Growing Cyberthreats, Surging Insurance Costs - Suzanne Smalley, Inside Higher Ed

Ransomware attacks are skyrocketing at a time when many colleges are finding they can’t afford cyberinsurance — or can’t even get it.  Higher education institutions seeking cybersecurity insurance today are not unlike homeowners living on the water in a hurricane-prone coastal community: the riskier the environment, the harder it is to get insured. For both community colleges and four-year institutions, cyberthreats are now very pronounced, and that reality has led to more institutions facing cyberinsurance premium hikes of as much as 400 percent—or even discovering they are uninsurable.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/12/16/ransomware-surging%E2%80%94and-so-are-cyberinsurance-prices

Experts say schools are rethinking their approach to testing -Amelia Fabiano, ABC 15

As students across the Valley wrap up their final exams before winter break, experts suggest school districts should rethink the way they’re testing students. Tracy Weeks with Instructure, the company that created online learning platform Canvas, told ABC15 the pandemic presented an opportunity for state leaders and school districts to pause and evaluate how student learning is assessed. “At the end of it all, we're trying to make sure that every student is learning and growing throughout the year, and that we have ways to really make sure that they're being measured in the same way and that's really at the heart of it,” said Weeks. Weeks said some educators feel a better way to do that is with small but frequent check-in tests at the beginning of class. They can gather the same information they need about their students’ learning progress as those massive end-of-term finals.

https://www.abc15.com/news/state-of-education/experts-say-schools-are-rethinking-their-approach-to-testing

Designing Higher Ed Data Visualizations: Aim Deeper to Gain Knowledge and Understanding - Matt Jackson, Campus Technology

To gain more insight from analytics, consider whether your dashboards offer basic facts or dive into true understanding of patterns within your data. Drawing a distinction between knowledge and understanding gave these students a framework to describe the challenges they were now facing in their current university courses. Their struggles in college weren't due to a character flaw or a lack of effort on their ends; they simply had not previously been tasked with transferring knowledge across learning domains or into new contexts.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/12/09/designing-higher-ed-data-visualizations-aim-deeper-to-gain-knowledge-and-understanding.aspx

Commission takes action to improve lifelong learning and employability - European Union

At the Porto Social Summit in May, EU Leaders welcomed the EU-level target of 60% of all adults taking part in training every year by 2030. Today, the Commission has taken an important step in helping Member States meet this target by presenting proposals for Council Recommendations on individual learning accounts and on micro-credentials, as announced in the Skills Agenda and in the European Education Area Communication of 2020. A strong skill set opens up opportunities to individuals, provides a safety net in uncertain times, promotes inclusion and social advancement and provides the economy with the skilled labour force needed to grow and innovate. The success of both the digital and green transitions depends on workers with the right skills. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the need for reskilling and upskilling of workforce to adapt to the changing labour market and meet demand in different sectors.

https://europeansting.com/2021/12/13/commission-takes-action-to-improve-lifelong-learning-and-employability/

77% growth in English-taught programmes outside the ‘big four’ - Nic Mitchell, University World News

Nearly one in five English-taught programmes are now available outside of the ‘big four’ English-speaking study destinations of the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada, according to a major survey looking at the growth in degree courses taught in English by universities in non-English speaking countries.  Until recently the main competition for English-taught programmes (ETPs) came from European higher education institutions in countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark as well as from smaller English-speaking countries like Ireland and New Zealand. But trends since January 2017 reveal it is the Chinese and Sub-Saharan African regions that have seen the fastest percentage growth rate of ETPs.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211207110915532

Moody’s Forecasts Stable Outlook for Higher Ed in 2022 - Emma Whitford, Inside Higher Ed

After two challenging years for higher education, Moody’s Investors Service forecasts a stable outlook for the sector in 2022, the credit ratings agency announced Tuesday. Operating revenue is predicted to rise between 4 and 6 percent as students return to campus and auxiliary revenue streams—including room and board—rebound. At the same time, labor shortages and inflation could increase institutional spending and result in tight margins for many institutions.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/12/09/moody%E2%80%99s-forecasts-stable-outlook-higher-ed-2022

UNC’s $97 Million Plan to Reach Adult Online Learners - Suzanne Smalley, Inside Higher Ed

The University of North Carolina system is leveraging $97 million in pandemic recovery funding to launch a nonprofit ed-tech start-up intended to bolster adult online education in a state with a looming need for more skilled workers. Sweeping in its ambition, Project Kitty Hawk’s five-year financial plan projects 120 new online program launches and 24,000 net new enrollments across the system’s 16 university campuses by the 2026–27 academic year, according to working papers project leaders shared with Inside Higher Ed.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/12/09/unc-system-launch-ambitious-97-million-ed-tech-start

Frustration Over a Stalled Bill - David Leonhardt, New York Times

The Defense Department built the original internet — and Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others expanded it. The National Institutes of Health funded laboratory experiments — and pharmaceutical companies created treatments based on them, including for Covid-19. There are similar stories in energy, automobiles, aviation and other industries. In recent decades, however, American investment in research and development has lagged.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/briefing/federal-scientific-research-democrats-stalled.html

2020 grads get fewer jobs than any class since 2014 - Edwin Koc, NACE

In fact, NACE polling conducted during the spring 2020 graduation season found that slightly more than 4% of employers were rescinding offers made for full-time positions, and a large number—31%—expected to delay start dates for full-time recruits. Given these conditions, it will come as no surprise that the outcomes for the Class of 2020 differed markedly from the outcomes experienced by previous classes. The percent of 2020 graduates experiencing a positive outcome decreased substantially—not only in comparison to their Class of 2019 counterparts, but in comparison to every class since 2014, when NACE first began reporting outcomes.

https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/graduate-outcomes/2020-grads-get-fewer-jobs-than-any-class-since-2014/

Learning, working and winning - EDITORIAL the Australian

It’s true that fostering skills and remedying skill shortages are primarily tasks for the vocational education and training sector, which is often neglected because of a perceived lack of prestige. But higher education also has a vocational tradition – in the broad sense exemplified by medicine, law or engineering – and that expectation of a career pay-off has increased with higher fees and the rise of the corporate university. Meanwhile, micro-credentials would help universities respond more quickly to the fast-changing needs of industry if guided by more detailed feedback on skill shortages or national priorities. This is a chance for more competitive universities to seize the opportunities being opened up by online education technology.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/editorials/learning-working-and-winning/news-story/9e44ae06697a44be79c545b649ba8a4c

Want to Stop the Great Resignation? Start Building Inclusive Workplaces - Nancy Rothbard and Stephanie Creary, Knowledge at Wharton

We’ve spent decades studying the policies and practices around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and there’s no question that building a culture where everyone thrives takes a high level of commitment and consistency. Our research finds that managers are the key to making it happen. From supervisors on the factory floor to department middle managers to senior executives in the corner office, leaders who work diligently to increase a sense of belonging and respect, remove bias, follow fair hiring and retention practices, and establish safe spaces for employees of all races, ethnicities, genders and abilities will find that workers don’t want to leave. 

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/want-stop-great-resignation-start-building-inclusive-workplaces/

Email overload? These new 'right to disconnect' rules could be the answer - Daphne Leprince-Ringuet, ZDNet

The Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has unveiled a new code of practice to act as future guidance for the workplace, and which gives employees the right to fully switch off from their professional duties at the stroke of 5.30pm – or rather, whenever they have agreed with their employer that the workday should be over. As part of the right to disconnect, the code enshrines three key clauses: employees should not have to engage in professional duties outside their normal working hours, nor should they be penalized for refusing to attend work matters outside of the workday; and equally, workers should respect others' right to disconnect, by refraining from emailing or calling colleagues outside of agreed working times. 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/email-overload-these-new-right-to-disconnect-rules-could-be-the-answer/

The Former edX Discloses Its New Name: The Center for Reimagining Learning, Inc. - IBL News

The former edX Inc organization, which now stewards the Open edX software, has adopted as an interim name The Center for Reimagining Learning, Inc.  This surviving nonprofit organization still led by MIT and Harvard University will announce a permanent name in the future, as a blog post the Open edX website announced this week. The edX brand, along with the edX Inc. organization was acquired by the for-profit, publicly-traded, and global education company 2U, Inc. last June for $800 million. The transaction was completed on November 16, 2021.

https://iblnews.org/the-former-edx-discloses-its-new-name-the-center-for-reimagining-learning-inc/

From the great attrition to the great adaptation - Aaron De Smet and Bill Schaninger, McKinsey

In our recent research, you found that employers think employees are leaving the workforce or are dissatisfied due to a bunch of different reasons—compensation, work–life balance, poor physical and emotional health. What’s interesting is the findings showed that while these issues mattered, there were other issues playing a significant role in driving this employee exodus that we’re seeing. What were some of those issues you found in the survey? Aaron De Smet: “Do I feel valued by my organization? Do I feel valued and acknowledged by my manager? Do I feel a sense of belonging with my organization and my part of a high-performing, trusting, open, caring team, with teammates that I like to work with? .... 

