professional wordpress themes

An open letter to university administrators by Clayton Christensen: 8 thoughts on higher education in 2012

On 12/29/2011, in budgets, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, innovation, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, reinvent, staying relevant, by Daniel Christian

Excerpts from An open letter to university administrators by Clayton Christensen

Defending the status quo is futile, and it’s no fun. Given fiscal realities beyond the control of university administrators, defending the operational status quo means choosing between big, focused cuts or death by a thousand small ones. Trading up to a larger school offers no escape from the grisly task of doing less with less.

…

Clinging to tradition will worsen individual and institutional disruption, while embracing innovation will hasten a new era of higher education productivity—not only of well-educated degree holders, but of new knowledge.

 Also see:

.

BERKELEY, Calif. — Across the nation, a historic collapse in state funding for higher education threatens to diminish the stature of premier public universities and erode their mission as engines of upward social mobility.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • •  

Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls for urgency on college costs [Lewin]

On 11/30/2011, in business side of he, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, new business models, United States, by Daniel Christian

Official calls for urgency on college costs— from the New York Times by Tamar Lewin

Excerpts:

As Occupy movement protests helped push spiraling college costs into the national spotlight, Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged higher-education officials Tuesday to “think more creatively — and with much greater urgency” about ways to contain costs and reduce student debt.

…

“Three in four Americans now say that college is too expensive for most people to afford,” Mr. Duncan said. “That belief is even stronger among young adults — three-fourths of whom believe that graduates today have more debt than they can manage.”

Also see:

Addendum later on 11/30/11:

.

(Official Department of Education Photo by Joshua Hoover)

“My chief message today is a sobering one,” said Secretary Duncan yesterday at the annual Federal Student Aid conference in Las Vegas, Nev. “I want to ask you, and the entire higher education community, to look ahead and start thinking more creatively—and with much greater urgency—about how to contain the spiraling costs of college and reduce the burden of student debt on our nation’s students.”

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •  

5 Michigan colleges to benefit from $6.8 million grant from philanthropic foundation [Scott]

On 10/24/2011, in career development, funding / grants, hearts -- matters of the heart, Michigan, workplace, by Daniel Christian

5 Michigan colleges to benefit from $6.8 million grant from philanthropic foundation -- from mlive.com by Monica Scott

Excerpt:

“We have discovered that structured programs that encourage and guide students in the theological exploration of vocation do indeed help them draw on the wisdom of their religious traditions as they make decisions about their futures and figure out how to lead lives that really matter,” said Craig Dykstra, the Lilly Endowment’s senior vice president for religion.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • •  

Houston — Did you hear me? We’ve got some problems (but also some opportunities) out here!

On 10/10/2011, in 21st century, change, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, innovation, leadership, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Check out some of these announcements from The Future of State Universities 2011 Conference

 

From DSC:
Following are some of the announcements from last week’s the Future of State Universities Conference (oddly enough, I couldn’t find any blogs, recordings, etc. here…)

 

————————————————-
October 7, 2011
————————————————-

10:05 AM – 87% of the respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that public universities will undergo major structural changes in the future.

————————————————-

9:15 AM –Two thirds of students graduating with 4-year degrees last year, owed on average $23,186 in student loans. CNN Money

Student loan debt has eclipsed credit card debt at $1.0 trillion and counting.

————————————————-

In 2010 Open Universities Australia grew 35%–the largest increase on record. The Australian

————————————————-
October 6, 2011
————————————————-

3:45 PM – 57% of people surveyed by Pew and the Chronicle say that the cost of college outweighs its value. Boston Magazine

Unemployment rate for people under 25 is 54% and 9 out of 10 college grads are planning to move back in with their parents. Boston Magazine

————————————————-

2:45 PM – Only 11% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that student readiness for college is stable or increasing.

————————————————-

2:00 PM – 100% of presidents and 75% of provosts and deans that responded to the pre-conference survey believe that faculty interactions with students will change significantly in the coming years.

————————————————-

1:00 PM – Stanford professor Thrun offered his, “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online and free. 130,000 students signed up. —They will get the same lectures as students paying $50,000, same assignments, same exams, and, if they pass, “a statement of accomplishment”, but not Stanford credit. “Literally,” Thrun says, “we can probably get the same quality of education I teach in class for 1 to 2 percent of the cost.” The New York Times

————————————————-

12:25 PM – iTunes U online is running 300 million downloads a year, with 350,000 lectures offered by more than 1,000 universities worldwide. BBC News Oxford has 10 million downloads—130,000 per week. More than half the people using them are from the US and China.

