Ray Schroeder: “Universities Have to Change To Meet Students’ Needs” (IBL News)
Professor Emeritus Ray Schroder finds it difficult to stop working. As the Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield and the founding director of the National Council for Online Education at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), he has a lot on his plate. IBL News recently got in…
Five Key Trends for Professional and Continuing Education Leaders in the Next Five Years (The EvoLLLution)
Higher education is on the cusp of major changes. Enrollments are on the decline—both online and on campus—and the trend is expected to accelerate. Graduates are laboring under substantial college loan debts totaling more than $1.5 trillion. Employers are demanding that applicants possess soft and hard skills that many college graduates do not hold. At…
What is Regular and Substantive Interaction? The Term That Has Defined Online Learning Still Lacks Clear Definition (Elearning Inside)
There’s an issue with online higher education that has yet to be resolved. For learners to apply for federal student loans, and for institutions to receive these Title IV funds, online or distance programs must demonstrate “regular and substantive interaction” (RSI) between students and instructors. There’s just one issue in following this guideline. No policymaker…
Extend financial aid to cover more alternative education programs, groups say (edscoop)
Despite a surge of regulations in the 1980s designed to prevent fraudulent use of financial aid funds for online courses, the Department of Education still struggles to balance consumer protections with a growing need for short-term and distance education to offer student aid, according to a report released Wednesday by higher education policy advocates. The report — authored…
Higher ed groups ask for flexibility with online learning rules (EducationDIVE)
Dive Brief: As regulators and industry representatives hash out a potential future for higher education accreditation, particularly rules governing online learning, three industry groups have put forward their own policy recommendations. Covering topics such as competency-based education (CBE), regular and substantive interaction and state authorization, the policy briefs were written by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the…
Retirees to Embrace Campus Life (Inside Higher Ed)
….According to the National Center for Education Statistics, just 0.3 percent of students pursuing a degree are aged 65 and over. And education programs targeting those aged 55 and older rarely generate significant long-term revenues, according to Jim Fong, founding director of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association’s Center for Research and Strategy. “The target…