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/from-the-great-attrition-to-the-great-adaptation

Design thinking can help build cross-university partnerships - Ralph A. Gigliotti, et al; eCampus News

Discussions of the redesign and reinvention of higher education are abundant. Inspired by the challenges of this past year, leaders across higher education seem preoccupied with two sets of issues: 1. In the short term, how do we address the immediate issues posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the public health crisis on our core programs and services? 2. In the long term, how do we rethink the work of our institutions to ensure the viability and relevance of our institutions and promote the common good? Both sets of issues, the short-term and long-term exigencies posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other related challenges, require interdisciplinary collaborations, creative approaches to problem solving, and a collective willingness to embrace change.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/11/30/design-thinking-can-help-build-cross-university-partnerships/

High Performing and Resilient Teams: Preventing Burnout - Paula Davis, Knowledge at Wharton

There are plenty of factors beyond a team’s control that have an impact on its resilience, and, in turn, its performance. Most teams, for example, aren’t able to access more members, a bigger budget, better equipment or technology, or a more manageable workload. But that doesn’t mean they have no control. Resilient, high-performing teams recognize that in addition to those critical tangible resources, there are many intangible resources available, and these teams improve access to, and take advantage of, those resources. Six such resources are described below, including ideas for how you and your team can leverage them. 

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/high-performing-resilient-teams-preventing-burnout/

The “Freshman Year for Free” Platform Surpasses 300,000 Learners - IBL News

Launched in 2017, the New York City-based Modern States Education Alliance (“Modern States.org”) philanthropy offers a collection of free freshman-level courses that lead to college credit. The courses — which include lectures, readings, and practice questions — work as a public library of post-secondary education. There are over 40 top-quality online courses taught by professors from leading universities, such as Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and Purdue. These classes are designed to prepare students to pass any of the College Board’s credit-bearing College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams.

https://iblnews.org/the-freshman-year-for-free-platform-surpasses-300000-learners/

Artificial Intelligence to Play Instrumental Role in Future of Higher Education - Susan Fourtané, Fierce Education

One of the most important benefits of AI in higher education is personalized learning, tailored to each individual’s needs and interests. Automated grading systems, conversational AI chatbots, AI teaching assistants are just a few of the trends that we are witnessing as they rise in education. All in all, the benefits attached to the incorporation of AI into the academic curriculum as well as in management and in administration are going to place education on the right path toward a new kind of learning. Indeed, AI is crucial to the future of higher education. 

https://www.fierceeducation.com/administration/artificial-intelligence-to-play-instrumental-role-future-higher-education

edX Launched a First MicroBachelors Program with IBM in Cloud Application - IBL News

This program of 11 courses in seven months and at $600 is credit-backed and worth up to three college credits from Thomas Edison State University. It is designed for learners with no prior programming or cloud experience and sets them for an entry-level role as a full stack developer — one of the top 15 tech jobs for 2021. The development of edX MicroBachelors programs is supported by American Student Assistance, Boeing, Lumina Foundation, the Truist Foundation, Walmart, the Jeremy M. and Joyce E. Wertheimer Foundation, and the Yidan Prize Foundation.

https://iblnews.org/edx-launched-a-first-microbachelors-program-with-ibm-in-cloud-application/

Promoting social inclusion through micro-credentials - Gillian Golden, Shizuka Kato and Thomas Weko Higher Education Policy Team, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

Two new Education Policy Perspectives from the OECD Higher Education Policy Team provide new evidence on the opportunities and challenges that micro-credentials present to higher education systems. More work is needed to ensure higher education systems develop micro-credential programmes that are widely understood and recognised across institutions and systems. These programmes should also be inclusive, meeting the needs of a wide range of learners.

https://oecdedutoday.com/promoting-social-inclusion-through-micro-credentials/

Are Post-Pandemic Campuses Finally Ready for Competency-Based Education? - Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

The basic idea of competency-based education, or CBE, is this: What if the way to get a degree or certificate was to prove to a college that you’ve learned the required knowledge and skills. It wouldn’t matter exactly how, or where you learned the knowledge—or competencies. Colleges would be in the business of certifying what students know, and giving them the coaching and materials needed to fill in any gaps to earn the credential. For this week’s EdSurge podcast we checked in with a longtime proponent of competency based education: Paul LeBlanc, the president of Southern New Hampshire University. And he lays out his latest thoughts about the approach in his new book, “Students First: Equity, Access and Opportunity in Higher Education.”

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-11-23-are-post-pandemic-campuses-finally-ready-for-competency-based-education

What the Metaverse Means for Higher Education - Ray Schroeder with Eric Olsen, Helix Education

Major tech companies are starting on their land grab claim to the metaverse. People who follow the higher ed news outlets might have seen this topic cropping up in publications over the last few months, too. What is the metaverse? Why is it such a big deal (or is it)? And will it matter to higher ed beyond its novelty? Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at both University of Illinois Springfield and UPCEA, returns to the Enrollment Growth University show to remind us of higher ed’s previous toe-dips into the metaverse back in the early 2000s and how institutions might start positioning themselves for the metaverse future that so many tech companies seem bent on bringing us to.

https://www.helixeducation.com/resources/enrollment-growth-university/what-the-metaverse-means-for-higher-education/

PROOF POINTS: The number of college graduates in the humanities drops for the eighth consecutive year - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

By contrast, students are increasingly gravitating toward majors in business, engineering and health-related fields. More than 430,000 college students graduated with business majors in 2020, up 60 percent over the past 20 years. Engineering majors have more than doubled during this period; 195,000 students graduated in engineering in 2020, almost matching the number of humanities graduates. Majors in health and medicine fields have tripled in the past 20 years to more than 260,000 graduates in 2020, far surpassing humanities majors. 

https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-the-number-of-college-graduates-in-the-humanities-drops-for-the-eighth-consecutive-year/

South Carolina lawmakers propose ending tenure at state's public colleges - Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Higher Ed Dive

South Carolina lawmakers are proposing an end to tenure systems at the state's public colleges, a move faculty representatives say strikes against academic freedom. A group of 23 Republicans filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would prohibit public colleges from awarding tenure to those hired after Dec. 31, 2022. Instead, institutions would only be able offer employment contracts of up to five years.  The bill would not affect current tenured professors.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/south-carolina-lawmakers-propose-ending-tenure-at-states-public-colleges/610483/

Why has public belief in universities been haemorrhaging? - Nathan M Greenfield, University World News

In the final chapter of Stephen M Gavazzi and E Gordon Gee's "What’s Public about Public Higher Ed? Halting higher education’s decline in the court of public opinion," after convincingly calling for university presidents to get out more and spend time with regular folks, so they can hear for themselves the local population’s concerns, hopes and dreams, Gavazzi and Gee turn to the debate about how higher education as a whole is viewed by the divided American public. A slight majority believe it is important, a drop of 19 points in six years. In 2017, fully 58% of Republicans had a negative view of higher education and how it contributed to the nation’s problems.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211118103250672