————————————————-

9:45 am – 50% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that foreign universities will increasingly become competitors with U.S. universities for U.S. students.

95% believe that foreign students will be a major source of students in the future.

————————————————-

9:35 am – Did you know: global higher education enrollment increased 53% in the last decade?

Did you know: 20% of all college students in the world are studying outside of their home country.


————————————————-
October 5, 2011
————————————————-

5:00 pm – Pre-conference Survey:

  • 90% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that state funding for higher education will continue to decline.
  • 85% believe that federal funding for higher education will decrease in the future.
  • 75% believe that public support for higher education is destined to decline as costs increase.
  • 13% believe that public universities are well prepared to market their online programs effectively.

 

From DSC:
Besides the words “reinvent” and  “innovation” — and the phrase “the perfect storm” — the following graphic comes to my mind yet again:

 

Staying Relevant
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

The impact of new business models for higher education on student financing [Canada’s Daniel & Uvali-Trumbi]

On 08/26/2011, in budgets, business side of he, Canada, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education technology, elearning, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, new business models, online learning, open courseware and systems, society, UK, by Daniel Christian

The impact of new business models for higher education on student financing

Financing Higher Education in Developing Countries
Think Tank | Bellagio Conference Centre | 8-12 August 2011

Sir John Daniel (Commonwealth of Learning)
&
Stamenka Uvali-Trumbi (UNESCO)

Excerpt:

The aim of this paper has been to suggest that in discussing student financing we need to look beyond the current standard model classroom teaching to the likely developments in learning systems over the next decade. These have the potential to cut costs dramatically and thereby lessen the challenge of student financing.

That is fortunate because nearly one-third of the world’s population (29.3%) is under 15. Today there are 165 million people enrolled in tertiary education.[2] Projections suggest that that participation will peak at 263 million in 2025.[3] Accommodating the additional 98 million students would require more than four major campus universities (30,000 students) to open every week for the next fifteen years unless alternative models emerge. (emphasis DSC)

Also see:

OER for beginners: An introduction to sharing learning resources openly in healthcare education
The Higher Education Academy (HEA) (www.heacademy.ac.uk) and the Joint information Systems Committee (JISC) (www.jisc.ac.uk) are working in partnership to develop the HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resources (OER) programme, supporting UK higher education institutions in sharing their teaching and learning resources freely online across the world.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

A visualization of the United States debt [Comment from DSC: With global ramifications]

On 08/24/2011, in budgets, business, business side of he, change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, funding / grants, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, political science, society, staying relevant, student-related, trends, United States, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

A visualization of the United States Debt — from usdebt.kleptocracy.us

From DSC:
Though this is the U.S. debt, the ramifications of this affect the entire globe. I believe my cousin, Mr. Stephen Gibson, is correct when he says that we may well be heading towards a “Global Reset.”

 

usdebt.kleptocracy.us

 

 

http://usdebt.kleptocracy.us/

 

Also see:

usdebtclock.org

— as of 8/24/11 around noon

 

Addendums later on 8/24/11 from Academic Impressions:

 

First day of sessionMPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Just what are states pledging for higher ed these days?

  • Fidelity® study finds significant shifts over 5-yr period in how families tackle rising college costs
    Fifth Annual College Savings Indicator Study finds parents projected to meet only 16% of college costs, despite improved savings habits
    BOSTON – Fidelity Investments®, a leader in helping families save for college, today announced the results of its fifth annual College Savings Indicator study, which found significant shifts in savings behavior from 2007 to 2011, with more families: 1) starting to save in the preschool years despite financial pressures, 2) seeking guidance and saving for college using a dedicated account, such as a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan, and 3) making shared sacrifices to achieve their college savings goals.

    The study features the College Savings Indicator, a calculation of the percentage of projected college costs the typical American family is on track to cover, based on its current and expected savings. After four consecutive years of decline, the Indicator held steady to the prior year at 16 percent, down from 24 percent in 2007, when Fidelity first launched the study. While overall preparedness has declined, a larger percentage of parents — more than two-thirds (67 percent) — have begun saving for college costs, compared with 58 percent five years ago.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

The trouble with trillions [NPR; Weeks]

On 08/23/2011, in business side of he, change, economics, funding / grants, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, society, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

The news this summer is teeming with trillions. The national debt is more than $14 trillion. In a recent report, the credit rating agency Moody’s says the 1,600-plus U.S.-based companies it rates harbored some $1.2 trillion in cash at the end of 2010. The newly minted congressional supercommittee is charged with finding ways to pare the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion in the next decade.

