funding / grants

Google wants 20,000 Americans to have higher-paying jobs — from protocol.com by Amber Burton
Google’s Career Certificate Fund is aimed at creating a sustainable model of support for American job seekers.

Excerpt:

The program is designed for students to pay zero upfront costs for the three to six-month courses, but Google certificate students are expected to repay program costs if they land a job that pays at least $40,000 annually. While the exact amount of the monthly payments was not shared in the announcement, Google said it will be low no-interest payments for Social Finance to reinvest in the program for additional participants.

Our new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund — from blog.google by Sundar Pichai

It’s another promising example of how the entire ecosystem — from private companies to nonprofits — can work together to help more Americans access economic opportunities.

Addendum on 3/2/22:

Google’s Sundar Pichai Just Announced a $100 Million Educational Fund. It Might Mean the Beginning of the End for College. — from inc.com by Jeff Steen
While college tuition rises, businesses like Google are offering their own credentials — for a lot less. It might be the educational model we’ve needed for decades.

Amazon’s $3M gift to kick-start a CS bachelor’s degree program at community & technical colleges throughout WA [Smalley]

On 01/07/2022, in Amazon, career development, changing business models, collaboration, community colleges, computer science, funding / grants, new business models, platforms, programming, United States, by Daniel Christian

Amazon Gift Signals Confidence in Community Colleges — from insidehighered.com by Suzanne Smalley
The company is giving $3 million to kick-start a computer science bachelor’s degree program at community and technical colleges throughout Washington State.

Excerpt:

Amazon is funding a pilot that will support the launch of new computer science bachelor’s degree programs at community and technical colleges in Seattle and across Washington State, an investment meant to address a workforce shortage plaguing the e-commerce giant and other employers who can’t find qualified candidates for unfilled computer science positions.

Ohio State U. Unveils a Plan for All Students to Graduate Debt-Free [Kelderman]

On 11/26/2021, in experimentation, funding / grants, higher education, ideas, leadership, policy, society, sociology, strategy, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Ohio State U. Unveils a Plan for All Students to Graduate Debt-Free — from chronicle.com by Eric Kelderman

Excerpt:

Nearly half of all undergraduates at Ohio State University take out loans to help pay the costs of attending college, borrowing an average of more than $27,000. Kristina M. Johnson, the new president of the land-grant university, wants to reduce that proportion to zero.

Johnson announced a plan on Friday, at her investiture, to reach that goal within a decade.

Instead of offering students federal direct loans as part of their financial-aid packages, the university will use a combination of grants, internships, and opportunities to assist with research.

“People without family means, which includes many of the country’s minority students, start their adult lives in a financial hole,” Johnson said during her investiture speech. “I want all of our graduates to be free to say yes to every great opportunity that comes their way.”

Over 60,000 Fake Applications Submitted in Student Aid Scheme, California Says [Patel]

On 11/15/2021, in community colleges, ethics, funding / grants, United States, by Daniel Christian

Over 60,000 Fake Applications Submitted in Student Aid Scheme, California Says — from nytimes.com from Vimal Patel
It was unclear how much money, if any, was disbursed to the suspicious students. The federal Education Department said it was investigating the suspected fraud.

Excerpt:

According to Mr. Perry, fraud of this nature is easier to pull off at community colleges than at four-year institutions, because the two-year institutions don’t have admissions committees vetting applicants. And while colleges have had some fully virtual components for many years, the pandemic — which forced many colleges to operate entirely online — has provided the conditions for such schemes to flourish. “Somebody trying to perpetuate this would think this was a more likely time to try to get away with this,” Mr. Perry said.

He added that the next step for federal investigators should be to determine how widespread this conduct is and whether colleges elsewhere should be on the lookout.

Supporting Student Accessibility: Digital Equity | Special Needs & More [Tech & Learning]

On 11/09/2021, in accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), bots, digital learning, digital textbooks, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, ethics, experimentation, face-to-face, funding / grants, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, neurodivergent/special needs, remote teaching and learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Supporting Student Accessibility: Digital Equity | Special Needs & More — from Tech & Learning | November 2021

College costs have increased by 169% since 1980—but pay for young workers is up by just 19%: Georgetown report — from cnbc.com by Abigail Johnson Hess

Excerpt:

The report, titled “If Not Now, When? The Urgent Need for an All-One-System Approach to Youth Policy,” breaks down seven trends that have made it difficult for workers to transition from education to the workforce since 1980.

“Postsecondary education policy has failed to keep higher education affordable even as formal education beyond high school has become more essential,” reads the report. “Today, two out of three jobs require postsecondary education and training, while three out of four jobs in the 1970s required a high school diploma or less. Yet while young people today need more education than ever to compete in the labor market, a college education is more expensive than in the past.”

Also see:

Infographic: What Really Happens to Our Students? — from eab.com by Ed Venit; with thanks to Bryan Alexander for this resource out on LinkedIn
Constructing an Estimate of Outcomes for 100 Students Who Start a Bachelor Degree

Microsoft announces plan to cut cybersecurity workforce shortage in half by 2025 [Feiner]

On 11/01/2021, in collaboration, community colleges, corporate / business world, funding / grants, higher education, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, United States, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft announces plan to cut cybersecurity workforce shortage in half by 2025 — from cnbc.com by Lauren Feiner

Excerpt:

Microsoft will partner with community colleges across the U.S. and provide free resources in an attempt to help end a shortage in cybersecurity workers, the company announced Thursday.
The company believes it can help train and recruit 250,000 people into the cybersecurity workforce by 2025.
Microsoft also believes the effort will help diversify the cybersecurity workforce.