Why diverse leadership teams increase innovation - Charles Knippen, eCampus News

Researchers, the media, and established business leaders have touted the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Now is the time to go beyond discussion—business leaders need to implement the changes that will transform their ranks. A Glassdoor survey found that 57 percent of employees think their employer should be doing more to increase diversity. Fortunately, the work of diversifying reaps rewards beyond the satisfaction of doing the right thing.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/11/16/why-diverse-leadership-teams-increase-innovation/

https://bigthink.com/the-future/metaverse-augmented-reality-danger/

 At its core, augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse are media technologies that aim to present content in the most natural form possible — by seamlessly integrating simulated sights, sounds, and even feelings into our perception of the real world around us. This means AR, more than any form of media to date, has the potential to alter our sense of reality, distorting how we interpret our direct daily experiences. In an augmented world, simply walking down the street will become a wild amalgamation of the physical and the virtual, merged so convincingly that the boundaries will disappear in our minds. Our surroundings will become filled with persons, places, objects, and activities that don’t actually exist, and yet they will seem deeply authentic to us.

https://bigthink.com/the-future/metaverse-augmented-reality-danger/

There's a new effort to map university degrees to workplace skills - Emily Bamforth, EdSurge

The National Student Clearinghouse announced Monday it’s working with an AI company to associate the experience earned through various degrees, credentials and internships with skills needed by employers. The organization, which offers digital information services for more than 3,600 higher education institutions, is examining how to use tools from AstrumU, which develops technology to help fill gaps in the workforce. AstrumU tools, already used at universities nationwide, use data from both employers and higher education institutions to recommend students potential careers through using machine learning to parse students’ experiences.

https://edscoop.com/university-skills-mapping-nsc/

With the Metaverse on the way, an AI bill of rights is urgent - Gary Grossman, Edelman, Venture Beat

There is a lot more than the usual amount of handwringing over AI these days. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger put out a new book last week warning of AI’s dangers. Fresh AI warnings have also been issued by professors Stuart Russell (UC Berkeley) and Youval Harari (University of Jerusalem). Op-eds from the editorial board at the Guardian and Maureen Dowd at the New York Times have amplified these concerns. Facebook — now rebranded as Meta — has come under growing pressure for its algorithms creating social toxicity, but it is hardly alone. The White House has called for an AI bill of rights, and the Financial Times argues this should extend globally. Worries over AI are flying faster than a gale force wind.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/11/13/with-the-metaverse-on-the-way-an-ai-bill-of-rights-is-urgent/

Towards a more diversified future for higher education - Judith S Eaton and Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic, University World News

At a Virtual Conversation on international issues in higher education last month, we asked a number of experts to reflect on their future, focused particularly on the emerging role of alternative providers of education and alternative credentials in the higher education space. Is this future poised at an intersection where traditional institutions and degrees are joined, increasingly, by their alternative counterparts? Are we experiencing a fundamental shift in what constitutes this space – the types of institutions, providers and credentials that make up the ‘higher education sector’ of the future? How did we get here and what are the key issues and actions important to both traditional and alternative actors in getting beyond the intersection?

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211110115426750

The ‘great resignation’ is a trend that began before the pandemic – and bosses need to get used to it - Ion O. Williamson, the Conversation

Companies should also plan on high employee mobility to be endemic and reframe how they approach managing their workers.  One way to do this is by investing deeply in external relationships that help ensure consistent access to high-quality talent. This can include enhancing the relationships they have with educational institutions and former employees.

https://theconversation.com/the-great-resignation-is-a-trend-that-began-before-the-pandemic-and-bosses-need-to-get-used-to-it-170197

Micro-credentials: The solution to the skills gap and accessible education - Mike Caruso, University Business

A recent Gartner survey found that 58% of employees need new skills to successfully do their work. If organizations don’t provide necessary training, they risk the inability to perform critical business activities, inefficient operations and missed growth opportunities. To close the skills gap, organizations need to invest in upskilling opportunities like micro-credentials — mini-qualifications that demonstrate an individual’s abilities, knowledge or experience in a specific subject area. With micro-credentials, companies can leverage programs from educational institutions to upskill and reskill their workforce. For universities, micro-credentials can unlock corporate partnerships, expand their reach and create more accessible educational opportunities.

https://universitybusiness.com/micro-credentials-the-solution-to-the-skills-gap-and-accessible-education/

As enrollment falls and colleges close, a surprising number of new ones are opening - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report

At a time when other higher education institutions are closing or merging because of a decline in the supply of high school graduates, the Roux Institute is among a small but largely unnoticed number of new colleges that are opening. Some are focusing on high-demand disciplines such as technology, health and alternative energy. Others are serving the huge number of older, working Americans who never went to college or didn’t complete a degree. Still others are trying to remake higher education with new models that forgo top-heavy bureaucracies and expensive campuses — models that in some cases don’t look like conventional colleges at all.

https://hechingerreport.org/as-enrollment-falls-and-colleges-close-a-surprising-number-of-new-ones-are-opening/

Are we heading towards a Technological Singularity? - Thomas Frey, Futurist Speaker

Singularity, in this case, is the tipping point where an intelligent object can design and produce improved subsequent versions of itself and other machines without human intervention, bypassing the limiting boundaries of human intelligence. Taken to an extreme, technological singularity can reach a point where the line between humans and machines is erased. Some say we’ll see human brains duplicated or removed and placed within never-dying machines so the “person” lives forever. Another transhumanist scenario suggests that we’ll reach the point where imputing AI, biotechnology, and genetic manipulation within human bodies will allow a person to live forever.

https://futuristspeaker.com/futurist-thomas-frey-insights/are-we-heading-towards-a-technological-singularity/

Coursera introduces LevelSets proficiency tests - Stephanie Condon, ZD Net

LevelSets start with a skills assessment test that takes just about 15 minutes. Based on the results, it offers the learner customized content recommendations. It allows learners to skip content they've already mastered, and it leaves out any content too advanced. LevelSets were developed, Coursera's Belsky said, to help organizations get a better sense of the skills that existed within their workforces and drive more accurate content recommendations. An unexpected benefit of the new tool is that it serves as a source of motivation, she said. In a beta run with customers including Fidelity, Ikea and Pfizer, Coursera found that learners were 3x more likely to enroll in a recommended course within 24 hours after taking a LevelSet. Additionally, course completion rates improved 66%.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/coursera-introduces-levelsets-proficiency-tests/

Digital infrastructure is more than just broadband: What the US can learn from Europe’s open source technology policy study - Frank Nagle, Brookings Institution

Complementary to broadband, open technologies—those for which the underlying intellectual property, whether it is source code or hardware design, is publicly available—are playing an increasingly important role in the modern economy and companies’ and countries’ ability to innovate. In particular, open source software (OSS) and open source hardware (OSH) have become critical building blocks for both everyday products (cell phones, cars, household appliances, etc.) and cutting-edge emerging technologies (artificial intelligence, big data analytics, etc.). However, since most OSS and OSH is available for free and created through distributed efforts rather than by one particular company, it can be difficult to understand the full economic impact of these critical technologies.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/digital-infrastructure-is-more-than-just-broadband-what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-europes-open-source-technology-policy-study/

Teaching and Learning Without Grading - Barry Sharpe and Erinn Nicley, Faculty Focus

Imagine if faculty did not design courses, select course materials, or grade student work.  What role would faculty play in teaching and learning? We serve as instructors at Western Governors University (WGU). At WGU the traditional roles of faculty – course design, instruction, advising, and assessment – are broken apart and distributed across different units and roles at the university. Instructors do not design courses or formally assess student learning. Rather, we work closely with students as subject-matter experts to help develop understanding of course content on their path to demonstrate competency through an end-of-course assessment. 

