Online and Professional Continuing Education News
See below for a listing of curated news articles of the day brought to you by Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA.
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- Public Colleges Anchor State Workforce Pipelines - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher EdThe type of college a person graduates from is one of the strongest predictors of whether they’ll remain in the state to work after graduation, new data shows. According to a report the Strada Institute for the Future of Work published Thursday, 62 percent of workers between the ages of 20 and 65 who graduated […]
- Fitch: New visa limits could hurt international enrollment and revenue - Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed DiveThe Trump administration’s new rule capping international student visa stays at four years could hurt revenue and decrease enrollment at colleges, particularly those that heavily rely on foreign students, according to a Tuesday analysis from Fitch Ratings. Financial pressure will be greatest on institutions with weaker student demand, limited financial flexibility, and a high reliance […]
- Differential engagement with generative artificial intelligence in higher education: Gender, motivation, and achievement trajectories - uan-Hsuan Lee & Jiun-Yu Wu, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher EducationEngagement frequency was shaped by learner differences: female students, those with stronger autonomous motivation, lower prior knowledge, and higher course performance interacted more frequently, while higher-performing students were less likely to abstain from use. Importantly, engagement was not merely a matter of frequency but of inquiry quality and diversity. Growing Achievers (students who began with […]
- Why reinvention is the new responsibility of public higher education - Anthony Graham, Pine Bluss CommercialLeadership scholars have long observed that every system is perfectly designed to produce the results it produces. This simple observation carries profound implications for higher education. If our universities are producing outcomes that no longer meet the needs of today’s students, employers, and communities, the answer cannot be to simply work harder within the same […]
- A $40,000-Per-Year AI School With No Teachers Is Opening in Oklahoma - Maya Henry, Good Men ProjectAn AI-powered, billionaire-backed chain of private schools promises to educate students with two hours of virtual learning a day and entrepreneurship workshops. There are no teachers, and tuition is nearly double the most expensive private school in the state. This is Alpha School and, come August, it’s touching down in Oklahoma. Here’s how it works, […]
- AI use mirrors student schedules in study of 77,000 online learners - André Adler, Phys.orgThis makes it the world's largest empirical analysis to date of the actual use of a dedicated AI learning assistant in a higher education context. Syntea is currently available to more than 80,000 online students at IU International University of Applied Sciences, as well as around 5,000 learners at IU Academy. Among other findings, the analysis […]
- Montana Tech Names First Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer in Montana University System - Amanda Badovinac, Montana TechRecognizing the transformative impact of emerging technologies on higher education and industry, Montana Technological University has appointed Professor Chad Okrusch, Ph.D. to serve as the university’s first chief artificial intelligence officer. The position is the first of its kind in the Montana University System (MUS). As chief artificial intelligence officer, Okrusch will lead Montana Tech’s […]
- Public health courses provide opportunities for international collaboration and learning - Mellissa Withers, Keck School of Medicine, USCBoth of these courses are delivered online to facilitate international collaboration and participation across partner institutions, and are open to USC students in any modality or concentration. Students from outside of the MPH program are also welcome to enroll.https://keck.usc.edu/news/public-health-courses-provide-opportunities-for-international-collaboration-and-learning/
- Illinois Institute of Technology cuts 160 faculty and staff just before fall semester - Lisa Kurian Philip, Chicago Sun timeThe Illinois Institute of Technology has laid off approximately 160 faculty and staff just before the start of the fall semester, a university spokesperson said in a written statement. According to an email shared with WBEZ, the university’s president said Illinois Tech is facing research funding cuts and “severe restrictions on international students.” “The university […]
- How to set up an effective internship program - Roopa Venkatesh, et al; Journal of AccountancyLearn what practitioners can do to attract stronger internship candidates and build a robust on-ramp for long-term accounting careers. Internships are important on-ramps into the accounting profession, but they’re not working equally well for everyone. Students are eager for experience. Many firms are eager for talent. And yet, a surprising number of qualified accounting students […]
- Why outcomes now dominate the college search - Alcino Donadel, University BusinessStudents are now turning down Ivy Leagues for institutions that better communicate ROI and affordability, says one leader in the college consulting space. Economic uncertainty, artificial intelligence and affordability have flipped recruitment on its head as today’s learners are far more interested in how a college will help them thrive after graduation than previous generations. […]
