We Can Do Better in the New Reality: Rethinking Faculty Roles

How can institutions respond to the challenges of dwindling enrollments and vanishing state budgets, while leveraging the important role faculty have in strategic change? CT talks with NCHEMS President Sally Johnstone.

College Enrollment Down for Sixth Straight Semester

For the sixth semester in a row, student enrollment for higher education has declined in the United States. According to the latest report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, spring 2018 numbers decreased by 1.3 percent from the previous spring. That follows a 1 percent drop for fall-over-fall enrollment.

Report Promotes Pell Grants for High Schoolers in Early College Courses

A new report has recommended continuation of a pilot to allow high school students to use Pell grants to cover the costs of college courses. The Alliance for Excellent Education is pushing Congress to consider the test involving early college high schools and dual-enrollment programs because it believes the move could boost college enrollment and completion.

U Michigan Portal Collects Digital Learning Opportunities in One Place

The University of Michigan's Office of Academic Innovation has launched a new portal, Michigan Online, to bring all of the university's digital learning opportunities together in one place. The new site serves as gateway to more than 120 programs, including massive open online courses, certificates, teach-outs, specializations, Xseries courses, micromasters and more.

NC State to Work with IBM on Quantum Computing Research

North Carolina State University is joining the IBM Q Network, a collaboration of companies, academic institutions and national research labs working to advance quantum computing, making it the first university-based IBM Q Hub in North America.

McMaster Infusing Campus with Accessibility Awareness

An Ontario, Canada institution is drawing attention to its accessibility initiatives and resources. On December 3, in celebration of the International Day of People with Disabilities, McMaster University will award its first accessibility award to honor accessibility efforts on campus. Shortly, it will also publish an accessibility and disability inclusion update to profile the work being done on campus.

Gates Exec Becoming Chancellor of PA State System

The former director of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Postsecondary Success program will lead Pennsylvania's 14-campus State System of Higher Education. Daniel Greenstein, who also served as an administrator in the University of California System, will become the fifth chancellor in September.

Startup Uses AI and Human Augmentation for Video/Audio Transcription

A startup based in Israel has raised $11 million to expand the growth of its solution for doing artificial-intelligence-powered transcription. Verbit technology, according to the company, will be helpful to schools in addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act regulation.

VR Interface Lets Students Explore Civil Engineering

An open immersive virtual reality interface for pre-university and first-year students allows them to explore engineering disciplines, such as structural or hydraulics, as part of engaging their interest in STEM careers.

First Cohorts Graduate in California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Pilot

A pilot program formed in 2014 in California's community colleges just came to fruition when 135 students around the state graduated with bachelor's degrees from their two-year schools. The program's intent: to meet workforce needs where they're not duplicated at the state's public universities.

Playbook Offers Blueprint for Free College Programs

A new playbook promises to help mayors build and expand College Promise programs within their communities. The "City and County Playbook: How To Build a Promise" was the brainchild of the College Promise Campaign and Chris Cabaldon, a board member and the current mayor of West Sacramento, California. The report is intended to serve as a blueprint to help cities and counties create programs that fund the first two years of college for "hard-working students."

Study: It's Time to Regulate Brokers Specializing in Student Data

Information about students has become fair game for data brokers, which don't adhere to any protective measures currently in place, according to a new study by Fordham University's Center on Law and Information Policy. As "Transparency and the Marketplace for Student Data" reported, lists of student information are widely available for purchase "on the basis of ethnicity, affluence, religion, lifestyle, awkwardness and even a perceived or predicted need for family planning services." Those who trade in student information are governed under no federal privacy law.

EdX Begins Testing a Paywall

MOOC provider edX will be moving away from its current model of offering almost everything free. The nonprofit announced last month that the decision was intended to help it and its partners "achieve sustainability." The first charge to be introduced is a "modest" support fee, according to a blog post on the change.

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