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/teaching-and-learning-without-grading/

All large lectures should be asynchronous - Tony Zhou, the Daily Pennsylvanian

One of the legacies of remote learning is the addition of video recording devices in many classrooms, a legacy that still plays an important role for students who can’t attend class due to COVID-19 related complications. This technological advancement also benefits the entire student body as more and more students choose to watch lecture recordings virtually in lieu of going to a physical classroom. While there have been voices pushing for a more flexible mode of teaching through online learning, Penn should take a step further and make all large lectures asynchronous through recordings. 

https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/11/upenn-covid-19-virtual-remote-asynchronous-lectures

4 Phases of Analytics Evolution: From Spreadsheets to AI Workbenches - Joel K. Shapiro, Kellogg-Northwestern

What lies ahead for business leaders looking to incorporate data analytics?  Today, AI tools and workbenches allow you to click your way to some pretty advanced modeling techniques, without requiring any knowledge of coding or programming language. That’s certainly not to imply that everyone can be a data scientist. But business professionals today can have AI at their fingertips for making data-based projections. Sometimes, it’s as simple as clicking a button that says “predictor.” To put this in perspective, let’s examine the four phases of data-analytics technology for the businessperson—three that brought us to this point, and one on what lies ahead.

https://insight-kellogg-northwestern-edu.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/4-phases-analytics-evolution-ai/amp

As Facebook Changes Name to Meta, Company Wants to Pull Education Into Its 'Metaverse' - Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

What that metaverse will look like is still a bit vague, but the company gave some hints in prepared statements and in an hour-long video it released. And it has committed real dollars to the educational part of its effort, promising that its Facebook Reality Labs will invest $150 million in an education program to assist with tech development and to train people to use augmented and virtual reality tools. And Facebook (er, I guess now Meta) announced that it would partner with Coursera and edX to help push Meta’s curriculum in augmented and virtual reality, which it calls the Spark AR Curriculum. 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-10-29-as-facebook-changes-name-to-meta-education-is-part-of-new-vision

Many young adults choose work over college, report shows - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

The number of undergraduate students is expected to drop 3.2 percent in the 2021-22 academic year after plunging 3.4 percent during the 2020-21 pandemic year, according to preliminary data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center on Oct. 26, 2021. That adds up to 6.5 percent fewer undergraduate students now than there were  in the fall of 2019 before the pandemic. Young adults from low-income families appear to be lured away from school by rising wages and the need to support their families through hard times, Shapiro explained. Institutions that serve the wealthiest Americans, by contrast, are experiencing the opposite phenomenon: a  post-pandemic bulge in students. 

https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-many-young-adults-choose-work-over-college-report-shows/

DAOs: Paving the way for Boss Less Businesses and Organizations of the Future - Thomas Frey, Futurist Speaker

Since blockchain can encrypt and securely store smart contracts, it can be used to establish the governance of an organization that’s based on those immutable, contractual agreements. Organizations that use this governance system are called Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), pronounced “Dow.”  Given their empowering and inclusive nature, blockchain-enabled DAOs will be an ideal underlying structure for informal groups, clubs, and even public sector governing bodies. Enforced organizational transparency, inclusion, joint decision making – these guiding principles that are inherent in DAOs will be valuable for nearly any collective structure of human beings that share a common purpose. While this represents a radical departure from the traditional way businesses operate, we will be discovering fairer and more impactful ways for managing our organizations in the future. (NOTE - DAOs are being tested in higher education. - ray)

https://futuristspeaker.com/future-trends/daos-paving-the-way-for-boss-less-businesses-and-organizations-of-the-future/

This Checklist Can Make You a Better Leader - Brett LoGiurato, Knowledge at Wharton

In the 10th anniversary edition of The Leader’s Checklist, world-renowned leadership expert and Wharton management professor Michael Useem gives leaders the tools to face any and every challenge. In his book, Useem offers leaders 16 mission-critical principles to help them develop their ability to make good and timely decisions in unpredictable and stressful environments — at those moments when leadership really matters. 

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/useem-leaders-checklist/

Fewer Job Offers for the Latest Class of COVID-19 - Maria Carrasco, Inside Higher Ed

Students who graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 reported fewer job offers and less access to university career centers than the previous class, according to a new survey out today from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Graduating seniors received an average of 0.83 job offers in 2021, down from 0.93 for the Class of 2020. And students visited their institution’s career center an average of 1.19 times in 2020-21, compared to 1.55 visits in 2019-20, which NACE says is likely due to the pandemic.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/11/03/virtual-job-recruiting-expands-access-students

Mesh for Teams is Microsoft’s metaverse for meetings - Kyle Wiggers, Venture Beat

A week after Facebook articulated its future in the metaverse, Microsoft offered its vision for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) meetings in Microsoft Mesh for Teams at its November Ignite developer event. The service, the company says, combines the AR/VR capabilities of Microsoft Mesh — which allows people in different physical locations to join collaborative experiences through AR and VR — with the productivity tools of Teams. Mesh builds on existing Teams features such as Together mode and Presenter view that make remote and hybrid meetings more immersive, according to Microsoft corporate VP Jeff Teper. Presenter view offers different views to, for example, show slides and notes while the audience only sees slides, while Together mode uses AI to place everyone on a call in a shared room-like environment, like a coffee shop.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/11/02/mesh-for-teams-is-microsofts-metaverse-for-meetings/

Combining three ways to deliver more flexible HE learning - Holly Hapke, University World News

The answer is an effective blended learning strategy. Supported with the right technology, this approach can help universities to ensure exciting and engaging learning can continue, wherever their students happen to be. With the three-in-one approach, students attend in person if possible and if not, they can join a livestream of the session remotely at the same time as their on-campus peers. The third critical strand in the three-in-one model is the video and other recorded content all students have access to 24/7, which they use to build on what they’ve learned in class, regardless of how they choose to participate.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211026114337414

3 ways HyFlex and virtual models help ensure equity - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

\And while educators and students were lauded for their ability to adapt and continue teaching and learning, the pandemic also put a brighter spotlight on existing inequities across higher education. During an EDUCAUSE 2021 session, educators at four institutions discussed how the pandemic changed some of their practices, confirmed the need for others that already existed, and explored equitable practices for the future.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/10/29/3-ways-hyflex-and-virtual-models-help-ensure-equity/

An unnoticed result of the decline of men in college: It’s harder for women to get in - CHARLOTTE WEST, Hechinger Report

 As more women than men continue to apply to college, data suggest that, at some private institutions, it’s gotten easier for male applicants to get in — and harder for female applicants.  When Shayna Medley worked as an admissions officer at Brandeis University nearly a decade ago, she said, the message from above was clear: Find more men. “Toward the end of filling out the class, there would definitely be a push to look for more men to admit,” said Medley, who was in her role at Brandeis from 2012 to 2014. “The standards were certainly lower for male students.” As more women than men have continued to apply to college, data suggest that, at some private institutions, it’s gotten easier for male applicants to get in — and harder for female applicants.

https://hechingerreport.org/an-unnoticed-result-of-the-decline-of-men-in-college-its-harder-for-women-to-get-in/

How immersive learning experiences will revolutionize education - Chris Stegner, eCampus News

Immersive learning experiences are a new type of educational experience that can be used in place of traditional lectures and classrooms. Immersive learning is meant to mimic the real world by providing students with an environment that is as close to reality as possible. It’s designed for learners who are interested in hands-on experiences, problem-solving, and discovery over non-traditional methods like reading textbooks and listening to lectures from a professor. There are also many potential applications of immersive learning techniques in schools. This article discusses what immersive learning is, how it changes the classroom experience, and some current use cases of immersive learning.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/10/19/how-immersive-learning-experiences-will-revolutionize-education/

EDUCAUSE 2021: What Do College Students Really Think of Data Privacy? - Amy McIntosh, EdTech

Through an online survey developed and deployed in collaboration with Cornell University’s Survey Research Institute, 1,500 college students were asked about their views on data privacy at their institutions. Researchers also conducted 17 Zoom interviews with students to gain further insights into their data privacy attitudes. Seventy-one percent of survey respondents believe they should have the right to control how their colleges use data about them. Seventy percent of survey respondents trust their colleges or universities to protect their personal information. Students who self-identify as having mental health disorders are less comfortable having data used to measure how well they are paying attention in class or to ensure they are not cheating during online exams than those who do not.

https://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2021/10/educause-2021-what-do-college-students-really-think-data-privacy?