- Students as Conscientious Objectors to Generative AI: We should listen to them—and treat their objections with respect - Carla Fehr and Jennifer Saul, Inside Higher EdWhen Carla explained the assignment, the first question raised was “What if we don’t want to use GenAI?” At first, she responded that it was part of the assignment and that whether or not they wanted to use generative AI, they should at least know how to use it. If they then chose to reject […]
- From Knowledge Building to Wisdom Building in Higher Education - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher EdIn years gone by, we said that students went to college to gather knowledge. Now, college is appropriately expected to be much more about building wisdom. The advent of the internet toward the end of the last century went a long way to stimulate this shift to the emphasis on wisdom. More recently, artificial intelligence has […]
- New faculty offered opportunities to enhance teaching with technology practices - Penn State UniversityThe New Faculty Discovery Series connects new Penn State faculty with timely, relevant educational technology topics that support teaching and learning. Through conversations and insights from content experts, faculty will explore the tools and resources available across the University. “Embracing Teaching and Learning with Technology for New Faculty to Penn State" provides access to key […]
- What Future-Proofing a Course Really Means - Gennadii Miroshnikov, Times Higher EdInstead of attempting to predict the future, future-proofing online courses is about making them easier to update, more inclusive and more useful to students, even as context changes. It is future-proof when the design is strong enough to cope with change. Links die. Readings date. Professional standards shift. Platforms change. Students arrive with different expectations, […]
- UNH Announces New Flexible and Affordable College-in-3 Online Degree Programs - College of Professional Studies, University of New HampshireFor online students, the goal of earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of New Hampshire is now faster and more budget-friendly. The University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies (CPS) has announced that it will start offering two new online Applied Bachelor of Science (A.B.S.) degree programs specifically designed to help eligible students […]
- Inside the federal keyword lists that canceled billions in research funding - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed DiveIn court documents, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and others shared which words they used to target grants. Those court documents offer insight into how the Trump administration undertook a swift campaign to revoke research funding for work related to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and other subjects at odds with […]
- How can the public sector meet the AI moment? - McKinseyAchieving real impact, however, requires more than isolated pilots. Fully realizing AI’s potential demands organizations rewire by redesigning processes, ways of working, and operating models to make the technology part of everyday service delivery. This series explores how leaders can move beyond experimentation and take practical steps to scale AI responsibly, delivering measurable improvements in […]
- The 10 most valuable AI skills students want to learn - Alcino Donadel, University BusinessParticipation in Coursera’s generative AI courses has increased by 234% over the last year, while professional certificate enrollment jumped by 91% as employers wish to verify what job candidates are learning.The fastest-growing, non-technical AI skill is creating content that promotes a business’ strategy or services. Courses that focus on critical thinking around responsible and ethical […]
- Beyond ChatGPT: How to create successful AI-ready students - Alcino Donadel, University BusinessLeaders agree that when—and when not—to rely on AI is the fundamental lesson students must learn when using technology. That focus is not fundamentally different from higher education’s traditional mission, says Carolyn Speer, director of the Office of Instructional Resources at Wichita State University. “It’s the same skillset: being able to make sound judgements and […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
Major Updates Negotiated Rulemaking on State Authorization, Distance Education, Accreditation and Other Topics Continues In early February a session was held in continuation of the US Department of Education’s crucial Negotiated Rulemaking on Program Integrity and Institutional Quality, with the second of three sessions running…
Like a Good Student, AI Is Getting Smarter
The Generative AI (GenAI) tools we know as ChatGPT-4, Gemini-Advanced and their competition in 2024 are all getting many more features than the versions we used just a year ago. Speaking at the World Government Summit earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said GPT-5…
21 of Top 25 Ranked Institutions are UPCEA Members WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 20, 2024) — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to congratulate the many UPCEA members recognized in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. U.S. News…
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