By Rebecca Schuman. Thomas L. Friedman’s breathless New York Times column on the potential of massive open online courses envisioned remote villages in Egypt enthralled with lectures on Plato and nuclear physics, and thereby a large-scale democratization of what used to be the purview of the privileged few: higher education. Friedman did mention the online revolution’s potential disadvantages—“Yes,” he conceded, “only a small percentage complete all the work, and even they still tend to be from the middle and upper classes of their societies.” But the general tone of the piece betrayed giddy anticipation for the gleaming new delivery model of education that will arise from the rubble of the old Ivory Tower. The blowback to Friedman’s piece in the professorsphere was considerable (and Richard Wolff’s rejoinder one of the best reads). And this has prompted Friedman to publish a second column in praise of the MOOC, one that doubles down on his earlier assertions with the added bonus of ad hominem insults to the professoriate. Read more...

By Jake New. A free-textbook company that was sued last year by three major textbook publishers has now rewritten the content it was accused of stealing.
Pearson, Cengage Learning, and Macmillan Higher Education filed a joint complaint in March 2012 against the company, known as Boundless. The publishers asserted that the way Boundless creates its textbooks violates their copyrights. In a process called “alignment,” students select the traditional text they need, and Boundless pulls together open content to create free versions of the books. Read more...

By John M. Baworowsky. I often wonder what the next big thing in enrollment management might be, and how changes in technology, communication, and information consumption will change how American colleges and universities reach prospective students. And I look to diverse sources for direction and inspiration. Recently, I ran across an article in Hemispheres magazine that featured an interview with Fareed Zakaria, the well-known Time magazine and CNN commentator. Zakaria suggested that “the ability to interact openly, without any kind of constraint,” is the key to innovation.  I also recently read a white paper on change and innovation written for Kelmscott Communications by Kathleen M. Cross, called “Six Great New Ways You Could Be Using Facebook for Student Recruitment.” Cross, a student-search expert, discusses how social media can be used in recruitment. Social media and the Web more broadly are the most open systems of communication available. I believe they fit Zakaria’s definition of an open environment without any kind of constraint, and consequently hold great potential for innovation. The problem is that at this moment social media are primarily the turf of the traditional college-age population, and we, the enrollment managers, need to improve our skill at using those tools. Read more...

By Allie Bidwell. The Army announced on Friday that it had suspended new requests in its Tuition Assistance Program, joining the Marine Corps in halting the program due to significant cuts in federal spending that took effect last week.
The Marine Corps, which made its announcement on March 2, and the Army said they would not accept new enrollments in their Tuition Assistance Programs, which provide financial support for active-duty troops who are attending high-school-completion courses and certificate programs or working toward college degrees. Under the programs, participants can receive up to $4,500 per fiscal year.
The two other main arms of the U.S. military—the Air Force and the Navy—have not yet announced whether they will follow suit in their Tuition Assistance Programs. Read more...

Britain’s immigration crackdown - No entry - How to lose business and alienate potential trade partners
LAST September David Cameron headed to Brazil with his trade minister and dozens of businessmen. “This visit is about British jobs, British growth and the British economy,” said the prime minister. In October it was British universities’ turn, with student fairs in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Britain’s diplomatic service is scaling back elsewhere, but Brazil has got extra staff and “prosperity officers” whose brief is to strengthen business ties, thus boosting growth. They have their work cut out. A Conservative pre-election pledge to cut net immigration to under 100,000 a year is putting the home secretary, Theresa May, who must try to keep the promise, at odds with colleagues more concerned with Britain’s ailing economy. Whether she wins or loses, each public row further damages Britain’s standing abroad. Read more...

By ETHAN BRONNER. When Douglas J. Sylvester, dean of the law school at Arizona State University, was visiting the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota a couple of years ago he mentioned the shifting job market for his students — far fewer offers and a new demand for graduates already able to draft documents and interact with clients.
The Mayo dean responded that his medical students and graduates gained clinical experience in hospital rounds closely supervised by attending physicians.
“I realized that was what we needed,” Mr. Sylvester recalled. “A teaching hospital for law school graduates.”
The result is a nonprofit law firm that Arizona State is setting up this summer for some of its graduates. Over the next few years, 30 graduates will work under seasoned lawyers and be paid for a wide range of services provided at relatively low cost to the people of Phoenix. Read more...

Le personal branding, c’est en quelques mots l’art de se vendre en ligne, le marketing du Moi sur Internet. Certes dit comme ça, ça peut sembler quelque peu narcissique. Mais cela fait en fait partie du jeu; à l’ère du digital, du recrutement via les réseaux sociaux, il faut savoir se rendre positivement visible, sortir du lot. Pour ce faire, il existe plusieurs moyens. L’idéal est de les utiliser de concours.
Nous avons par exemple évoqué récemment les différents moyens d’optimiser vos profils sur les réseaux professionnels LinkedIn et Viadeo. Aujourd’hui, la plupart des recruteurs sont présents sur ces réseaux, c’est donc a priori par ici qu’il vous faut commencer. Un profil à jour, complet, illustré d’une photo qui vous met en valeur et enrichi de mots-clés pertinents et de recommandations à propos, c’est le début de votre personal branding. C’est également l’assurance de voir votre CV en ligne ressortir dans les premières pages de Google. Suite de l'article...

La Harvard BusinessReview vient de publier une information pour le moins dérangeante: 40% des cadres mentiraient sur leur curriculum vitae. Une telle déclaration vient ranimer le débat des CV frauduleux, d'autant que la revue précise que 58% des employeurs ne procèderaient à aucune vérification!
Lorsque l'on interroge ces "tricheurs de l'embauche", l'excuse ne se fait généralement pas attendre: "La compétition est tellement forte qu'il faut bien se démarquer et se vendre". Le mensonge peut s'avérer minime: déclarer faussement pratiquer une activité sportive, généralement valorisante, est ainsi une possibilité. Mais la dissimulation peut être plus grande et concerner directement les diplômes. Les cadres seraient ainsi au total 40% à prendre le risque de mentir concernant ces derniers. Suite de l'article...