Red Balloon Resources

The Princeton Review is entering the distance education market by teaming up with community colleges to offer fast-track allied health-care programs to students who are willing to pay higher tuition to bypass long waiting lists.

"Project Win-Win Project Win-Win involves 35 community colleges and colleges in six states-Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin-in finding former students, no longer enrolled anywhere and never awarded any degree, whose records qualify them for associate's degrees, and get those degrees awarded retroactively. Simultaneously, this effort will identify former students who are "academically short" of an associate's degree by no more than nine credits, find them, and seek to bring them back to complete their degree. Project Win-Win, undertaken in a partnership of IHEP and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, and funded by Lumina Foundation for Education, is a major expansion of a pilot program conducted in the fall and spring terms of 2009-10 in nine of the 35 institutions and under the sponsorship of the Education Trust. The pilot schools (six community colleges in Louisiana, New York, and Ohio and three four-year colleges in Louisiana that award associate's degrees) discovered that finding the students and awarding these degrees is neither a simple nor an instant matter. However, by the end of their seven-month pilot, these institutions had already awarded or certified for award nearly 600 associate's degrees, and had lined up almost 1,600 students who were short by nine or fewer credits, hence "potential" degree recipients. The pilot schools will continue in the expanded version of Project Win-Win for one year, by the end of which IHEP expects to see them award about 1,000 associate's degrees, and have at least 2,000 students in line to complete their degree in a timely manner. Projecting those numbers out across both U.S. community colleges and four-year colleges that award associate's degrees would yield, at a minimum, an expected 12 percent increase in the number of associate's degrees awarded. Adding in four-year colleges that do not award associate's degrees themselves but can target students who

"The Brand in the Classroom December 14, 2010, 12:19 pm By Mark Bauerlein An interesting survey by Harris Interactive came out this month, one that may have quirky implications for teachers, particularly at the secondary level. It's called the Youth EquiTrends Study, a poll of 5,077 8- to 24-year olds administered last August. The sample was drawn from 13- to 24-year-olds by online means, 8- to 12-year-olds through the parents. The researchers aimed to identify "brand equity" among the young, that is, a brand's overall strength as judged "by a calculation of Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Consideration." Respondents were asked to rate between 98 and 125 popular brands of goods, relaying how well they know them, how high is their quality, and would they buy them. For 8- to 12-year-olds, the findings aren't surprising. It's all entertainment and junk food: 1. Nintendo Wii 2. Doritos 3. Oreo's 4. M&Ms 5. Disney Channel 6. Nickelodeon 7. Nintendo DS 8. McDonald's 9. Toys R Us 10. Cartoon Network Lots of screen time here, all for play and diversion. At least Nintendo gets them off the couch and burns some of those Oreo's calories. For the next age group, 13- to 17-year-olds, a different screen time emerges, along with a drop in junk food (although one of them still tops the list). 1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups 2. iPod 3. Google 4. M&Ms 5. Oreo's 6. Subway 7. Hershey's Milk Chocolate 8. Target 9. Sprite 10. Microsoft Note the appearance of Google at Number 3. It isn't something you buy or eat or watch, really. It's not a show or a TV channel, and you don't shop for it in a store. It's something you do. Most importantly for teachers, Google is a central learning resource in and out of the classroom. For their homework, especially research assignments, students go to Google as their first resort. Is this the first time ever that young people have given brand loyalty to a tool so much a part of their schoolwork? The

"'Jaw-Dropping' Data on Black Male Student Achievement The Council of Great City Schools is today releasing what it calls "jaw-dropping" data on the achievement of black male students, The New York Times reported. While the data are primarily about K-12 achievement, they suggest strong links to subsequent gaps noted for black male students in college enrollment levels. The report argues that the achievement gaps start at young ages, noting that while 12 percent of black boys in the fourth grade are proficient in reading, 38 percent of white boys are proficient. In eighth grade, 12 percent of black boys and 44 percent of white boys are proficient in math. According to the report, poverty levels are only part of the equation because poor white boys (defined by eligibility for subsidized school lunches) are doing as well as black boys who do not live in poverty."

