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School budget cuts fueling virtual high school growth

On 04/05/2011, in 21st century, budgets, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, online learning, trends, virtual K-12 schools, by Daniel Christian

School budget cuts fueling virtual high school growth — from prlog.org (originally saw this at Ray Schroeder’s blog)
Faced with budget cuts that have forced the cancellation of low enrollment AP and enrichment classes, schools in 10 states have started their students with VHS online courses this semester.

Mar 21, 2011 – Maynard, MA – Virtual High School Global Consortium (http://www.govhs.org), the pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, today announced the addition of 17 new member schools in 10 states this semester, bringing their total membership to 770 member schools worldwide. Many of these schools are using Virtual High School (VHS) to provide their students with access to courses affected by budget cuts.

Virtual High School Global Consortium Logo

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Cal State University to cut enrollment, faculty, staff and more

On 03/23/2011, in adjunct faculty, budgets, business side of he, change, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, higher education, legislatures / government / legal, organizational change, student-related, United States, by Daniel Christian

Cal State University to cut enrollment, faculty, staff and more — from The L.A. Times by Carla Rivera
Facing an 18% cut in state funding, Cal State plans to reduce enrollment by 10,000, cut $11 million from the chancellor’s office and shrink campus funding by $281 million. No tuition hikes are planned, chancellor says.

Also see:

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What is the place of learning theory in policy discussions? In educational reform?

On 03/21/2011, in change, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, leadership, learning theories, legislatures / government / legal, organizational change, pedagogy, policy, strategy, tools, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In my recent class at Capella University, one of the last discussion board questions asked:

  • Do you think learning theory should be more explicit in official discussions of policy?

What a great question! My answer was yes, as it makes sense to me to guide educational reform by what is best for the students…for learning. Hopefully, we can make informed decisions. Though I’ve learned that there is no silver bullet when it comes to learning theories, each learning theory seems to be a piece of the puzzle for how we learn. Graphically speaking:


If viewing the above graphic on the Learning Ecosystems blog (vs. in an RSS feed/reader):
You may need to right-click on the above image and save it, then open it.

Such theories should have a place when policies are drafted, when changes are made. But I don’t often hear reference to the work of Thorndike, Bandura, Vygotsky, Gagne, Kolb, etc. when legislative bodies/school boards/or other forms of educational leadership are exploring future changes, directions, strategies. What is it that these people were trying to relay to us? What value can we gleam from them when we form our visions of the future? How does their work inform our selection of pedagogies, tools, organizational changes?



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Senate passes patent office reforms [From DSC: Will this help education-related innnovations?]

On 03/15/2011, in copyright/ownership/NFTs, education technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

Senate passes patent office reforms –from TheStreet.com

BOSTON (TheStreet) — The most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. patent law since the 1950s was approved by the U.S. Senate last week.

The America Invents Act, approved by a 95-5 vote, is intended to minimize the 700,000-application backlog faced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, deter the diversion of its revenue to other government agencies and establish a system that grants patents to the first person to file an application, rather than having to determine who was first to produce a product.

From DSC:
I’m hopeful that this will encourage innovations within the world of educational technologies and better support educational entrepreneurship.

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State Higher Education Finance FY 2010 [USA]

On 03/09/2011, in budgets, business side of he, higher education, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, United States, by Daniel Christian

State Higher Education Finance FY 2010 (USA)

Conclusion:

States and the nation as a whole face challenging higher education financing and policy decisions. The pattern during the past three decades includes cyclical downturns in per student funding resulting from economic recessions, followed by recovery and growth. State and local revenue for higher education per student has declined and then recovered, often exceeding previous levels.

The SHEF studies for 2006, 2007, and 2008 indicate a three-year increase in state and local support for public higher education relative to inflation and student demand, following a period of declining public investment in higher education between 2001 and 2005. The three-year recovery abruptly ended when, in 2008, the nation suffered the worst recession since the Great Depression. Past experience and current indicators suggest that state revenue will recover slowly in the next few years. Despite the success of ARRA funding in cushioning the recession’s impact, the continuing fiscal crisis beginning in 2008 clearly poses a severe threat to the strength of higher education in the United States.

