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The broken accreditation system

On 08/09/2010, in accreditation, Canada, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, by Daniel Christian

The Broken Accreditation System — Quote below from Stephen Downes
Links to an article by Ben Miller at The Quick and the Ed — dated August 6, 2010

Per Downes:
I have long said the accreditation monopoly will be ended, and though this looks like an attack on the for-profits, it is actually the first brick through the window of the accreditation system. Not that the for-profits are blameless – far from it. They have gamed the system mightily. “The first two hours of the hearing were devoted to damning undercover video of admissions counselors encouraging prospective students to lie on aid applications; inflating career earnings potential; and admitting they weren’t going to repay $85,000 of their own loan debt.” But as nothing will change the nature of the private sector, the only locus of reform will have to be the accreditation system itself. Thus we read, “there are some fundamental problems about accrediting agencies and the accrediting system that hurt its ability to provide the oversight and accountability functions we desire.” This will end only with the end of legislated accreditation, and though the government money may be harder to obtain (as, inevitably, it will be) the floodgates will be opened. It can end no other way.

From DSC:
This is yet  another part of the “perfect storm” that’s brewing in higher education.

Also see:
http://www.quickanded.com/2010/08/the-broken-accreditation-system.html

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Bill Gates: In five years the best education will come from the web

On 08/09/2010, in disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, by Daniel Christian

Bill Gates: In five years the best education will come from the web — from TechCrunch.com by MG Siegler

Bill Gates thinks something is going to die too.

No, it’s not physical books like Nicholas Negroponte — instead, Gates thinks the idea of young adults having to go to universities in order to get an education is going to go away relatively soon. Well, provided they’re self-motivated learners.

“Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates said at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA today. “It will be better than any single university,” he continued.

He believes that no matter how you came about your knowledge, you should get credit for it. Whether it’s an MIT degree or if you got everything you know from lectures on the web, there needs to be a way to highlight that.

He made sure to say that educational institutions are still vital for children, K-12. He spoke glowingly about charter schools, where kids can spend up to 80% of their time deeply engaged with learning.

But college needs to be less “place-based,” according to Gates. Well, except for the parties, he joked.

But his overall point is that it’s just too expensive and too hard to get these upper-level educations. And soon place-based college educations will be five times less important than they are today.

From DSC:
One could argue that Bill’s background is very different than most people…and that would be true. One could also argue that such a view is an exaggeration of what may actually occur — and you’d probably be right again.

However, such arguments miss the point. We are in a game-changing environment and planning now for the major disruptions already underway is a wise move. There is a perfect storm that has been forming — with trends/pressures from the worlds of technology, economics/business, education, demography, sociology, and more — that won’t be disappearing any time soon.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds’ article from yesterday is worth checking out for some practical advice here.


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Journalism education 2.0: Training in an age of radical change

On 08/06/2010, in change, game-changing environment, journalism, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Journalism education 2.0: Training in an age of radical change — from pbs.org by Julie Posetti

Also see:

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July/August 2010 Educause Review

On 08/06/2010, in education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, online learning, open courseware and systems, by Daniel Christian

July/August 2010 Educause Review: The Open.

David Wiley
As institutions and as individuals, we seem to have forgotten the core values of education: sharing, giving, and generosity.
.
Vicki Davis
Open content is not yet changing students’ lives because there are questions that should be answered first.
.
Dave Cormier and George Siemens
Online open courses can leverage communications technologies and open the door to learners to fully engage with the academic process.
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Maria H. Andersen
Open digital faculty do more than just share and participate in open resources; they transfer their approaches to the teaching space.
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Brian Lamb and Jim Groom
Has the wave of the open web crested? What does “open educational technology” look like, and does it stand for anything?
.
Carolina Rossini
The right to be a creator, the right to govern and develop one’s own knowledge, and the right to share with others are fundamental freedoms for the Internet age.
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Ohio calls on Blackboard to create statewide online learning clearinghouse

On 08/06/2010, in adult learning, CMS/LMS, education technology, game-changing environment, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Ohio calls on Blackboard to create statewide online learning clearinghouse — from The Journal by Dian Schaffhauser

Ohio’s Board of Regents will be working with Blackboard in developing a program to host distance learning courses in the state. Chancellor Eric Fingerhut chose Blackboard’s consulting team to build a new, statewide digital learning clearinghouse that will provide a common platform for online courses. The goal of the program is to use the courses to graduate more students, keep more of them at Ohio colleges and universities and in the state’s workforce, and attract more out of state graduates to pursue additional education and careers in Ohio.

Participating schools can both add and tap into the courses offered in the program. High school students could earn college credit through dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses or use remediation offerings. College students could attend a wider range of courses and other options for earning credits and completing degrees more quickly. The resources are also expected to help adult learners who want to pursue training to advance or change their careers and prepare for certifications.