"The Rise of the 'Edupunk' November 5, 2010 NEW YORK -- The "Edupunks" will inherit the Earth … or at least some attention. Those in higher education who continue hand-wringing over the relative merits of online learning and other technology-driven platforms will soon find themselves left in the dust of an up-and-coming generation of students who are seeking knowledge outside academe. Such was an emerging consensus view here Monday, as college leaders gathered for the TIAA-CREF Institute's 2010 Higher Education Leadership Conference. "We're still trying to fit the Web into our educational paradigm.… I just don't think that's going to work," said Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College, in Eugene, Ore. Today's students are "pretty bored with what we do," she added. In a notable acknowledgment of the tail wagging the dog, several panelists alluded here to the possibility that if colleges don't change the way they do business, then students will change the way colleges do business. College leaders don't yet know how to credential the knowledge students are gaining on their own, but they may soon have to, said Mark David Milliron, deputy director for postsecondary improvement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are not far from the day when a student, finding unsatisfactory reviews of a faculty member on ratemyprofessors.com, will choose to take a class through open courseware online and then ask his home institution to assess him, Milliron said. Colleges need to prepare for that reality, he said. While the concept of a self-educated citizenry circumventing the traditional system of higher education may have sounded far-fetched a decade ago, the fact that the likes of Spilde gave it more than lip service marks something of a shift. Indeed, there was more than a subtle suggestion across hours of sessions Monday that colleges are in for a new world, like it or not, where they may not be the winners."

"Globalization 101 November 4, 2010 ORLANDO, Fla. -- In an effort to deepen their understanding of how technology can help different cultures understand each other better, David L. Stoloff last year decided to give his students a taste of peer review -- and outsourcing. Presenting on Wednesday at the annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning, Stoloff, a professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, described an experiment in which he used social media to teach students in a first-year course on educational technology a lesson about how they can use social media to change how they do amateur cross-cultural research on the Web. Stoloff divided the students into four groups, and assigned each to put together a PowerPoint presentation on one of four countries -- Taiwan, Algeria, Nepal and Russia -- using basic Web research. But instead of assessing the projects himself, he tapped more authoritative sources: university students in those countries. Using the learning-oriented social networking site ePals.com, which mostly focuses on K-12, Stoloff tracked down professors at 20 universities and asked them via e-mail if they would be interested in having their students evaluate his students' work. Four replied. "

"Hirings Rocket at For-Profits November 4, 2010 Surging enrollments at for-profit colleges have driven increases in staffing at those institutions, according to federal data released Wednesday. Between 2008 and 2009, the for-profit sector posted double-digit percentage gains in the numbers of total employees, full- and part-time faculty, and executive staff, the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics' "Employees in Postsecondary Institutions" annual survey revealed. Growth in the sector was such that for every two hires made in higher education during the past year, one was at a for-profit college. Meanwhile, employment in the overall higher education sector edged up 2 percent between 2008 and 2009. To a large extent, this growth trend reflects the fact that there are far fewer for-profit colleges and staff members to begin with, and any fluctuations are likely to appear large when expressed as a percentage. The number of employees at public institutions remains approximately 10 times that of the for-profit institutions. On the other hand, the trend also reflects soaring enrollments at the colleges, which experienced 21 percent growth between 2007 and 2008, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Strained state budgets and weak private endowments also were reflected in colleges' hiring patterns during the past year, as compared to the one before. Colleges across all sectors were far more likely to add part-time faculty than full-time professors or administrators. Hiring of part-time instructional staff, typically adjuncts, increased 7 percent between 2008 and 2009, while hiring of full-time instructors and administrators grew by 1 percent each. Nearly 6 out of every 10 employees added during the past year were part-time instructors."

"New Job With an Old Friend November 2, 2010 While collecting a $115,000 paycheck from Arkansas State University, the former president of the state system hopes to strengthen relations between the university and a controversial online education company that now employs him, according to documents released Monday. Leslie Wyatt, who resigned as system head in July and now has faculty status, works as a consultant for Academic Partnerships, LLC, formerly known as Higher Ed Holdings, university documents state. Additionally, he serves as president and chairman of the American University System, a nonprofit association affiliated with the company, according to a cached version of the organization's website. Amid mounting concern over potential conflicts of interest, the nonprofit group removed the only mention of Wyatt's name on the site. Wyatt's work with Academic Partnerships has given additional fodder to critics, who have questioned how the company secured a lucrative contract without the input of any non-administrative faculty. As with the University of Toledo, where faculty rancor over Higher Ed Holdings derailed a deal in the works, some at Arkansas have questioned whether academic quality suffers when a university partners with a company known for providing inexpensive degrees on a massive scale. "

"Students finding cheaper ways to get college degrees By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 8:49 PM Sunday, November 28, 2010 Ohio students pursuing alternative paths to obtaining degrees saved millions of dollars last year while helping colleges and universities across the state increase enrollment 3.9 percent. A study by the Ohio Board of Regents found that the number of transfer students and online enrollments significantly increased last year, with a 21 percent growth in transfers between state schools and a 25 percent increase in "distance learning" - students attending classes online or outside the traditional classroom. More than half of new students enrolled last year in Ohio - a total of 263,116 - attend community colleges and branch campuses. By transferring credits from these less expensive institutions to four-year universities, Ohio students and their families saved $20 million last year, or an average of more than $550 per student. Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, said committing to more low-cost college pathways is key to the state's strategic plan. Most local colleges saw gains in one or both types of students. "