Nearly 60% of colleges want to keep distance learning momentum going - Chris Burt, University Business

A new report from the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) highlights how substantial the transformational shift was to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and what opportunities might lie ahead. Among its 2,200 member institutions, NC-SARA’s sixth annual data report shows that exclusively remote learning enrollment jumped by 93% year-over-year from fall 2019 to 2020. Another key data point released by the nonprofit organization is that two-thirds of students chose to do that online learning in their own state, nearly tripling the amount from the previous year to 3.9 million students, as the quick shift occurred. But even those choosing to go out of state to enroll in exclusively distance education was up by about 500,000 students.

https://universitybusiness.com/nearly-60-of-colleges-want-to-keep-distance-learning-momentum-going/

Coursera and the uncertain future of higher education - ARTHUR LEVINE, Fortune

The future of higher education is being led by a publicly traded company in California that is growing like gangbusters. Its online platform has a portfolio of thousands of courses from the world’s leading universities, corporations, and nonprofits. Coursera, which since the spring has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is valued at 7 billion dollars and seems to be making all the right moves. While college and university enrollments have been declining during the pandemic, Coursera's enrollment rose from 53 million to 78 million students this spring—an increase greater than total U.S. higher education enrollment.

https://fortune.com/2021/10/25/coursera-uncertain-future-of-higher-education/

Tech workers warned they were going to quit. Now, the problem is spiralling out of control - Owen Hughes, ZDNet

Tech and IT workers' resignations risk "spiralling out of control" as chronic burnout, limited career progression, and unrealistic demands from employers prompt technology industry employees to jump ship. New research by training platform TalentLMS and Workable, a provider of recruiting software, suggests that tech and IT workers are likely to be planning an exit soon. In a survey of 1,200 tech and IT workers in the US, nearly three-quarters (72%) said they intended to quit within the next year.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/tech-workers-warned-they-were-going-to-quit-now-the-problem-is-spiralling-out-of-control/

The Ed Dept revived a financial aid investigative unit. Is it open season on for-profit colleges? - Natalie Schwartz, HigherEd Dive

The U.S. Department of Education announced it is reviving an enforcement division dismantled under the Trump administration that will be responsible for investigating whether colleges are abusing federal student aid and posing a risk to students and taxpayers.  "Vigorously ensuring that schools are adhering to the federal student aid program rules and delivering quality education to students is critical in America's ability to build back better," undersecretary James Kvaal said in the announcement. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/the-ed-dept-revived-a-financial-aid-investigative-unit-is-it-open-season-o/608648/

With 50% more women than men enrolling, is HE failing? - Nathan M Greenfield, University World News

The hyper-masculine world of National Collegiate Athletic Association’s conferences – the Big Ten, Pac-12 or Southeastern Conference – and their legions of college football and basketball fans differ markedly from who is actually on the campuses. On the quadrangles of the nation, women outnumber men by 60% to 40%. “There is a gender gap in education generally, but that gap is magnified and illuminated once we hit the university level,” says Dr Richard V Reeves of the New York-based Brookings Institution. “We see it in the transition from high school to university, and we see it in the ability to stay at university. The gender inequality that we see with regard to college is not just with enrolment but in completion.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211022150138594

Northwestern's Next Normal - Northwestern University Teaching & Learning Technologies Team

What does the "next normal" look like at Northwestern? An ongoing series from the Teaching & Learning Technologies team in Northwestern IT looks at the intersection of pedagogy, technology, and the student experience in an ever-changing educational landscape. New articles publish each month with helpful how-to content for instructors interested in implementing any of the suggested techniques.  

https://digitallearning.northwestern.edu/next-normal

‘Micromanaged and disrespected’: Top reasons workers are quitting their jobs in ‘The Great Resignation’ - Karla L. Miller, Washington Post

To say my recent column on “The Great Resignation” touched a nerve is an understatement. Hundreds of online comments and dozens of emails from readers who identified with the piece related how pandemic working conditions finally drove them out of jobs they would otherwise have stayed in. Some readers said they quit because of acute health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. Others described a long-simmering but barely tolerable state of discontent in which the pandemic abruptly cranked up the heat, making the situation “jump or boil.” Some people set off on new career paths; others decided to speed up their retirement by a few months or years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/07/top-reasons-great-resignation-workers-quitting/

How to be an effective peer reviewer and help your career - Alicia James, University World News

When authors are appointed by academic journals to become peer reviewers, the benefits to them are multi-fold, in terms of career development and networks, participants at a recent webinar titled Excellence in Peer Review: How to be an effective peer reviewer were told.  But while peer reviewers contribute to the quality of articles, the experience also helps support their own career development, Dr Dafne Solera, desk review manager argued. This is because they remain up to date with what is happening in their fields, build networks and connections, enhance their writing skills and become recognised as experts.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211012145206222

Higher Education’s Role in the Era of the Great Resignation - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

The numbers are startling: in the wake of deadly COVID infections, quarantines and isolation, nearly 3 percent of the entire U.S. workforce resigned in the month of August alone. What is higher ed’s role in reshaping careers and lives?  Among the millions of people who have quit their jobs in recent months and those who are expected to continue this trend through the end of year, how can higher education help them reskill, upskill or change career paths to better meet their needs? We have a few clues as to what they desire. As expected, more income seems to be among the factors they are seeking. However, it is not all about money and flexibility. Over the past two years, we have seen again and again that an empathetic and supportive working culture is valued highly by employees. The pandemic has advanced the importance of well-being, inclusiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship. We should be sure to model these practices in the delivery of all programs.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/higher-education%E2%80%99s-role-era-great-resignation

Has COVID disrupted the postsecondary pipeline? - Lauren Bauer, et,al; Brookings Institution

.... typically, during recessions and in their aftermath, there are declines in labor force participation among young people and increases in school enrollment... However, during the COVID-19 recession, young people have behaved differently than this age cohort did during the prior two recessions and differently from older cohorts. Since February 2020, young adults have spent less time on education, spent more time in the work force, and experienced better wage outcomes than over the same period following the onset of the 2001 and 2008 recessions. At the same time, more in keeping with previous postrecession periods, we find that disengagement, defined as time spent neither in education nor the labor force, has risen.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/10/14/has-covid-disrupted-the-postsecondary-pipeline/

Higher Education Needs to Move Toward Mass-Personalization - Susan Fourtané, Fierce Education

Every industry, from health sciences to marketing to manufacturing, is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate the delivery of mass-personalization, yet education has been slow in its adoption. These smart systems create personalized solutions targeted to meet the unique needs of every individual. Artificial Intelligence-based technologies have the potential of serving as tools for educators to provide personalized learning. However, for mass-personalization to work, institutions first need to align their leadership.

https://www.fierceeducation.com/best-practices/higher-education-needs-to-move-toward-mass-personalization

Depression Rates up Threefold Since Start of COVID-19 - Richard Kirkner, Medscape

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of the U.S. adult population reporting symptoms of elevated depression had more than tripled from prepandemic levels and worsened significantly since restrictions went into effect, a study of more than 1,000 adults surveyed at the start of the pandemic and 1 year into it has reported. The study also found that younger adults, people with lower incomes and savings, unmarried people, and those exposed to multiple stress factors were most vulnerable to elevated levels of depression through the first year of the pandemic.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/960652

What Do Teachers Know About Student Privacy? Not Enough, Researchers Say - Nadia Tamez-Robledo, EdSurge

Considering so much of their jobs now revolve around student data, it’s a simple enough question—and one that researcher Ellen B. Mandinach and a colleague were tasked with answering. More specifically, they wanted to know what state guidelines had to say on the matter. Was that information included in codes of education ethics? Or perhaps in curriculum requirements for teacher training programs? “The answer is, ‘Not really,’” says Mandinach, a senior research scientist at the nonprofit WestEd. “Very few state standards have anything about protecting privacy, or even much about data,” she says, aside from policies touching on FERPA or disposing of data properly.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-10-08-what-do-teachers-know-about-student-privacy-not-enough-researchers-say--efd79737-535f-4355-b188-065f0f6603b4

A community college taps AI to inspire curiosity in online discussions - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