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A major opportunity for more “traditional” institutions

On 08/05/2010, in business, business side of he, ethics, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, using teams, by Daniel Christian

“Shellacking the For-Profits” — from InsideHigherEd.com by Jennifer Epstein

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats made it clear Wednesday that their examination of for-profit higher education has only just begun, and that they plan to pursue legislation aimed at reining what they see as the sector’s dishonest — if not fraudulent — practices.

At a hearing on the “student recruitment experience” at for-profit colleges that began Wednesday morning and carried on through the mid-afternoon, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, outlined plans to hold more hearings on the sector, to collect broad sets of information from for-profit colleges, and to begin drafting legislation aimed at cleaning up the sector.

“Education is too important for the future of this country,” he said. “Facing the budget problems we have in the next 10 years, we just can’t permit more and more of the taxpayers’ dollars that are supposed to go for education and quality education … to be going to pay shareholders or private investors.”

From DSC:
Coming from a corporate background, I’m thinking this morning in terms of market share. If those of us in the more “traditional” institutions of higher ed were smart, we’d take this as  major opportunity. The for-profits made a big mistake here — sacrificing integrity and reputation for building up their revenues; very bad move. I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who once said something like, “Glass, china, and reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended.”

The for-profits here seemed to have taken their cues from the casino we call Wall Street. Yet another example of cold-heartedness. This is an opportunity for those institutions of higher ed to take the legitimate, effective items of what was/is working for the for-profits and implement them with integrity instead…for example, implementing the use of teams.

Also relevant:

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Quote from “Barnes & Noble up for sale; founder may bid”

On 08/04/2010, in change, changing business models, game-changing environment, by Daniel Christian

“How do you value an asset for the future when the entire market is being essentially turned upside down?”
said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

— from Barnes & Noble up for sale; founder may bid at finance.yahoo.com

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Higher ed: The bubble

On 07/29/2010, in budgets, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, future of higher education, game-changing environment, by Daniel Christian

Higher Ed's bubble

Also see:

“It’s a story of an industry that may sound familiar.  The buyers think what they’re buying will appreciate in value, making them rich in the future. The product grows more and more elaborate, and more and more expensive, but the expense is offset by cheap credit provided by sellers eager to encourage buyers to buy.

Buyers see that everyone else is taking on mounds of debt, and so are more comfortable when they do so themselves; besides, for a generation, the value of what they’re buying has gone up steadily. What could go wrong? Everything continues smoothly until, at some point, it doesn’t.

Yes, this sounds like the housing bubble, but I’m afraid it’s also sounding a lot like a still-inflating higher education bubble. And despite (or because of) the fact that my day job involves higher education, I think it’s better for us to face up to what’s going on before the bubble bursts messily.”

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Game-changing environment continues…

On 07/28/2010, in budgets, business side of he, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, by Daniel Christian

Some recent postings from Ray Schroeder’s “Recession Realities in Higher Education”

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From DSC: Whether you agree with everything here, you *need* to read this one…

On 07/21/2010, in 24x7x365 access, business, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, leadership, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, strategy, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, universities, using teams, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The future of colleges and universities -- from the spring of 2010 by futurist Thomas Frey

From Spring 2010

…

From DSC:

If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you *need* to read this one!


Most certainly, not everything that Thomas Frey says will take place…but I’ll bet you he’s right on a number of accounts. Whether he’s right or not, the potential scenarios he brings up ought to give us pause to reflect on ways to respond to these situations…on ways to spot and take advantage of the various opportunities that arise (which will only happen to those organizations who are alert and looking for them).


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Is this “The forthcoming Walmart of Education?”

On 07/19/2010, in cost of getting a degree, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, by Daniel Christian

***Check out this announcement:***

Straighterline and Assumption College Continuing and Career Education partner to offer adult learners an exceptionally-flexible and affordable way to earn a business degree

Alexandria, VA – StraighterLine (http://www.straighterline[dot]com) announced today that the Assumption College Continuing and Career Education (www.assumption.edu/cce), a leading provider of quality online education, has joined StraighterLine’s expanding partner college network. Assumption College — a not-for-profit New England College — has provided education and student enrichment since 1904. StraighterLine partner colleges are all regionally accredited institutions that award post-secondary credit upon transfer for successfully completing its online college courses. Assumption College is StraighterLine’s first Massachusetts partner college and its first Catholic College.

Through this partnership, students who successfully complete StraighterLine distance learning courses may transfer their courses for full credit when they enroll with Assumption College Continuing and Career Education, Online Business program. Students can use these transfer credits towards the completion of their associate and bachelors degrees.

Students can take freshman and introductory-level classes from StraighterLine and save thousands of dollars on a four-year college degree. With StraighterLine, students pay only $99 per month plus $39 per course started and can move as quickly or slowly through the material as they like.

StraighterLine courses have been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE)’s Credit Recommendation Service and have met or exceeded the Distance Education and Training Council’s standards for online course quality.

