An organization that has blocked efforts to allow the federal collection of student outcomes data on the basis of protecting student privacy rights has come out in support of an alternative approach being kicked around in Congress. The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities issued a statement recently in support of legislation that would bypass the idea of a central federal database but still enable the generation of insights about how students fare after graduation.
Senate bill 2986, "Correctly Recognizing Educational Achievements to Empower Graduates Act," was re-introduced in early June. The bill would encourage states to establish or expand reverse transfer programs, initiatives that award associate degrees to individuals who have transferred to a four-year college from a community college without first earning an associate degree.
A new study found that college students who participate in undergraduate research experiences are more likely to seek advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math fields.
In spite of the fact that nine in 10 people believe online and distance learning programs will grow in popularity over time, seven in 10 don't think that students can a get a "true college experience" from an online-only program. That drops to five in 10 for those students who have attended a blended learning course. Those results surfaced in "Online Education Trendspots," a survey intended to understand experiences and perceptions of online or distance education programs.
Class Central recently made a list of all the courses it could locate that are part of for-credit programs and are still free to access. There are 370 of them, according to the company, which operates an online MOOC search engine and curates a MOOC catalog. The search found offerings from 49 different universities, with subjects "spanning technology, business, the arts and engineering."
This fall, Northern Virginia Community College will offer a Cloud Computing specialization for its Information Systems Technology associate of applied science degree. The college worked with Amazon Web Services' A.W.S. Educate program to create the new degree offering, which is "designed to address one of the most pressing skill-demands in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and the nation," according to a news announcement.
H2O.ai, an artificial-intelligence platform producer, is partnering with AI4ALL, an Oakland, CA-based nonprofit working to increase diversity and inclusion in AI and to educate future AI workers about how it can be a force for social good. The goal: to democratize AI.
In a survey of 1,500 "past, present and prospective fully online students," most are taking advantage of — or want — the option to use smartphones or tablets for their class work. Among current and past students, 67 percent completed at least some of their online coursework on a mobile device. The research was conducted by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research.
Google is expediting access to details about college when somebody looks up a specific institution in the search engine. When a user enters a college name, he or she will receive the usual capsule description from Wikipedia, as well as a menu with quick links to information about admissions, cost, majors, outcomes and other aspects and other stats.
In a survey of 1,500 online students, most considered the value of their degree equal to or greater than the cost they paid to take it. Among those who have attended face-to-face and online courses, the majority said that online learning is as good as or better than attending courses on campus. The survey was conducted by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research.