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Distance Learning

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2010 43% of all students in K-12 are now minority.

2010 The U.S. Department of Education is also getting into the act with a $650 million fund to boost education innovation. University of Pennsylvania wants to create one of the nation's only business incubators dedicated to education entrepreneurs.

2010 Researchers at Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce predict that 63% of jobs nationally will require more than high school education. Nationally, employers are expected to need 22 million new workers with at least some education beyond high school by 2018, but Georgetown says the country is likely to fall short by 3 million. "If we don't address this need now, millions of jobs could go offshore," Anthony Carnevale, who heads the Center on Education and the Workforce.

Centuries-Old Tradition Lies Behind Diplomas of Today’s High School Graduates Royal Engraving, a printing company in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The company opened its doors in 1924 as a small wholesale engraver on Fulton Street in Manhattan, then the city’s printing district. Called Tripi Engraving, it was run by Italian immigrants, who bought the current one-story brick shop on Meserole Avenue in Greenpoint in the 1980s. It later changed its name to Royal Engraving, and merged with a former competitor, Palographia, about seven years ago, said Larry Paladino, who now co-owns the firm. Across the 11,000-square-foot printing floor, past 17 ink-stained engraving presses dating as far back as the 1880s, is a modern five-color offset printer, a far cheaper, easier way to print. But offset printers are a “dime a dozen,” Mr. Paladino said, and they do not print from engravings. Still, engraving diplomas the traditional way is an expensive job; the Department of Education’s contract pays him just under $80,000 a year. “I’d hate to lose it, to be honest, but there probably is some other way it could be done,” he said. Using methods similar to those first developed in the 1400s, the design on the city’s diplomas is etched with acid on a copper plate — the shop sends out for that — which then forms the basis for the pressing. Because engraving allows for perfect replicas of signatures and precise details, it lends the documents a layer of security.

 

Best Online Graduate Degrees and Best Graduate Schools

 

Video: College Inc (PBS Frontline) 55:36
Are for profit schools the answer?
The cash cow of the for-profit education industry is the federal government. Though they enroll 10 percent of all post-secondary students, for-profit schools receive almost a quarter of federal financial aid. But Department of Education figures for 2009 show that 44 percent of the students who defaulted within three years of graduation were from for-profit schools, leading to serious questions about one of the key pillars of the profit degree college movement: that their degrees help students boost their earning power. This is a subject of increasing concern to the Obama administration, which, last month, remade the federal student loan program, and is now proposing changes that may make it harder for the for-profit colleges to qualify.

Phoenix U
John Sperling invented Phoenix University and everything about higher ed that could be done online. Business sells to customer. He is a billionaire 1994 Apollo Group went public. How much do they make? Sky is the limit. 3 - 6 times more expensive than community college.
Michael Clifford explains how he was an x pot head, finds jesus, and buys a college, from a guy who never went to one.
"Even in lean times, the $400 billion business of higher education is booming," PBS Frontline reports. "Nowhere is this more true than in one of the fastest-growing -- and most controversial -- sectors of the industry: for-profit colleges and universities that cater to non-traditional students, often confer degrees over the Internet, and, along the way, successfully capture billions of federal financial aid dollars. In College, Inc., correspondent Martin Smith investigates the promise and explosive growth of the for-profit higher education industry. Through interviews with school executives, government officials, admissions counselors, former students and industry observers, this film explores the tension between the industry --which says it's helping an underserved student population obtain a quality education and marketable job skills -- and critics who charge the for-profits with churning out worthless degrees that leave students with a mountain of debt."

 

Capella University
Capella Education Company a provider of exclusively online post-secondary education through its wholly owned subsidiary Capella University. The collaboration designs a cohort model specifically for SAIC's employees enrolled in the online university's master's degree program focusing on Information Assurance and Security.