From DSC:
Is this “The Forthcoming Walmart of Education?” Quite possibly at maximum, but at minimum, a sign of what’s coming down the pike.

And by the way, when I say “Walmart of Education”, I am not speaking derogatively. I mean no disrespect at all. In fact, quite the opposite. The disruptions taking place now — and continuing in the near future — will create opportunities to learn better and more efficiently, but at far less expensive prices.

Congrats to StraighterLine on their pursuit of making a tangible, concrete impact on reducing the cost of getting a degree! For the rest of us, we had better take note and develop a range of options, pricing, etc.   We need to respond to the disruption being caused by the Internet — and take advantage of it, not shy away from it or stick our heads in the sand and pretend that it’s not happening. We don’t want to go the way of the Blockbusters of the world who minimize/discard the impact that technology brings to the table.


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Online learning continues to expand

On 07/15/2010, in disruption, education technology, elearning, game-changing environment, K-12 related, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Online learning continues to expand — by M. Horn

For those naysayers who have been suspect of whether online learning would continue to grow in the highly regulated K-12 sector as disruptive innovations do, more evidence emerged recently to suggest that it’s not just us and the theory saying that it will do that, but it is in fact doing just that.

According to a report titled Speak Up 2009 released by Blackboard and Project Tomorrow, a whopping 27 percent of high school students took at least one online course in 2009—nearly double the 14 percent who took at least one online course in 2008.

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Education as we know it is finished — by Christensen & Horn

On 07/15/2010, in budgets, business side of he, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education, education technology, elearning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, innovation, K-12 related, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Education as we know it is finished — from forbes.com by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn (emphasis below from DSC)
Classrooms are giving way to online learning–forever.

School budgets are continuing to tighten, as the drop in state and local revenues has not abated and there likely will not be another $100 billion in federal stimulus funds coming any time soon. Even if the economy rebounds, the situation for public education will remain bleak. With baby boomers set to retire en masse, state and local governments, which provide the majority of school funds, will face mounting retiree health care and nonpension benefit obligations for which they haven’t made proper allowances. And local districts haven’t yet felt the full pain of the housing crisis in reducing revenue from property taxes. In other words, we have only seen the beginning of the red ink.

But others are seeing the hardship of the moment as an opportunity to transform what they do with the implementation of online learning. Pressured by not only widespread cuts but also increasing demands for accountability, these innovative leaders recognize that online learning is a key reform for doing more with less.

For example, the people who run many schools realize that they can save considerably by cutting back on traditional classroom versions of non-core courses–advanced placement, foreign language, economics and so forth–and instead offer them online, thereby aggregating demand across many school districts. Likewise they can cut back on the number of periods during which they offer certain classroom courses and still affordably meet student demand by offering those courses online.

The adoption of online learning is much more than just a cost-saving move for school districts. It has the potential to transform schooling more broadly by allowing students access to a wide range of high-quality offerings and teachers, regardless of where they live. Some students whose classroom courses have been replaced with online versions will be thrilled to find out that they now have access to not just one provider’s online courses but a whole marketplace of high-quality options, in a naturally technology-rich environment quite compatible for them.

Online learning also allows students to study unburdened by the usual constraints of time, proceeding at a pace that works best for them. The current system forces all students to learn the same material within the same time frame. That stalls the progress of advanced students while leaving others behind. This is one of the reasons online learning has been shown to produce better results overall than traditional face-to-face instruction.

From DSC:
Consistent readers of this blog and my former website will know that I’ve been saying we are in a game-changing environment for some time now — K-12 and higher education will never be going back to “business as usual.”


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For colleges in some states, financial relief is far off

On 07/14/2010, in budgets, colleges, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

For colleges in some states, financial relief is far off — from The Chronicle by Goldie Blumenstyk

Even when the economy begins to recover and employment picks up, public colleges shouldn’t expect much immediate relief from their states, warns a report this month from Moody’s Investors Service. Some states will very likely recover much more slowly than others. In more than half of the states, recovery is not projected to kick in until at least 2013, 2014, or later. And even then, the report notes, states will still face pressures for spending on public-employee pensions, health care, primary education, and other services.

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A marriage made in Indiana — from InsideHigherEd.com

On 07/14/2010, in budgets, future of higher education, game-changing environment, innovation, new business models, online learning, by Daniel Christian

A marriage made in Indiana — from InsideHigherEd.com

Just about everywhere you turn, state leaders are searching for a way to use online education to expand the reach of their public higher education systems at a time of diminished resources.

The approaches vary: In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has heralded a future of “iCollege,” while in Pennsylvania, the state college system envisions using distance learning to help its campuses sustain their offerings by sharing courses in underenrolled programs. California’s community college system turned to a for-profit provider, Kaplan University, to work around its budget-related enrollment restrictions. And a grand experiment to create a fully online branch of the University of Illinois, meanwhile, crashed and burned last fall.

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