Backed by entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Packback’s unique platform assigns a “curiosity score” to students’ discussion posts based on a range of factors, including the open-endedness of questions and the way that students reference sources. The tool also provides feedback on grammar, spelling, and offers students guidance on academic research processes like citing sources and paraphrasing. All these elements of the Packback platform are designed to spark students’ intrinsic motivation, as well as to help instructors focus on providing more substantive guidance and support to students, rather than spending time on more repetitive tasks like correcting grammar.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/10/11/a-community-college-taps-ai-to-inspire-curiosity-in-online-discussions/

Creating a Constellation of Offerings with Microcredentials and Continuing Education - Kristine Collings, Modern Campus

Kristine Collins, Assistant Dean of Academic Programs in the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto, highlighted the increasing need to help learners stay relevant in the workforce. “We are constantly fed information about there being a skills gap and about remaining competitive,” she said.  This is why microcredentials are an attractive solution. They’re short, affordable and it’s something the institution can support.There is some fear within higher education that microcredentials will replace or hold more significance than a traditional degree. But, as Collins points out, that’s a misconception; an institution can thrive by having microcredentials exist alongside degrees. 

https://moderncampus.com/blog/creating-a-constellation-of-offerings-with-microcredentials-and-continuing-education.html

What Obstacles Does Government AI Still Have to Overcome? - Thad Rueter, Governing

While public agencies continue to deploy chatbots and other artificial intelligence tools, confusion about the technology abounds, according to new survey findings from Gartner, and the pandemic has provided little fuel for its growth. The research agency found that 36 percent of survey respondents plan to increase AI and machine learning (ML) investments this year. Even so, proponents of AI and ML have significant work to do, said Dean Lacheca, Gartner’s public-sector research director, in an email interview with Government Technology.

https://www.governing.com/next/what-obstacles-does-government-ai-still-have-to-overcome

Higher Ed, We’ve Got a Morale Problem — And a Free T-Shirt Won’t Fix It - Kevin R. McClure, EdSurge

There was considerable discussion last fall about burnout among college staff and faculty. I wrote about how college leaders should prepare for a wave of burnout as the pandemic brewed a potent blend of constant work and worry. Recently, I’ve seen an increasing number of stories about workers who aren’t just exhausted. They are fed up. Stories have chronicled boycotts of in-person teaching, protests and die-ins to demand mask and vaccine mandates, faculty senate resolutions, and even faculty members walking away from jobs. I’ve heard from several colleagues at multiple institutions that morale is the lowest they have ever seen. People in higher education are using a new word to describe their experience: “demoralized.”

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-09-27-higher-ed-we-ve-got-a-morale-problem-and-a-free-t-shirt-won-t-fix-it

Is your institution tracking these 6 global trends? - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

Six global higher-ed trends outlined in a new annual research report offer insight into how the pandemic has impacted higher education–and equity, engagement, and intention design are among the top trends. The report, State of Student Success and Engagement in Higher Education, comes from Instructure, the makers of Canvas. Overall, about half of respondents report a positive perception of online learning. Mental health is increasingly critical, with 92% viewing student psychological well-being as an impactful socioeconomic factor influencing student success. For North American respondents, skills-based learning emerged as a priority in year-two of the COVID crisis, with 70% of respondents saying that having definable skills is more important than course titles or a degree. 

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/10/07/is-your-institution-tracking-these-6-global-trends/

Can the ‘Netflix For Textbooks’ Model Actually Improve Access? - Nadia Tamez-Robledo, EdSurge

These days some publishers are trying a new sales model they say will save students money: textbook subscription services. The latest player to jump in is Pearson, which released Pearson Plus over the summer as a “pay-as-you-go” alternative to traditional textbooks. Subscribers to Pearson Plus pay $9.99 per month for one access to one digital textbook or $14.99 per month to access all of the more than 1,500 titles on the company’s platform, with each plan requiring a four-month minimum. That pricing comes in slightly lower than a similar model offered by Cengage. The model has been referred to as a “Netflix for textbooks,” comparing it to the popular subscription streaming service that has long charged a flat monthly fee for all of its content.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-09-30-can-the-netflix-for-textbooks-model-actually-improve-access

Imagining the Hybrid College Campus - Jeffrey J. Selingo and Cole Clark, Harvard Business Review

The pandemic undoubtedly inflicted real pain on higher education during the past year, but it also brought about clarity for what’s next. Much has already been written about how Covid-19 forced schools to accelerate their blending of in-person and online learning. While this abrupt shift created significant challenges, this hybrid model will in the long run greatly enhance the classroom experience. Toward that end, universities need to act now to break down barriers to access and reach a broader, more diverse population of students in the pipeline to college, to meet the needs of a changing workforce, and to provide life-long learning and career opportunities for working adults.

https://hbr.org/2021/10/imagining-the-hybrid-college-campus

Is Cybersecurity Insurance Out of Reach for Government? - Pamela Martineau, Government Technology

Cyber attacks: They’ve shut down government agencies, global companies and even a gas pipeline that serves nearly half the population along the East Coast of the United States. Experts say the attacks are growing in number and severity and that governments and businesses need to make it a priority to guard — and insure themselves — against them. But as cyber attacks and ransom demands grow, cybersecurity insurance is becoming increasingly expensive for the insured and the insurer. The upward trajectory in cost has some experts wondering if the cybersecurity insurance market will remain economically viable. Local and state government officials wonder too, but many believe the cost of not having cybersecurity insurance is incalculable, making their jurisdictions vulnerable to extreme losses in capital, human health and safety, not to mention reputation.

https://www.govtech.com/security/is-cybersecurity-insurance-out-of-reach-for-government

Why women are more burned out than men - Josie Cox, BBC

Though the mental strain of mastering this balancing act has been apparent for decades, Covid-19 has cast a particularly harsh light on the problem. Statistics show that stress and burnout are affecting more women than men, and particularly more working mothers than working fathers. This could have multiple impacts for the post-pandemic world of work, making it important that both companies and wider society find ways to reduce this imbalance. Recent data looking specifically at burnout in women is concerning. According to a survey by LinkedIn of almost 5,000 Americans, 74% of women said they were very or somewhat stressed for work-related reasons, compared with just 61% of employed male respondents.  

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210928-why-women-are-more-burned-out-than-men

5 Key Traits to Consider When Assessing Leaders - Julie Salomone, TalentCulture

To thrive in the future, leaders need to face new challenges head-on. To do that, they will need support. As businesses recover, leadership development needs to be prioritized. Leadership assessments are one of the most valuable tools in the development toolbox. Companies will need to rethink what they are assessing and explore new ways to build up their leaders for success. Here are five traits you should consider when assessing leaders in the post-pandemic world. #1 Empathy.

https://talentculture.com/5-key-traits-assessing-leaders/

The metachallenges of the metaverse - Tom Wheeler, Brookings Institution

Issues such as personal privacy, marketplace competition, and misinformation only become greater challenges in the metaverse due to the interconnectedness of that phenomenon. Rather than being distracted by the shiny new bauble, policymakers need to focus on the underlying problems of the digital revolution, which won’t go away with new technological developments. Just what is this “metaverse”? Today’s online activity can be described as a 2D experience; the metaverse is a 3D experience that can utilize augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and persistent connections to create an immersive world. Rather than spending 20-30 minutes a day moving among apps, users spend hours in much more realistic activities. 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/09/30/the-metachallenges-of-the-metaverse/

Facing compounding stressors, many American workers plan to change jobs in coming year - American Psychological Association, Science Daily

Work stress related to low salaries, long hours and a lack of opportunity for growth and advancement has increased since the start of the pandemic. More than 4 in 10 workers said they plan to switch jobs in the coming year, which could impact many industries already facing a shortage of workers, particularly the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211004140335.htm

Why return to the office if you’re just Zooming all day anyway? - Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Computerworld

Many business owners insist that their workers will return to the office soon. Think again. Mega-commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield admits, “No one is expecting workers to come into the office to primarily answer emails—that and any other heads-down tasks can be done anywhere.” This is not happening, Cushman & Wakefield argues, just because COVID-19 forced businesses to embrace working from home. It’s a trend that’s been building since 2005. The further along an area is in the knowledge and experience economy, the more likely it is to support remote work. For example, in 2019—before anyone knew anything much about pandemics—Austin, Texas had already seen 14.4% of its office workers doing their jobs remotely.