Standing Up to 'Accreditation Shopping' July 1, 2010
Critics of for-profit higher education see as a pattern of "accreditation shopping" in which for-profit entities purchase financially struggling nonprofit colleges, and then hold on to the regional accreditation that the nonprofit colleges had for years, even as the new owners expand or radically change the institutions' missions. One accreditor is saying "not so fast." The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has recently rejected two "change of control" requests to have accreditation continue with the purchases of nonprofit colleges (Dana College, in Nebraska, and Rochester College, in Michigan) by for-profit entities. Further, the accreditor insisted on a series of stipulations to approve the continued accreditation of Iowa's Waldorf College -- stipulations that will effectively keep the near-term focus of the college on its residential, liberal arts mission.

 

2010 New Rules

June 16, 2009 For-profit college investors applauded the U.S. Department of Education's announcement Wednesday of a number of proposed reforms covering higher education, though analysts warn stocks could see pressure down the line as one issue remains unresolved. The government-proposed reforms cover 13 major shortcomings in higher education, but the department said it will hold its recommendations on the 14th--a measure that would penalize schools for graduating students with high debt loads--until later this summer. Investors were excited to see the government take a more studied approach after industry lobbyists warned the proposal could "crush" the for-profit school sector.

The nation's colleges are attracting record numbers of new students as more Hispanics finish high school and young adults opt to pursue a higher education rather than languish in a weak job market. Newly released government figures show that freshman enrollment surged 6 percent in 2008 to a record 2.6 million, mostly due to rising minority enrollment. That is the highest increase since 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War, when young adults who attended college could avoid the military draft. The enrollment increases were clustered mostly at community colleges, trade schools, and large public universities, which tend to have more open admissions policies and charge less tuition. Still, the gains in minorities were seen at almost all levels of higher education, with white enrollment dipping to 53 percent at community colleges and 62 percent at four-year colleges. [1]

Graduation Rates and Loans: 7/26/2010 The Education Department issued on June 15 a series of other rules that required the schools to give prospective students their graduation and job placement rates. The schools are often aimed at lower-income or minority students. But the department left the toughest rule for last -- the monitoring of federal loan default rates -- which could lead to a crippling loss of federal funds, and therefore profits. Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicted that five percent of programs would lose those funds. "90% of revenues in many for-profit schools come from student loan programs," Duncan told reporters on a conference call, adding that default rates approached 25% .

Inquiry Is Sought Into Practices of For-Profit Colleges 6/22/2010
For-profit colleges have less than 10% of the nation’s college students, but get about 25% of all federal student-aid disbursements. With for-profit colleges taking in $26.5 billion in federal money last year, up from $4.6 billion in 2000, government scrutiny is becoming intense.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/education/22education.html

The Department of Education on June 16 proposed that for-profit colleges must disclose graduation rates and job-placement rates. In addition, rules that prohibit recruiter pay being linked to student enrollments would be tightened. Yet the most important reform - an effort to lower student debt defaults - has been deferred for now. For-profit colleges, and the companies that run them, including ITT Educational Services ESI.N , Apollo Group APOL.O and Corinthian Colleges COCO.O , now account for almost a quarter of U.S. Title IV loans for higher education. Their share has more than doubled over the past decade, as total loans extended to institutions increased to more than $70 billion. Moreover, federal aid makes up three-quarters of revenue, or more, at many for-profits. The Obama administration is weighing cutting off loans to programs that leave graduates with debt service costs greater than 8 percent of expected starting salary. Institutions that may fall afoul of this so-called "gainful employment" rule could increase quality, lower tuition, accept fewer students who take out large amounts of debt, or cut programs. Either way, the impact would sock margins, growth or both.

Evaluate find the pro's and con's of distance learning school programs, the Digital Diploma, Accreditation and evaluate K-12 and Higher Ed online schools.

A coalition of foundations has put up to half a billion dollars to match federal grants meant to encourage education reform, taking the pressure off schools scrambling to find the matching dollars they need to get the money. They are investing $506 million, a portion of which is for a matching fund for the $650 million federal grant program, called Investing in Innovation.

English Folk Poem, circa 1764

They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common,
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.

The poor and wretched don't escape
If they conspire the law to break;
This must be so but they endure
Those who conspire to make the law.

