“Stanley Ikenberry, interim president of the University of Illinois, on how students, families and the university all could save money and, at the same time, maintain the quality and integrity of his institution. Ikenberry said a shorter college career, an “accelerated program” that could be in place by fall 2011, would raise revenue for the school while cutting tuition and letting students enter the work force sooner. The president said a combination of distance learning or online courses, placement tests for college credit, high school participation in some programs and, especially, use of summer school could shorten a student’s stay at one of the three campuses.”
From DSC:
I’m not sure what I think about all of the possibilities, but clearly, the environment is pressing us for change. The status quo is no longer an option.
Higher education budgets and the global recession: Tracking varied national responses and their consequences — from cshe.berkeley.edu
Excerpt from the Abstract:
States have very limited ability to borrow funds for operating costs, making the federal government the last resort. In short, how state budgets go, so goes US higher education; whereas most national systems of higher education financing is tied to national budgets with an ability to borrow. Without the current stimulus funding, the impact on access and maintaining the health of America’s universities would have been even more devastating. But that money will be largely spent by the 2011 fiscal year (Oct 2010-Sept 2011), unless Congress and the White House renew funding support on a similar scale for states that are coping with projected large budget gaps. That now seems unlikely.
Original posting from George Siemens — Higher Education Budgets and the Global Recession
As schools lose relevancy, students take charge of their own learning — Project Tomorrow —Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Annual survey finds students moving ahead with learning on their own; offers insights for improving American education with emerging technologies
Washington, D.C. – In the absence of a more relevant learning process in schools, our nation’s students increasingly are taking their educational destiny into their own hands and adapting the various tools they use in their personal lives to meet their learning needs and prepare themselves for the future, according to the 2009 Speak Up survey of 300,000 students nationwide.
The 2009 Speak Up national findings provide compelling evidence that our nation’s K–12 students increasingly are taking responsibility for their own learning, defining their own education path through alternative sources and feeling not just a right but a responsibility for creating personalized learning experiences.
“Students are no longer waiting for policy changes within their schools, or from Washington, D.C.,” said Julie Evans, chief executive officer, Project Tomorrow. “Students want their voices heard by those making education policies, but we are now seeing them move beyond their attempts to share their needs with adults. They are taking the technology they have grown up with and using it to help them learn—inside and outside of the classroom.” (emphasis DSC; like water around a rock…which goes for all of us!)
From DSC:
This idea of creating platforms is key. Apple let people develop their own apps for the iPhone, and look what happened. Innovation skyrockets when people can contribute.
Where is innovation happening within your organization? In your face-to-face learning environment? In your online learning environment? In your hybrid/blended spaces? How can we open things up more to allow for:
Obama ed-tech plan goes live online — from Education Week
The National Educational Technology Plan was released today by the U.S. Department of Education, and you can view our coverage of it here. Also, check out Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s speech about the plan given at the annual meeting of the American Association of Publishers.
Addendums from 3/5/10:
From DSC:
One of the questions mentioned on this posting from learn.5tein.com (which was focused on higher ed), was Question #2:
Great question for all of us in higher education to be able to (continually) answer. Also, I would add another question:
Other articles in Academic Leadership Qualities for Meeting Today’s Higher Education Challenges include:
The Online Learning Imperative: A Solution to Three Looming Crises in Education — from all4ed.org by Governor Bob Wise with assistance from Robert Rothman
Excerpt:
CRISIS #2: The funding cliff—declining local, state, and federal revenues mean changing the education content-delivery model
Faced with a declining revenue base, any enterprise must make a choice: continue doing the same with less and hope to weather through, or innovate and institute changes that result not only in survival but in growth (emphasis DSC). Public education and the U.S. automobile industry face a common challenge: declining revenues and lackluster results. In the case of the auto industry, the consumer has finally said that the end product is not acceptable. This raises the bar even higher, forcing companies to operate with less revenue while also improving outcomes.
Some might argue that a rapid expansion of education funding could accelerate improvements in outcomes. The reality is that the current economic recession has taken the issue of continually increasing revenues off the table (emphasis DSC). The only issue for policymakers is how to apply limited funding in a more cost-effective manner that also boosts student outcomes—in short, a reengineering of how education is delivered (emphasis DSC).
Also see:
Press release: First school system in Idaho to require online learning — from Virtual High School Meanderings blog
Currently Michigan, Alabama and New Mexico require all graduating students statewide to take an online course. Sugar-Salem is the first district in Idaho to adopt such a policy.