Such recurring budgeting cycles can be challenging and discouraging. The resiliency of state support for higher education, however, suggests its importance to our future is widely recognized. But there is no question that the fiscal challenges facing the nation will require both creativity and commitment from policymakers and educators. The data and analysis of this and future SHEF reports are intended to help higher education leaders and state policymakers focus on how discrete, year-to-year decisions fit into broader patterns of change over time, and how each step contributes—or not—to meeting longer-term objectives.

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Public universities seek more autonomy as financing from states shrinks

On 03/03/2011, in budgets, business side of he, game-changing environment, higher education, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, universities, by Daniel Christian

Public universities seek more autonomy as financing from states shrinks — from the NYT by Tamar Lewin

With states providing a dwindling share of money for higher education, many states and public universities are rethinking their ties.

The public universities say that with less money from state coffers, they cannot afford the complicated web of state regulations governing areas like procurement and building, and that they need more flexibility to compete with private institutions.

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The Higher Education Landscape — by Mel Netzhammer

On 02/15/2011, in accreditation, assessment, budgets, business side of he, change, curriculum, higher education, learning, legislatures / government / legal, policy, staying relevant, teaching & learning, trends, by Daniel Christian

The Higher Ed Landscape -- February 2011

From DSC:
As I was reviewing Mel’s presentation, I couldn’t help but think of the amazing amount of pressure colleges and universities will be under towards “standardization” — or at minimum, institutions may need to accept much of what has occurred at another school.  The costs are too high not to — and the expectations from parents, students, legislatures, and the general public may force this to occur.

Along these lines, I think that the dynamics of teaching and learning change when we talk about the cost of an education going from a few thousand to 150,000+ for 4 years. Expectations are one thing that change; Mel’s presentation points to this a bit. But I also wondered…how will institutions of higher education differentiate themselves if these pressures for portability continue to build? How will they keep from becoming a commodity?

Also noteworthy was Mel’s slide re: what students can ultimately DO as a result of their educations — this may become more of the Holy Grail of Assessment.


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Egyptian president steps down amidst groundbreaking digital revolution

On 02/11/2011, in internet, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, mobile technologies, political science, technology (general), tools, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Egyptian president steps down amidst groundbreaking digital revolution — from CNN.com

From DSC:
Though there may have been other factors involved here, various technologies played a significant role in Egypt — such as Twitter, Facebook and mobile phones.


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Will higher education split?

On 02/11/2011, in budgets, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, legislatures / government / legal, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Will higher education split? — from Stephen Downes

Excerpt:

Sir John Daniel and Stamenka Uvali-Trumbi asks provocative question: “Will higher education split over the next decade or two into a public sector focussed on research and a for-profit sector doing most of the teaching?” The evidence? The communique from UNESCO predicting “massification” of higher education, Wildavsky’s book on global universities, and Salmi’s commentary on world class universities, Tony Bates’s article on the future of higher education, and Archibald and Feldman’s book on the costs of higher education. He could have added many other sources (and especially digital sources), such as this week’s call for a $10,000 degree from Texas governor Rick Perry, or Paul Kiser wondering whether state-run higher education is doomed.

Also see:

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Report shows U.S. schools can’t meet technology demands of teachers, students

On 02/09/2011, in budgets, digital learning, education technology, expectations, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

Report shows U.S. schools can’t meet technology demands of teachers, students— from The Journal by Scott Aronowitz

Few people will be surprised to learn of research that shows K-12 institutions throughout the United States have become heavily dependent on technology, and that this dependency continues to increase with each passing year. What may surprise even the most jaded among us, however, is that, given that many view this a “good” dependency with a wealth of immediate and long-term benefits for teachers, students, and staff, we’re doing an inadequate job of feeding the habit.

At the FETC 2011 show in Orlando, FL, PBS and research firm Grunwald Associates released a national research report on digital media usage among educators entitled “Deepening Commitment: Teachers Increasingly Rely on Media and Technology.” The report is based on a survey conducted in August 2010 of 1,401 preK-12 teachers from various regions and demographics throughout the United States. Its primary conclusions are:

  • Teachers are, owing to both interest and circumstance, increasing their use and knowledge of technology in the classroom; and
  • U.S. schools provide an insufficient capacity of computing devices and technology infrastructure to support teachers’ Internet-based instruction needs.
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In our litigious society, higher ed needs to tread carefully…

On 01/20/2011, in change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, education reform, innovation, legislatures / government / legal, online learning, online media, student-related, by Daniel Christian

CSU students’ tuition suit now a class action — from SF Gate by Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer

A longshot legal complaint by five students who accused California State University trustees of illegally raising tuition in 2009 is now an official class-action lawsuit on behalf of 200,000 students demanding their money back. At stake is $40 million in refunds for students at a time when CSU is facing at least a $500 million cut in state funding that could bring on layoffs, course reductions and even higher tuition. The lawsuit claims CSU illegally raised tuition for fall 2009 because students had already paid that semester’s bill.