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common'
And geese will still a common lack
Till they go and steal it back.

 

HISTORY

DIGITAL DIPLOMA MILLS: THE AUTOMATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The Military, Industrial, Educational Complex and the New CEO

Net Could Change Education
BOSTON--Without ever taking a seat in a classroom, millions of students around the world will soon be able to earn a diploma by taking courses over the Internet, computer industry leaders said.

Virtual University - California state program fosters 'virtual' universities

Business Bennies

Online Courses Lead For-Profit Learning Trend | Study: Online Education Continues Its Meteoric Growth

RESOURCES

GLOSSARY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TERMS

PERIODICAL LITERATURE CITATIONS: ELECTRONIC LEARNING

Mailing List Resources

K -12 ONLINE SCHOOLS

  • The U.S. Department of Education has released its first guide to evaluating K-12 online-learning programs. The report comes at a time when online education is growing rapidly, notes Education Week, and school districts have been turning increasingly to online courses to fill a range of instructional and support needs. But methods for evaluating online education have failed to keep up with its swift growth, varying application, and complexity. The 68-page guide, "Evaluating Online Learning: Challenges and Strategies for Success," draws lessons from seven recent evaluations of online programs and instructional resources. It was prepared by WestEd , Inc., based in San Francisco.
  • ONLINE SCHOOLS FLUNK AUDIT
    A recently released state audit described a booming online education system with poor student performance, sloppy accounting and lax oversight of taxpayer dollars by the Colorado Department of Education. Just 7 percent of 10th-graders enrolled in online schools could do grade-level math, compared with 31 percent statewide during the 2005-06 school year. The audit team, which made 16 recommendations, urged the Education Department to place a moratorium on new public online schools until problems revealed in the audit are fixed. From 2003 to 2006, the number of online schools in Colorado has increased from 12 to 18, and the number of students has more than tripled -- from 1,900 to about 6,200 -- according to the report. Annual funding for online schools jumped from $8.4 million to $32.8 million during the same period. But there has been little to no state monitoring over the quality of those students' education or how those public tax dollars are being spent, reports Karen Rouse and Jennifer Brown in the Denver Post. Rather, the report detailed a troubled system in which students enrolled in online schools performed worse on state reading, writing and math exams than their peers across the state for the last three years; online students dropped out or repeated grades at higher rates than students statewide; and at least five online schools appeared to violate requirements that teachers are highly qualified. Auditors also found that public dollars were subsidizing private school tuition at some Hope Online learning centers.
  • Online Schools Under Scrutiny
  • 2007 1 Million in all the K-12 online classes across the US
    Los Angeles Times reports . It cites figures from the North American Council for Online Learning projecting growth of 30% a year. "Nearly half the states offer public school classes online, and last year Michigan became the first in the nation to require students to take an online course to graduate from high school. In California, a state senator introduced a bill last week to allow public high school students to take online classes without depriving schools of the state funding they receive for attendance." Why do students enroll? "Online schools are also popular with home-schooled children, with students who are devoting large blocks of time to such activities as ballet, acting or tennis, as well as students who don't enjoy a traditional school atmosphere or who need to work.
  • Online school & Projects 1997 (kept for historical context)
    The School Study Council has launched SSCOnline, a new virtual campus that offers small, highly interactive classes customized by each instructor. The 10 week graduate level courses...
  • Who owns the IP of K-12 Online Content?
  • Buying K-12 Learning Management Systems

OWNERSHIP DISTANCE EDUCATION

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY, COPYRIGHT

Who Owns On-Line Courses?

Colleges and Professors Start to Sort It Out The varying policies, on control and royalties, are increasingly the subject of contract talks Intellectual Property Policy Addendum to The University of North Texas Health Science Center Distributed Learning Creation, Use, Ownership, Royalties, Revision and Distribution of ELECTRONICALLY DEVELOPED COURSE MATERIALS AGREEMENT American Association of University Professors suggests these guidelines for negotiating ownership.

