01 juin 2013
Looking Past China
By Elizabeth Redden. China has in recent years dominated the flow of international undergraduates coming to the United States – but that’s an old story. A session Thursday at the annual NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference focused on identifying “the next big thing” (or place) in international student recruitment, drawing on data from the College Board and the experiences of recruiters at two different types of institutions. “China and India have been top of mind,” said Clay Hensley, director of international relations and strategy for the College Board. Saudi Arabia too, where, due to the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program, the numbers of students coming to the U.S. increased by 50 percent last year. Read more...
Faculty Surprise
By Ry Rivard. Some faculty leaders were surprised this week when state systems and flagship universities in nine states announced a series of new business partnerships with Coursera, the Silicon Valley-based ed tech company. The universities plan to work with Coursera, a provider of massive open online courses, to try out a variety of new teaching methods and business models, including MOOCs and things that are not MOOCs. Administrators and the company hailed the effort as new way to improve education. Some administrators said the faculty were involved or were part of the effort and the contracts themselves make clear faculty have some decision-making authority. Read more...5 Attributes of an Academic Tech Activist
By Joshua Kim. Are you and academic technology activist? How would you define activism in academic technology?5 Ideas:
1. You Are Interested In the System of Higher Education:
Do you see your professional role as part of a larger effort to improve higher education? Are you interested in questions of quality, access, and costs - and view the role of educational technology and academic technologist as important in addressing today's higher ed challenges? It is a challenge for those of us absorbed in the day-to-day tasks of campus technology issues to develop a strong understanding of higher ed as a system. We are often too busy keeping our heads above water to take the time to learn and think about the larger economic, demographic, cultural, and competitive issues facing higher ed. Read more...
Seeking les Mots Injustes
By Barbara Fister. I have never taken to calling people who use libraries “customers.” Though it is increasingly common usage, it has always seemed the seditious work of a linguistic fifth column that is trying to privatize public institutions one word at a time, or at least imply that non-profit services are chronically inferior to retail operations. “Customer” has so firmly been attached to the word “service” you would think the only model for high quality service is great customer service. Meanwhile, the phrase "public servant" has fallen out of use. To be sure, the traditional word for someone who uses a library, “patron,” isn’t particularly appealing. It sounds sycophantic, as if people bestow a gift upon the library by merely visiting it. “User” evokes a taste for controlled substances. Some librarians have suggested using the word “member” – which sounds both a little naughty and like an invitation-only exclusive club, but at least it emphasizes that the library is something that belongs to its community. Read more...MOOCs as a Lightning Rod
ByTracy Mitrano. MOOCs in their strict, literal sense have relatively limited potential primarily as branding for institutions and individual professors. Secondarily, they may supplement course material for students in accredited institutions or life-long learning exercises not unlike the offerings of the Teaching Company (except that thus far, they are for free, and include assignments, not just passive listening). Do they have the potential to be more? Lots of people think so, including a group of professors at Harvard, in direct response to California system professors who have objected. Thomas Friedman of The New York Times gets their point, but rather than rue it, he praises it! Read more...Fairfax County School Board reviews discipline policies for special needs students
By . In the 181,500-student Fairfax County school district, students with disabilities represent about 14 percent of the enrollment but are involved in about 40 percent of all discipline cases, according to school officials.At a county School Board work session Thursday night, members focused on the disparity as they reviewed proposed changes to the district’s discipline policies aimed at making school administrators more sensitive to the needs of students with disabilities. Read more...
'Wage premium' of a degree falls by a third under university boom
By Graeme Paton. The value of a degree has slumped by almost a third in the last 20 years because of a sharp rise in the number of people taking university courses, according to research. Figures show that the "wage premium" exercised by graduates – compared with those only qualified to A-level standard – has fallen by 29 per cent since the early 90s. Ministers have repeatedly claimed that an undergraduate degree can add more than £100,000 to average earnings over a lifetime. But Malcolm Brynin, from Essex University’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, found that the advantage is on the decline as employers routinely demand degrees even for relatively low-skilled occupations. Read more...University applicants 'optimistic' about job prospects
By Andrew Marszal. Students beginning university this September are more confidant about their graduate job prospects than last year's intake, according to a new survey. Three-quarters of students (74.1 per cent) starting degrees this September think finding a graduate job will be "very easy" or "achievable", compared with 65 per cent this time last year, it is claimed. The research suggests perceptions of career prospects are improving among students, who have been severely hit by the economic downturn. It follows a recent study forecasting an eight per cent increase in the number of graduate roles available next year. Read more...Employers warned against giving jobs to unpaid interns
By Graeme Paton.Top companies should ignore unpaid internships and degree classifications during the recruitment process to create a “level playing field” for applicants from poor backgrounds, a Government-backed report has recommended. Employers should attempt to boost social mobility by ensuring that all barriers to good jobs are “eliminated”, it was claimed. The study found that large numbers of public and private sector organisations were “unintentionally” using tactics that acted against the interests of people from disadvantaged families. Read more...Escalating student loans bill sparks call for 'cheap' degrees
By Graeme Paton. At least 40 per cent of student loans will never be repaid, leaving a multi-billion pound hole in the public finances, vice-chancellors have warned. The number of student loans being “written off” will be far higher than official Government estimates, it was claimed, making the current funding system "unsustainable". Ministers previously claimed that around a third of the total student loans bill would never be repaid under the current system which cancels debts after 30 years. Read more...