From DSC:

  • I certainly hope that this is a longshot legal complaint — both now and forevermore. However, in our litigious society, I’m not so sure.
  • When someone is now paying the price of a house for an education, expectations greatly increase. When the employment situation is tough, will students come back to sue? Don’t get me wrong, I am not in support of this at all — and I think it would be misplaced anger. However, I can see it happening more and more unless the price can be brought back down. It’s like steam in a tea kettle, turn down the temp (i.e. price), and there is less steam (i.e. anger). But it’s not just that — reducing the price of education via innovative means will hopefully be a win-win situation for all involved.

Recent/related items:

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Recession’s toll on K-12 budgets both wide and deep

On 01/13/2011, in budgets, game-changing environment, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Recession’s toll on K-12 budgets both wide and deep — from EdWeek.org by Alyson Klein

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The need for innovation: Items re: how the price of higher ed is affecting students, families, communities, nations

On 01/11/2011, in budgets, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, future, future of higher education, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, staying relevant, student-related, United States, by Daniel Christian

One from DSC:


What goes up...must come down -- by Daniel S. Christian

Abstract:
A perfect storm has been building within higher education. Numerous, powerful forces have been converging that either already are or soon will be impacting the way higher education is offered and experienced. This paper focuses on one of those forces – the increasing price tag of obtaining a degree within higher education.  It will seek to show that what goes up…must come down.  Some less expensive alternatives are already here today; but the most significant changes and market “corrections” appear to be right around the corner. That is, higher education is a bubble about to burst.

One from CNBC:

Price of Admission: America's College Debt Crisis

— from CNBC on Monday, January 3, 2011

Also see:

From DSC:
Disclosure: I work for Calvin College. However, I publish the above items in the hopes that those of us at Calvin and within higher education as a whole will choose to innovate — that we will think outside the box in order to greatly lower the cost of providing a degree within higher education. It would be very helpful to future students, families, communities, nations.

No matter how you look at it, pain — but also opportunities — are ahead. Change will not be easy, nor will it be comfortable.  It will most likely be very scary and very tough. At least for me, this posting and the topic it discusses evokes major soul and heart searching for me. Nevertheless, the questions remain:

  • What changes do we need to make so that institutions of higher education can become more affordable? Stay relevant? Be sustainable over time?
  • What should we put in place of the current “status quo”?
  • Who receives the pain? Who enjoys the opportunities?

Also see:

Addendum on 1-19-11:

Student Loan Docume -- videos on Vimeo

http://www.defaultmovie.com/

Addendum on 1/22/10:
The Bubble: Higher Education’s Precarious Hold on Consumer Confidence — from National Association of Scholars

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Governors will guide the shift to digital learning

On 01/07/2011, in budgets, change, digital learning, education reform, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Governors will guide the shift to digital learning — from EdReformer.com by Tom Vander Ark

State leadership matters in education (as mentioned in National Journal), now more than ever.

States are broke. While revenues lag, costs continue to escalate (as a result of automatic pay increases, cost of living adjustments, and public pension payments) requiring several more years of painful cutbacks.  Without strong state leadership, these cuts will have a disproportionate impact on low-income students.

It’s clear that a decade of standards-based reform has fallen short of expectations.  Implementing real college and career ready standards that provide smooth transition to earning college credits will be a central challenge of this decade.

The pivot to personal digital learning holds the promise of customizing and extending learning, ensuring that every student receives quality instruction, and making schools more efficient.  However, the shift requires state and local leadership.

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Policy, Fiscal Challenges Confront State Officials

On 01/04/2011, in budgets, business side of he, education, education reform, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

Policy, Fiscal Challenges Confront State Officials — from EdWeek.org by Sean Cavanagh

Governor Jerry Brown addresses the audience after he was sworn-in as
California’s 39th Governor in Sacramento, Calif. on Jan. 3.
Brown has warned school officials to expect deep reductions
as the state struggles with a $28 billion two-year deficit.
—Anne Chadwick Williams/AP
.
Also see:
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