UT Who Owns What? Copyright Office Study on Distance Education

HIGHER ED COSTS

Ivory Tower Executive Suite Gets C.E.O. Level Salaries

Interactive worksheet to help administrators calculate the price tag for creating an online program developed by Brian M. Morgan director of the center for instructional technology at Marshall University. Online education can be an expensive proposition, with many hidden costs.

Online Worksheet - Helps Colleges Anticipate the Costs of Distance Education

Open Course Software A Wealth of Knowledge Free to the World

WHAT HAPPENED TO E-LEARNING?
The complete report is available online, at no cost, in PDF format at.
The Weatherstation Project was conceived as "an antidote to those first descriptions of the market for e-learning, which were often warped by missing data and overly hopeful assumptions about how quickly new products would come to market and how receptive learners and instructors were likely to be."
"Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to E-learning and Why" presents the results of the Weatherstation Project of The Learning Alliance at the University of Pennsylvania. This study sought to answer the question "Why did the boom in e-learning go bust?" Over an eighteen-month period authors Robert Zemsky, an education professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and William F. Massy, professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford University, tracked faculty and staff attitudes towards e-learning at six colleges and universities. Their findings challenged three prevalent e-learning assumptions:

  1. If we build it they will come -- not so;
  2. The kids will take to e-learning like ducks to water -- not quite;
  3. E-learning will force a change in the way we teach -- not by a long shot.

THE POWER OF THE INTERNET FOR LEARNING: MOVING FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE, 169-page pdf report constitutes the "most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of education and the Internet." Final report of the Web-Based Education Commission to the President and the Congress of the United States (WBEC) online.

"Is Anyone Making Money on Distance Education?" (CHE, February 16, 2001, p. A41) "While distance-education programs are not going under like their dot-com counterparts, administrators are recognizing that the costs of expanding programs are -- in some cases -- greater than had been anticipated," writes Sarah Carr inAnd "[s]ome researchers describe the list of potential costs as never-ending and, in the final analysis, unknowable."

"Author Says Colleges Must Reallocate Money to Academic Technology" (by Florence Olsen, CHE, February 27, 2001, A. W. (Tony) Bates, director of distance education and technology in the Continuing Studies Division at the University of British Columbia, says that "colleges will have to reallocate money from other accounts to pay for essential academic-technology projects. And that's easier said than done. . . "

Seven Points to Overcome to Make the Virtual University Viable

EVALUATE DISTANCE LEARNING

PROTECT YOURSELF How do you know if you are getting what you pay for?

WHO BESTOWS ACCREDITATION TO ONLINE SCHOOLS? A regionally accredited college will generally fully accept all your credit in transfer by other regionally accredited colleges. Credits and degrees earned at non-regionally accredited universities are not commonly accepted in transfer by regionally accredited institutions.

"Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006" The Complete report is the fourth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and the Sloan Consortium. The , based on responses from over 2,200 colleges and universities, addresses these questions:
-- Has the growth of online enrollments begun to plateau?
-- Who is learning online?
-- What types of institutions have online offerings?
-- Have perceptions of quality changed for online offerings?
-- What are the barriers to widespread adoption of online education?

An Analysis of WebCT, BSCW, and BlackBoard by Paul Pavlik
Collaboration, Sharing and Society /Teaching, Learning and Technical Considerations

 

Horizon Report
is a collaboration between the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative that "seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education."
Some key trends that the report calls attention to include

  • Increasing globalization is changing the way we work, collaborate,and communicate.
  • Information literacy increasingly should not be considered a given.
  • Academic review and faculty rewards are increasingly out of sync with new forms of scholarship.
  • The notions of collective intelligence and mass amateurization are pushing the boundaries of scholarship.
  • Students' views of what is and what is not technology are increasingly different from those of faculty.

Bad Distance Learning School
Warnings - Experiences

"Online Education's Drawbacks Include Misunderstood E-Mail Messages, Panelists Say"
by Jeffrey R. Young, How the Internet is affecting interaction between faculty and students, see THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, June 11, 2002

 

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