"Report Finds Low Graduation Rates at For-Profit Colleges By TAMAR LEWIN Published: November 23, 2010 A new report on graduation rates at for-profit colleges by a nonprofit research and advocacy group charges that such colleges deliver "little more than crippling debt," citing federal data that suggests only 9 percent of the first-time, full-time bachelor's degree students at the University of Phoenix, the nation's largest for-profit college, graduate within six years. The report, "Subprime Opportunity," by the Education Trust, found that in 2008, only 22 percent of the first-time, full-time bachelor's degree students at for-profit colleges over all graduate within six years, compared with 55 percent at public institutions and 65 percent at private nonprofit colleges. Among Phoenix's online students, only 5 percent graduated within six years, and at the campuses in Cleveland and Wichita, Kan., only 4 percent graduated within six years. "For-profits proudly claim to be models of access in higher education because they willingly open their doors to disadvantaged, underprepared students." said José L. Cruz, a vice president for the trust. "But we must ask the question, 'Access to what?' " Since the first-time, full-time students tracked in the federal statistics are the most likely to graduate, the report said, these figures may actually overstate the graduation rates. "

Deloitte survey...HS students think they are ready for college; their teachers don't think so

"Higher ed plan envisions big changes to Utah campuses By Brian Maffly The Salt Lake Tribune Published Nov 15, 2010 02:12PM Ten years from now the senior year of high school could serve as a freshman year in college. Need-based aid might be more widely available. Attendance could be required at certain "gateway" college courses, currently plagued with failure rates approaching 40 percent. And taxing districts might support two-year instruction. Those are among ideas the state Board of Regents is floating in its HighEd 2020 Plan, assembled in recent months in response to Gov. Gary Herbert's instructions to better align higher education with Utah's economic needs. The foremost goal is to increase the portion of the state's adult population with college degrees from 39 percent to at least 55 percent, and another 11 percent with some kind of post-secondary certification. "That's not a goal driven by an educational need. That's a goal driven by a business need. The best research in the country says we are going to need the eighth-most educated work force by 2020," Regents Chairman David Jordan said. "If we are going to be prepared for the knowledge-based economy of the future, we need to increase the output of higher education. We have to attract both more students to the system and have to increase our completion percentage." Some 66 percent of jobs will soon require some type of post-secondary certification, according to a study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce."

"Technology and the Completion Agenda November 9, 2010 The White House, the Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Call them the Three Tenors of the completion agenda. In one of his first speeches as president, Barack Obama emphasized the need for a higher rate of postsecondary completion. Lumina had already been investing in projects designed to get more Americans into college and out with a degree. And Gates has, in recent years, made college completion as basic to the legacy of its eponymous benefactor as, well, BASIC. (Others have since echoed the call.) Now, the technology section is joining the band - and may be holding the instruments that could make the whole song a hit: data analytics. "This has been building for a while," says Donald Norris, president and founder of Strategic Initiatives, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in "transformative change" in higher ed and elsewhere, which has lately taken a strong interest in analytics. But only now, Norris says, as institutions grapple with the challenge of enrolling more students and increasing success with fewer resources, has the subject of data analytics - and the tools that technology vendors have been developing to wield those data - emerged at the forefront of conversations about technology in education. Data analytics is shorthand for the method of warehousing, organizing, and interpreting the massive amounts of data accrued by online learning platforms and student information systems - now as elemental to higher education as classrooms and filing cabinets - in hopes of learning more about what makes students successful, then giving instructors (and the platforms themselves) the chance to nudge those students accordingly. "

"Kaplan's Woes An article in today's New York Times explores the pressures on Kaplan University at a time that its parent company, The Washington Post Co., is increasingly relying on it for revenue and federal regulators and whistle-blowers are stepping up scrutiny of the for-profit education sector. While the article notes the toll that the attention has taken on the company, it remains lucrative. The Times said that Kaplan's revenue in the last quarter was up 9 percent - to $743.3 million -- and that revenue from higher education is four times greater than revenue from test-prep, the company's original service."

