Half of All College Students Take Online Courses

An analysis of newly available federal data shows that a far larger proportion of college students take at least one fully online course than was previously understood. The analysis, first conducted by the ed-tech consultant and blogger Phil Hill, shows that based on 12-month reporting — which the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System only … Continue reading →

FTC threatens hefty penalties against for-profit colleges for false claims, warning 70 schools

The FTC outlined several cases it previously determined are illegal because they are deceptive or unfair. They include misrepresenting “directly or by implication” employment prospects for an institution’s students, graduates’ earning potential, and an institution’s ability to help students find jobs. They also include misrepresenting employment requirements in a field for which an institution trains students. Continue … Continue reading →

U.S. Department of Education Announces Transformational Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, Will Put Over 550,000 Public Service Workers Closer to Loan Forgiveness

[On Wednesday, 10/06/21] the U.S. Department of Education announced an overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program that it will implement over the next year to make the program live up to its promise. This policy will result in 22,000 borrowers who have consolidated loans—including previously ineligible loans—being immediately eligible for $1.74 billion … Continue reading →

‘Demographics Are Not Destiny’

There’s increasing public appetite for college accountability measures, but community college programs are a “complicated” case because factors such as the strength of local labor markets and the kinds of students the colleges serve also play a role in postcollege outcomes, said co-author Cody Christensen, a doctoral student in the leadership, policy and organizations department … Continue reading →

Transforming Asynchronous Learning Spaces

Although there are many articles and recommendations to improve learning, often centered on a theory or concept, we have found a gap: Many of the recommendations fail to translate because there are no steps beyond the general. To enact a transformation of the asynchronous learning space, defined actions and obstacles provide instructors a way to … Continue reading →

Can colleges compete with companies like Coursera?

If you believe the underlying premise of Arthur Levine’s and Scott Van Pelt’s new book, the country is moving from a national, industrial economy to a global knowledge economy — and that has significant ramifications for higher education…. They say colleges will see their control over the market slip while consumers increase their power. New … Continue reading →

Why I Went from Proctored Exams to Open-book

The pandemic encouraged me to re-think the way we can assess student learning in large general education courses. Last spring, the proctoring centers had to close down, and live proctoring with a person at the other end was no longer an option. There was an automated system in place, but there were technical difficulties with … Continue reading →

One State’s HBCUs Are Seeing More Interest From Adult Students. Here’s How They’re Responding

At Fayetteville State University, adult students make up about 48 percent of the overall student population. At Elizabeth City State, administrators have seen a nearly 50-percent increase in adult-student enrollment in just the last two years. Adult learners now account for 22 percent of the university’s student population. That growth has prompted administrators to take … Continue reading →

Seven Strategies for Embracing the Emotional Labor of Teaching

While attending a student success workshop a few years ago and gaining strategies to connect with students, I thought, “What about how hard I work just to be friendly and kind?” Although the workshop was beneficial, it seemed like a foundational portion of my labor was invisible. What about the herculean, behind-the-scenes self-regulation that I … Continue reading →