The STOP Award $1 Million Prize — to honor education providers that continued to perform for underserved families during Covid.

On 09/13/2021, in education, funding / grants, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, by Daniel Christian

The STOP Award $1 Million Prize — to honor education providers that continued to perform for underserved families during Covid.

We would like to support and endorse their work in the future to provide Sustainable, Transformational and Outstanding education for students in Permissionless settings.

A $1 million cash prize will be awarded to the education provider that best demonstrates that it delivered for underserved students an outstanding and transformational education during Covid.

Amazon offers to pay college tuition for most US workers [Meyersohn]

On 09/12/2021, in Amazon, colleges, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Amazon offers to pay college tuition for most US workers — from cnn.com by Nathaniel Meyersohn

Excerpt:

New York (CNN Business)Amazon is offering to cover four-year college tuition for most of its approximately 750,000 hourly workers in the United States, the latest major employer to offer the perk to attract and retain hourly employees in a tight job market.

Starting in January, Amazon for the first time will pay for tuition, fees and books for warehouse, transportation and other hourly employees who want to pursue bachelor’s degrees. It will also begin covering high school diploma programs, GED’s and English as a Second Language (ESL) certifications for employees.

Amazon (AMZN) has not finalized a list of colleges workers will be eligible to attend using the benefit.

Earning a Living and College Credit at the Same Time [Greenberg]

On 08/27/2021, in Alternatives, collaboration, colleges, computer science, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, higher education, programming, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Earning a Living and College Credit at the Same Time — from insidehighered.com by Susan H. Greenberg
IBM software engineering apprentices can now translate their training into three semesters of college credit at participating institutions.

Excerpt:

IBM is the latest company to win recognition from the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service as part of its recently launched Apprenticeship Pathways project, which allows apprentices at selected companies to earn digital credentials that they can apply to six participating institutions:

Bismark State College
Excelsior College
Ivy Tech Community College
Rowan University
Tidewater Community College
California State University, San Bernardino

Drexel Researchers Will Develop Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Adult Learning and Online Education as Part of $220 Million NSF Initiative — from drexel.edu with thanks to Ray Schroeder for this resource out on LinkedIn

Excerpt:

Researchers in Drexel University’s College of Computing & Informatics, who are studying artificial intelligence as a tool for teaching, have been selected to join a $220 million National Science Foundation initiative to expand the use of AI technology in areas ranging from agriculture and food supply chains to adult and online learning. Drexel’s team will join AI researchers from around the country in an effort to use the technology to make education more accessible for Americans who are adapting to rapidly changing workplaces. The NSF’s Adult Learning & Online Education (ALOE) Institute will be supported by $20 million over five years.

“The expansion will allow more people to participate in prison education programs”

On 08/05/2021, in career development, funding / grants, legislatures / government / legal, participation, policy, society, sociology, United States, by Daniel Christian

‘Best of Both Worlds’ — from insidehighered.com by Alexis Gravely
The expansion will allow more people to participate in prison education programs while the department prepares for across-the-board Pell Grant access for incarcerated students.

Excerpt:

The Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative will be expanded for the 2022-23 award year to allow another 69 colleges and universities to participate, paving the way for even more incarcerated individuals to gain access to higher education.

A maximum of 200 two- and four-year colleges will be able to offer prison education programs with the support of the Pell Grant, up from the 131 institutions currently participating. The department is also planning to broaden the geographic scope of Second Chance Pell, with the goal of having programs in most or all 50 states.

How Morehouse School of Medicine is growing the biotech worker pipeline [Thomas Whitfield]

On 06/30/2021, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), biology, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, health, higher education, society, sociology, United States, by Daniel Christian

How Morehouse School of Medicine is growing the biotech worker pipeline — from highereddive.com by Chandra Thomas Whitfield
The historically Black institution created summer bridge programs to attract students to a sector in which diversity has long lagged.

College students and recent graduates considering a future in the biotechnology sector have a new way to try it out, thanks to a tuition-free summer program at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Global EdTech Funding 2021 – Half Year Update — from holoniq.com
A record half year in EdTech funding with 568 rounds raising $10B of investment as, ready or not, the world turns to technology to support learning and education delivery.

Learning Ecosystems

Amazon’s $3M gift to kick-start a CS bachelor’s degree program at community & technical colleges throughout WA [Smalley]

Ohio State U. Unveils a Plan for All Students to Graduate Debt-Free [Kelderman]

Over 60,000 Fake Applications Submitted in Student Aid Scheme, California Says [Patel]

College costs have increased by 169% since 1980—but pay for young workers is up by just 19%: Georgetown report [Johnson Hess]

Microsoft announces plan to cut cybersecurity workforce shortage in half by 2025 [Feiner]

Amazon offers to pay college tuition for most US workers [Meyersohn]

Earning a Living and College Credit at the Same Time [Greenberg]

“The expansion will allow more people to participate in prison education programs”

How Morehouse School of Medicine is growing the biotech worker pipeline [Thomas Whitfield]

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