http://edt.computerworld.com/q/1u6twI2MQidOfSlcheWoUIEa/wv

Why Most Ivies Offer Few Online Degrees—And What’s Happening to Change - Robert Ubell, EdSurge

One Ivy, Columbia University, actually got an early start 35 years ago at the dawn of the digital age, when it launched its Video Network that now produces about a dozen online engineering master’s degrees. And in the past ten years these colleges have been active in offering so-called MOOCs, or massive open online courses, which are free or low-cost courses, usually for no official credit. Ivy League colleges now offer more than 450 of these courses. And some Ivies offer graduate certificate programs online. Cornell, for example, lists about 90 in such fields as hospitality, human resources and engineering. But full degrees remain rare from these institutions. Harvard just introduced its first online degree as late as June this year.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-10-04-why-most-ivies-offer-few-online-degrees-and-what-s-happening-to-change-it

Is a new Dark Age beckoning for higher education take-up? - Louise Nicol and Alan Preece, University World News

 Enabling technology, applicant aggregation and a growing dissatisfaction with educational outcomes are with us today. There is no reason that one generation’s rite of passage won’t become another’s dead-end junction and some warning signs are already showing. A survey by the Bipartisan Policy Center and Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 29% of US adults did not think a college degree was ‘worth it’. A OnePoll survey of UK postgraduates in 2021 found 46% did not think their university education was worth the money and over 30% did not need a degree to do their current job.The Harris Poll in 2020 found 60% of student loan debtors in the US said their degree was not worth the student loan debt they had taken on. 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210929170050677

Futureproofing Your Career with the Best Educational Course - Meganstuke, Lawrence.com

The job market is a tough nut to crack these days, especially when seeking high skills positions. Competition is fierce, and you need to stand out from other candidates. Futureproofing your career means ensuring that you remain a desirable employment prospect. Achieve this goal is by advancing your education and upgrading existing qualifications. It might be time for a complete career change as the world of work evolves. Many companies do not require employees to get bachelor’s degrees covering a wide academic area to secure a job. Instead, there is a growing trend that favors specific qualifications within a narrow field of expertise.This has led educational institutions to start offering short courses that tackle particular topics. For example, it is not necessary to get a marketing degree when a social media marketing qualification makes you an expert in a niche field.

http://www.lawrence.com/weblogs/the-flying-fork/2021/sep/22/futureproofing-your-career-with-the-best/

‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours - Aaron De Smet, et.al. - McKinsey Quarterly

More than 15 million US workers—and counting—have quit their jobs since April 2021, a record pace disrupting businesses everywhere. Companies are struggling to address the problem, and many will continue to struggle for one simple reason: they don’t really understand why their employees are leaving in the first place. Rather than take the time to investigate the true causes of attrition, many companies are jumping to well-intentioned quick fixes that fall flat: for example, they’re bumping up pay or financial perks, like offering “thank you” bonuses without making any effort to strengthen the relational ties people have with their colleagues and their employers. The result? Rather than sensing appreciation, employees sense a transaction. This transactional relationship reminds them that their real needs aren’t being met.

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/great-attrition-or-great-attraction-the-choice-is-yours

Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research - Tracy Brower, Forbes

Empathy has always been a critical skill for leaders, but it is taking on a new level of meaning and priority. Far from a soft approach it can drive significant business results. You always knew demonstrating empathy is positive for people, but new research demonstrates its importance for everything from innovation to retention. Great leadership requires a fine mix of all kinds of skills to create the conditions for engagement, happiness and performance, and empathy tops the list of what leaders must get right. The reason empathy is so necessary is that people are experiencing multiple kinds of stress, and data suggests it is affected by the pandemic—and the ways our lives and our work have been turned upside down.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/09/19/empathy-is-the-most-important-leadership-skill-according-to-research/

Can colleges compete with companies like Coursera? - Rick Seltzer, Higher Ed Dive

They say colleges will see their control over the market slip while consumers increase their power. New content producers like companies and museums are entering the postsecondary market. Students will often prioritize personalized education and low prices. Measuring learning by time in seats will transition to outcome-based education. Degrees won't necessarily be the dominant form of credential anymore as students turn to "just-in-time education" that quickly teaches them the skills for microcredentials they need for the labor market.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/can-colleges-compete-with-companies-like-coursera/607324/

A.I. is being embedded throughout the enterprise - ALAN MURRAY & DAVID MEYER, Fortune

A.I. is steadily working its way into the business processes of big companies. That was my takeaway from a virtual event Fortune held yesterday as part of the lead-up to our Brainstorm A.I. gathering in Boston this November. A.I. applications are no longer limited to the easiest use cases—chat bots, robotic process automation, cybersecurity detection, etc. They are rapidly being embedded throughout the enterprise.

https://fortune.com/2021/09/28/brainstorm-ai-business-processes-ceo-daily/

This underappreciated leadership style has 3 major advantages - PATRICIA OMOQUI—ATLASSIAN, FastCompany

Mindful leadership is a leadership style in which managers learn how to consciously cultivate their ability to be present, open-minded, and compassionate when interacting with their team members—and they show the same care and consideration to themselves. It’s about shutting down the mind’s “busy mode” to notice and respond to what’s happening in the moment instead of defaulting to reactive patterns. (In this way, it’s similar to situational leadership.) Mindful leadership may sound like a “fluffy” term, but it’s quite the opposite. It takes a lot of focus and hard work to develop a skill set around mindfulness. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/90680235/this-under-appreciated-leadership-style-has-3-major-advantages

Female leaders in higher education have created more inclusive and open institutions – here are 3 key figures - Thalia Plata, The Conversation

 How have female leaders in higher education shaped the state of the field today, and what broader lessons can be learned from them? Recently, Carmen Twillie Ambar, president of Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Carol T. Christ, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, explored this question with Michele Ozumba, former president of the Women’s College Coalition and board member of The Conversation, during a webinar hosted by The Conversation. They approached the issue through the lens of “Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Higher Education,” a book the three edited jointly and to which they each contributed chapters. The speakers discussed trends in female leadership, practical advice and takeaways from the women they interviewed for their book. 

https://theconversation.com/female-leaders-in-higher-education-have-created-more-inclusive-and-open-institutions-here-are-3-key-figures-166933

Equity inspires 66 colleges to expand the reach of open educational resources - Matt Zalaznick, University Business

Excitement has been building around open educational resources at Framingham State University as a handful of faculty are creating their own textbooks with instructional designers enhancing the final product. Now administrators are working to entrench them across the Massachusetts institution by joining a new national network, the Institute on Open Educational Resources, launched by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. “The use of open textbooks at Framingham State is pretty much siloed,” says Millie González, the interim library dean. “Some departments are using them and there’s a lot of buzz. But in terms of any structures in place to know how many faculty are using them, that’s something we’re striving toward.”

https://universitybusiness.com/equity-inspires-66-colleges-expand-open-educational-resources-free-textbooks-oer/

Coursera partners with 700 business schools on global education initiative - Coursera

The initiative will enable students from 700 business schools in 90 countries to access more than 5,000 courses and 1,900 Guided Projects on Coursera. By accessing a broad catalogue of content in high-demand fields, including data science, technology, and business, students can learn job-relevant skills needed for specific industries, companies, and roles. It is predicted that there will be 149 million new digital jobs by 2025[1], and the roles most in demand are data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, digital marketing and strategy, and process automation[2]. 

https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/76761-coursera-partners-with-700-business-schools-on-global-education-initiative

Online students engage more in lectures than physical attendees - University of Copenhagen, Phys.org

One University of Copenhagen researcher studied exactly that in a study just published in the Danish journal, Læring og Medier (Learning and Media). Something that surprised us was how active online students were in terms of asking questions about their instruction. They asked plenty of questions in their chats, unlike physical attendees, who asked very few questions to lecturers," explains Helle Mathiasen, the Department of Science Education professor behind the study. Together with e-learning consultant Henrik Bregnhøj of UCPH's Centre for Online and Blended Learning (COBL), she included 282 lectures delivered at the University of Copenhagen's pharmaceutical, medical and veterinary faculties and analyzed instant message records of three lectures. Furthermore, Helle Mathiasen conducted 15 group interviews with students regarding their instructional experiences.

