 2020

The different Learning Objectives (LO’s) of the corporate world vs. the world of higher education: Who pays the price? [Christian]

On 07/27/2020, in adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, business side of he, career development, change, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, ideas, instructional design, intelligent systems, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC: I’d like to thank Ryan Craig for mentioning several interesting articles and thoughts in a recent Gap Letter. At least 2-3 of the articles he mentioned got me to thinking…

With a degree no longer enough, job candidates are told to prove their skills in tests — from hechingerreport.org by Jon Marcus
Instead of relying on credentials, more employers want applicants to show their stuff

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Among the many frustrations ahead for millions of Americans thrown out of work by the pandemic is one that may surprise them: To get a new job, it’s increasingly likely they will have to take a test.

As the number of candidates balloons while health risks make it hard for hiring managers to meet with them in person, a trend toward “pre-hiring assessments” — already under way before Covid-19 — is getting a huge new push.

Skeptical that university degrees are the best measure of whether candidates have the skills they need, employers were already looking for ways that applicants could prove it — including in fields where that was not previously required.

“It’s like try before you buy,” said Price.

PDF version here.

Also see:

College Alumni See Room for Job-Skill Improvement — from news.gallup.com by John Clark

From DSC:
There is a huge misalignment between the Learning Objectives (LO’s) that the corporate world supports — and ultimately hires by — as compared to the LO’s that faculty, provosts, & presidents support.

This happened to me a while back when I was looking for a new job. I traveled to another city — upon the company’s request (though they never lifted a finger to help me with the travel-related expenses). Plus, I dedicated the time and got my hopes up, yet again, in getting the job. But the test they gave me (before I even saw a human being) blew me away! It was meant for PhD-level candidates in Computer Science, Programming, or Statistics. It was ridiculously hard.

The article above got me to thinking….

Higher education increasingly puts a guerrilla of debt on many students’ backs, which adds to the dispiriting struggle to overcome these kinds of tests. Also, the onslaught of the Applicant Tracking Systems that students have to conquer (in order to obtain that sought after interview) further adds to this dispiriting struggle.

How can we achieve better alignment here? Students are getting left holding the bag…a situation that will likely not last much longer. If higher ed doesn’t address this situation, we shouldn’t be surprised to see a mass exodus when effective alternatives pick up steam even further. Last call to address this now before the exodus occurs.

Along these lines see:

Better Connecting College and Career — from insidehighered.com by Steven Mintz
How to improve career readiness.

Excerpt:

How can colleges best prepare students for careers in a volatile, uncertain environment? This is the question recently asked by Marie Cini, the former provost at University of Maryland University College and former president of CAEL.

Career service offices, she observes, are first and foremost job search centers: reviewing résumés, publicizing job openings and arranging interviews. What they are not about, for the most part, is career preparation, a longer and more intense process involving self-analysis, skills building and genuine insights into the job market.

More [colleges & U’s] are expected to make the switch in the coming weeks. [Bauer-Wolf]

On 07/20/2020, in business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, IT in HE, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, online learning, universities, by Daniel Christian

Why some colleges embraced a virtual fall sooner than others — from educationdive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf; July 20, 2020
More schools are expected to make the switch in the coming weeks.

Excerpt:

These colleges aren’t likely to be exceptions for much longer, as higher ed experts predict the trickle of schools staying online will become a flood as the pandemic persists.

“I expect a bunch of colleges to announce their actual fall setup within 72 hours of each other in the next two weeks,” said Robert Kelchen, an associate professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. “It just takes a few colleges to lead the way and then their competitor institutions will follow.”

Also see:

Colleges walk back their fall plans as coronavirus cases spike — from educationdive.com by Natalie Schwartz; July 16, 2020

Dive Brief:

As the pandemic worsens, more colleges are ditching plans for in-person instruction this fall in favor of a mostly virtual term.
At least six colleges have announced in the past week that they’re planning for a remote term after previously indicating they might bring students back to campus.
They join others including the University of Southern California, which changed its fall plans at the beginning of July. Higher education experts expect more reversals to follow over the next few weeks.

Learning Ecosystems

“Student Debt and the Class of 2019” + “Solving Stranded Credits”

Moody’s: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education [Schwartz]

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

The Fed’s Evolution Is Coming to a Computer Screen Near You [Smialek]

Alternative Credentials, Scaled Degrees, and the New Higher Ed Matthew Effect [Kim]

For those in academia who still assert that higher ed isn’t a business [Christian]

First They Came for Adjuncts, Now They’ll Come for Tenure (And who will be left to stop them?) [Burmila]

More [colleges & U’s] are expected to make the switch in the coming weeks. [Bauer-Wolf]

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