Higher ed gets a lot of criticism from supporters and reformers alike. Sometimes it’s necessary, though, to look at its benefits and note the strengths of colleges. Steven Brint, distinguished professor of sociology and public policy at the University of California, Riverside, has given the public a reminder of why so many students value a … Continue reading “Defending Higher Education”
Distance education has expanded greatly thanks to the internet, making higher education accessible to non-traditional students. Distance-learners simply turn on their computers and join their online class to access lectures, readings, assignments, and more. North Carolina is ahead of the nation in distance education. As of 2017, 91 percent of North Carolina colleges offered distance … Continue reading “Did You Know? North Carolina’s Robust Online Education Options”
Students in the United States have unprecedented options for postsecondary education: from brick-and-mortar liberal arts institutions and research-intensive doctoral universities to dual-enrollment high schools and online-only degree programs. Entrepreneurs are innovating continually to improve America’s higher education options. But a new report attempts to throw cold water on the higher education landscape. Entitled, “Disconnected from … Continue reading “The Curious Case of So-Called ‘Higher Education Deserts’”
The title of this article alludes to Joan Didion’s famous essay about “love and death in the golden land,” a cautionary tale about the wreckage left behind when dreams collide with reality. Historically, California has always attracted dreamers and today one of the state’s biggest dreamers is Governor Jerry Brown, who once said, “A politician … Continue reading “A Dreamer of the Golden Dream: Jerry Brown’s Future for Higher Education”
Increasingly, the old model of earning a college degree by simply choosing a school, paying cash to cover room, board, and tuition, and graduating within four years (with summers off) is passé. Currently, the average student takes six years to finish college and has about $37,000 in student loan debt. Higher education’s escalating costs and … Continue reading “An Innovative Guide Through the Higher Ed Landscape”
Information technology has disrupted so many industries and human activities that everyone expected it would disrupt education as well. A few years ago, the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) seemed poised to do that. One professor could teach an unlimited number of students because technology had dramatically reduced the cost of reaching them. A student … Continue reading “Making Distance Learning Personal – and Successful”
Because of protectionist regulations, North Carolina’s range of higher education choices is not as wide as it should be. But it’s not just the Tar Heel State that gums up the works with excessive red tape. North Carolina schools that want to offer their online courses to out-of-state students have had to navigate burdensome approval processes. In many cases, schools have decided it’s just not worth the considerable expense in terms of both time and money—thereby limiting options for students seeking online alternatives. But now there is a better way. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of online education.
For North Carolina, Western Governors University would be a welcome alternative to traditional credit-hour programs, particularly for adult learners who want job training and a degree—not a four-year “experience.”
Will online education render traditional schools obsolete?
Colleges and universities must adopt College 2020 if they want to remain in the game, says Vance Fried.