.
Also see:
My thanks to Academic Impressions for the resources/updates
On 09/14/2012,
in budgets, cost of getting a degree, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, K-12 related, Michigan, society,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
Back in November 2005, when this year’s graduates were in sixth grade, the superintendent of Kalamazoo’s public schools, Janice M. Brown, shocked the community by announcing that unnamed donors were pledging to pay the tuition at Michigan’s public colleges, universities and community colleges for every student who graduated from the district’s high schools. All of a sudden, students who had little hope of higher education saw college in their future. Called the Kalamazoo Promise, the program — blind to family income levels, to pupils’ grades and even to disciplinary and criminal records — would be the most inclusive, most generous scholarship program in America.
Also see:
From DSC:
- I would like to thank the anonymous donors who created and continue to sustain the Kalamazoo Promise; and to recognize their humility and service to society. They didn’t announce their gifts with trumpets; rather, they quietly gave without wanting to put their names to these enormous, life-changing gifts. What a great example for many of the nation’s top 1%-5% to follow! It’s amazing what generous hearts can do. The LORD knows who did it and continues to do it.
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 "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, 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:
- Outrage: New York Times Reports that Ohio State’s Football Coach to Earn up to $4 Million a Year — from StraighterLine.com
Addendum later on 11/30/11:
- Our Students Deserve No Less – from ed.gov by Cameron Brenchley
.
(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.”
On 10/24/2011,
in career development, funding / grants, hearts -- matters of the heart, Michigan, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
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.
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, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
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
October 7, 2011
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10:05 AM – 87% of the respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that public universities will undergo major structural changes in the future.
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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.
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In 2010 Open Universities Australia grew 35%–the largest increase on record. The Australian
————————————————-
October 6, 2011
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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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:
Besides the words “reinvent” and “innovation” — and the phrase “the perfect storm” — the following graphic comes to my mind yet again:
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 "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, 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.
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, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, 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.”
Also see:
— as of 8/24/11 around noon
Addendums later on 8/24/11 from Academic Impressions:
- 10 consequences of state cuts to public higher education — from oncampus.mpr.org by Alex Friedrich
MPR 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.
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, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, 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.
On 03/14/2011,
in online tutoring, professional development, student teaching/teacher education, teachers,
by Daniel Christian
$1.5M grant jump-starts teacher development — fromeschoolnews.com by Jenna Zwang
Tutor.com, which connects students with live tutors online for tutoring in math, science, social studies, and English, is the largest online tutoring and homework help service available—and, with help from a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the company is expanding its horizons to help teachers as well.
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 "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, staying relevant, student-related, United States,
by Daniel Christian
One from DSC:
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:
— from CNBC on Monday, January 3, 2011
- CNBC’s “Price of Admission: America’s College Debt Crisis”
The Institute’s president Lauren Asher appears in CNBC‘s original documentary “Price of Admission: America’s College Debt Crisis,” weighing in on the rising cost of college and student debt in the United States.
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:
- EUROPE: Spending cuts hit university budgets — from UniversityWorldNews.com by Alan Osborn
09 January 2011
Issue: 153
Addendum on 1-19-11:
Addendum on 1/22/10:
The Bubble: Higher Education’s Precarious Hold on Consumer Confidence — from National Association of Scholars