"U. of Phoenix Reports on Students' Academic Progress December 9, 2010, 7:02 pm By Goldie Blumenstyk The University of Phoenix has released its third "Academic Annual Report," a document that continues to be notable not so much for the depth of information it provides on its students' academic progress but for its existence at all. Few colleges, for-profit or otherwise, publish such reports. Matthew Denhart, administrative director at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, an organization that advocates for greater transparency and accountability about student learning in higher education, said the report was "kind of refreshing," even as he noted the inherent limitations of a report in which the university itself chooses what information it will publish. He said he especially liked the data Phoenix collected on how students' salaries (most of them work while attending) rose at a rate higher than the national average while they were enrolled. Data like that are "something you really have to struggle to find anywhere else," Mr. Denhart said. The findings for the 2009 academic year did show some warts-most notably, declines from 2008 in program-completion rates. In 2009, the proportion of Phoenix students completing an associate degree within three years of enrolling was 23 percent, down from 26 percent the year before. Among bachelor's degree students, the six-year completion rate was 34 percent, versus 36 percent the previous year. (You can dig into the numbers from this year's report, and the two previous ones, here. Read The Chronicle's coverage of the previous reports here and here.)"

"GOP Leader May Try to Block Rules on For-Profit Colleges The soon-to-be head of the House of Representatives education committee told Bloomberg last week that he is looking for ways to block the Obama administration from putting in place new rules aimed at requiring for-profit and other vocational programs to prove they are preparing their graduates for "gainful employment." Representative John Kline, the Minnesota Republican who will head the Committee on Education and Labor when his party takes control of the House in January, told the news service that he would favor that the government put in place an expanded set of disclosures on outcomes for nonprofit and for-profit colleges alike, and that he believed "a pretty broad spectrum" of lawmakers, from both parties, had concerns about the administration's proposed regulations."

"December 12, 2010 Who Are the Undergraduates? From teenagers coddled by helicopter parents to underage drinkers mad for Four Loko, popular depictions of undergraduates often paint them as young adults feeling their way through postadolescence. But-while a cadre of undergraduates certainly does leave home at 18 to live on leafy campuses and party hard-many others are commuters, full-time workers, and parents. Roughly 22 million undergraduates attended college at some point in 2007-8, and the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study from that year provides a snapshot of where students are coming from and how they pursue their educations. More than a third of all undergraduates attend part-time, and most are not affluent. That's reflected in where students go to college-more than twice as many undergraduates attend the University of Phoenix's online campus as go to an Ivy League college. You can explore students' demographics for yourself below."

"More Opposition to For-Profit Partner at Arkansas State Controversy continues to swirl around the partnership between a for-profit online course provider and Arkansas State University, where faculty voted last week for a moratorium on any new programs with the company. In a 19-10 vote, the university's Faculty Senate approved a resolution that calls on Arkansas State to hold off on developing any further programs with Academic Partnerships, LLC, a company formerly known as Higher Ed Holdings. Before moving forward, a faculty committee should review the existing relationship, which has created a "fundamental shift in the nature of faculty roles and relationships, manner of instruction and the nature of the institution itself," the resolution states. Administrators' ties to the company have prompted conflict of interest charges, leading an interim chancellor and the former system president to distance themselves from the company and the university, respectively."

"Using the Rankings December 6, 2010 There's a big difference between thinking the U.S. News & World Report college rankings are of dubious value -- and actually refusing to try to use them to an institution's advantage. That's the conclusion of the second of a series of surveys released by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. A special NACAC committee has been conducting the series as part of an effort to study the impact of the U.S. News rankings. More survey results and a final report are expected from the panel next year. The first survey results, released last month, documented that most college admissions officials and high school counselors doubt both the value of the rankings and the idea that they are truly helping students and their families. The new results show that this skepticism doesn't stop colleges from using the rankings -- both to promote their institutions and to make changes in policies and programs."

"Flogging For-Profit Colleges November 24, 2010 WASHINGTON -- The release of yet another report highly critical of for-profit higher education by yet another advocacy group in the nation's capital barely qualifies as news these days -- except that the report and the reaction to it so clearly underscore how critics and defenders of the colleges are talking past one another. The study, released Tuesday by Education Trust, largely repackages previously published data on higher education companies -- their booming enrollments (particularly of minority and low-income students), escalating dependence on federal financial aid, relatively low graduation rates (compared to most public and independent four-year colleges), and high student debt and default levels -- to suggest that the colleges are a breeding ground for another crisis of the magnitude of the subprime mortgage loan meltdown. (The report's none-too-subtle title: "Subprime Opportunity: High Dividends, Low Baccalaureates at For-Profit Colleges.") "If the for-profit sector as a whole did its part to ensure that the students they enroll got the kind of high-quality education they thought they were paying for, these institutions would be making an important contribution to our economy, indeed to our democracy," said Kati Haycock, the group's president. "Instead, too many are taking advantage of the system by operating a business model based on systemic failure and foreclosing on the futures of vulnerable students before they have a chance to begin. That's unethical, but it's also un-American.""