…

Trillion. It’s the new black — tres chic, tres cher. The higher-water mark. If you’re not talking trillions, you’re talking chump change. All of a sudden we are tossing the term around like we understand it.

 

From DSC:
As always with my Learning Ecosystems blog, see the tags and categories that I referenced here as to how I think this item is especially relevant.

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

$2-billion federal program could be ‘windfall’ for open online learning

On 01/22/2011, in elearning, funding / grants, online learning, open courseware and systems, by Daniel Christian

$2-billion federal program could be ‘windfall’ for open online learning — from The Chronicle by Marc Parry

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • •  

The Top 20 VC Power Bloggers Of 2010

On 01/20/2011, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, education technology, funding / grants, innovation, by Daniel Christian

The Top 20 VC Power Bloggers Of 2010 — from TechCrunch

A lot of venture capitalists and super angels are not only active investors, but also active bloggers. Below is a list of the top 20 VC power bloggers as compiled by Larry Cheng of Volition Capital based on traffic data from Compete. The metric being used here is average monthly unique visitors during the fourth quarter of 2010.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • •  

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

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

Next Generation Learning and the Innovation Imperative

On 10/21/2010, in analytics, dangers of the status quo, data related items, engagement / engaging students, funding / grants, game-changing environment, generational differences, innovation, K-12 related, new business models, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Next Generation Learning and the Innovation Imperative

.

.

.


.
I originally saw this at xplana.com

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •  

New initiative will advance the best uses of technology to improve college readiness and completion

On 10/11/2010, in budgets, education technology, funding / grants, higher education, by Daniel Christian

New initiative will advance the best uses of technology to improve college readiness and completion — from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Multi-year “challenge” grant competition will identify and fund most promising innovations

SEATTLE — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced the Next Generation Learning Challenges, a collaborative, multi-year initiative, which aims to help dramatically improve college readiness and college completion in the United States through the use of technology. The program will provide grants to organizations and innovators to expand promising technology tools to more students, teachers, and schools. It is led by nonprofit EDUCAUSE, which works to advance higher education through the use of information technology.

Next Generation Learning Challenges released the first of a series of RFPs today to solicit funding proposals for technology applications that can improve postsecondary education. This round of funding will total up to $20 million, including grants that range from $250,000 to $750,000. Applicants with top-rated proposals will receive funds to expand their programs and demonstrate effectiveness in serving larger numbers of students. Proposals are due November 19, 2010; winners are expected to be announced by March 31, 2011.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • •  

From DSC: Some of the elements of the perfect storm in higher ed

On 09/10/2010, in 24x7x365 access, budgets, business side of he, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education reform, education technology, engagement / engaging students, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, open courseware and systems, strategy, student-related, surviving, traditional / tradition, ubiquitous learning, United States, by Daniel Christian

The perfect storm in higher ed -- by Daniel S. Christian

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

Converge Education Funding Report: Classroom Technologies — by Converge and the Center for Digital Education

On 05/26/2010, in budgets, business side of he, education technology, funding / grants, by Daniel Christian

Converge Education Funding Report: Classroom Technologies — by Converge and the Center for Digital Education

Also see:

  • Connected Classrooms: Powering the Entire Learning Experience
    Teachers today have to engage students differently than previous generations.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • •  

Expanding the focus of the Education Program — from Hewlett Foundation

On 05/08/2010, in funding / grants, innovation, K-12 related, by Daniel Christian

Expanding the focus of the Education Program — from Hewlett Foundation

We are delighted to share with you some exciting news from the Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program. Building upon our work in technology and policy, we are expanding our focus to help schools nationwide prepare students to thrive in an increasingly complex, fast-paced, and unpredictable world. The Hewlett Board of Directors approved the added scope at its March meeting.

We call this expanded focus deeper learning – a combination of the fundamental knowledge and practical basic skills students will need to succeed in a fiercely competitive global economy. Specifically, our definition of deeper learning brings together five key elements that work in concert: core academic content; critical thinking and complex problem solving; effective communication; working in collaboration; and learning how to learn (emphasis DSC).  We believe this approach could have a profound effect on how and what the next generation of students learns.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

Tagged with: • • •  
Previous Entries Next Entries
© 2025 | Daniel Christian