https://phys.org/news/2021-09-online-students-engage-physical-attendees.html

Online education is here to stay for colleges and universities: How can we make it better? - Faith Kirk, EdSource

Now is the time to leverage that knowledge and start building the kind of inclusive, high-quality online instruction that faculty can really get behind. To do that, we need our universities to invest seriously in this effort and commit to offering online courses post-pandemic. Historically, talk about online instruction in brick-and-mortar institutions brings up legitimate concerns about the privatization of public education. I can easily imagine a dystopic future in which the work of teaching has simply been turned over to profit-driven EdTech companies or academic service contractors. But so far, while some universities contract out services, such as tutoring and mentoring, they remain public institutions, not profit-driven corporations.

https://edsource.org/2021/online-education-is-here-to-stay-for-colleges-and-universities-how-can-we-make-it-better/661433

OpenAI unveils model that can summarize books of any length - Kyle Wiggers, Venture Beat

OpenAI has developed an AI model that can summarize books of arbitrary length. A fine-tuned version of the research lab’s GPT-3, the model works by first summarizing small sections of a book and then summarizing those summaries into higher-level summaries, following a paradigm OpenAI calls “recursive task decomposition.” Summarizing book-length documents could be valuable in the enterprise, particularly for documentation-heavy industries like software development. A survey by SearchYourCloud found that workers take up to eight searches to find the right document, and McKinsey reports that employees spend 1.8 hours every day — 9.3 hours per week, on average — searching and gathering job-related information. “OpenAI believes that this is an effective ‘recipe’ that can be used to help humans supervise many other tasks,” a spokesperson told VentureBeat via email. “A scalable solution to the alignment problem needs to work on tasks that are difficult or time-consuming for humans to evaluate.”

https://venturebeat.com/2021/09/23/openai-unveils-model-that-can-summarize-books-of-any-length/

Beyond Zoom, Teams and video lectures — what do university students really want from online learning? - Dilani Gledara, et al; the Conversation

Though many students felt less motivated and less focused, they became more used to online learning. They discovered they could leverage the good aspects of remote learning when they had the right support or knew where to get help, such as financial assistance, extensions, and disability support. They also appreciated “being able to access learning materials at any time and the ability to pause and continue” at their own pace. Students also reported they were able to “balance the children, household and study much more effectively”.

https://theconversation.com/beyond-zoom-teams-and-video-lectures-what-do-university-students-really-want-from-online-learning-167705

How can colleges meet the needs of growing base of online learners? - Chis Burt, University Business

Driven to remote education by its overall flexibility and in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pool of prospective online learners is not only increasing but also is pleased with what colleges and universities are offering. Those findings were revealed in the 1oth annual report done by Wiley Education Services—now called the “Voice of the Online Learner”—which shows that institutions of higher education have huge opportunities to enhance career pathways and build a foundation of trust among current and new students.

https://universitybusiness.com/how-can-colleges-meet-the-needs-of-growing-base-of-online-learners/

US data science education lacks a much-needed focus on ethics - Jeffrey C Oliver and Torbet McNeil, University World News

Universities and colleges have responded to the demand by creating new programmes or revamping existing ones. The number of undergraduate data science programmes in the US jumped from 13 in 2014 to at least 50 as of September 2020. As educators and practitioners in data science, we were prompted by the growth in programmes to investigate what is covered, and what is not covered, in data science undergraduate education. We found most programmes dedicated considerable coursework to mathematics, statistics and computer science, but little training in ethical considerations such as privacy and systemic bias. Only 50% of the degree programmes we investigated required any coursework in ethics.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php

Can Elon Musk’s Satellite Wi-Fi Improve Digital Equity? - Erin Cunningham, EdTech

To help bridge the digital divide, especially during remote instruction, schools and communities have set up hotspots and other platforms to help connect students and families to the internet. Ector County has used those strategies too, Wilks says, but the shared signal often degraded depending on how many people were using the hotspot, and the speeds were insufficient. Now, through a relationship with Starlink, the satellite internet service developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, local families have access to high-speed, low-latency internet for students. Wi-Fi has been an effective solution to connect rural students and families to the internet, says Pratt. 

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2021/09/can-elon-musks-satellite-wi-fi-improve-digital-equity

Advancing and Streamlining DX in Higher Ed - Carly Walker, EdTech

Even before March 2020, a steady decline in undergraduate enrollment was being closely monitored as higher education experienced a shift away from tradition. A significant portion of college students were no longer solely focused on attending classes full time. It was common to find students balancing work, family and school due to the time, money and resource expenditures that come with attending a college or university. To maintain a competitive edge, institutions worked to improve student outcomes and implement more effective teaching methods. But COVID-19 accelerated the need for post-secondary infrastructural changes that can only be achieved through digital transformation (DX).

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2021/09/advancing-and-streamlining-dx-higher-ed

Colleges Need to Better Define Their Student Market - Lisa Honaker & Dr. Joe Sallustio, Fierce Education

The redefinition of higher education has only just begun. Covid-19—and resulting variants—have disrupted global business operations, inclusive of higher education and catalyzed innovation. That said, pre-pandemic, many traditional higher education institutions faced, and still face, the incredible demographic shift looming in 2025/2026—with an estimated 15% decline in the college-aged population(1). While just one of these phenomena comes with significant disruption, it is unfathomable to think about how these events have changed the plans of college-going students now, and over the next few years. 

https://www.fierceeducation.com/administration/colleges-need-to-better-define-their-student-market

Confronting Ethical and Moral Dilemmas: Don’t Go It Alone - G. Richard Shell, Knowledge at Wharton

According to a 2021 report from the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, 63% of middle managers were pressured by bosses to violate their firm’s ethical code of conduct in 2020. Over half of middle and upper managers observed ethical misconduct, while 79% of employees experienced retaliation for reporting it. Well-run corporate compliance programs and healthy corporate cultures can reduce this problem significantly, but these are hard to sustain across large enterprises over long periods of time. And too many companies give only lip service to both.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/confronting-ethical-moral-dilemmas-dont-go-alone/

Changes to come should be ‘music to your ears,’ higher education innovators say - Liz Willen, Hechinger Report

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Morehouse College offered fewer than nine online courses.  “Many of our faculty were resistant,” Morehouse President David Thomas said recently. “As leaders of colleges like Morehouse, we have to think of technology not as an adjunct to our infrastructure but core to it, and I think that will permeate forever,” Thomas told a packed audience at a session on the future of higher education during the annual ASU + GSV summit earlier this month. “There are good and great years ahead, not without challenge but with huge opportunity.”

https://hechingerreport.org/column-changes-to-come-should-be-music-to-your-ears-higher-education-innovators-say/

Call for Chapters: New Models of Higher Education: Unbundled, Customized, Aaron Browe & Ryan Specht-Boardman- IGI

This is an edited volume on the future of American higher education, focusing on how students mix-and-match education and training over the course of their careers to reach personal and professional goals. Broadly speaking, this describes the way in which students combine degrees and certificates, credit and non-credit programs, on-the-job training, and alternative credentials--all in active pursuit of their professional and personal goals. Our objective is to pull together leading voices and stakeholders who are committed to this student-centered, DIY, mix-and-match vision of how higher education has evolved. We believe that this future is already here, with students engaging in this way for their lifelong education and training, and doing it despite how higher education is currently structured.

https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/5534

Howard University’s Devastating Ransomware Attack Can Teach Other Colleges a Valuable Lesson - JOSEPHINE WOLFF, Slate

The Howard story is a sobering one for those of us at universities hoping for a relatively smooth return to something resembling normal operations this year. It’s also a stark warning of just how much work all organizations, not just college campuses, need to be doing right now to prepare for the possibility of ransomware attacks. That preparation goes beyond just creating back-ups of crucial data and systems—it means also running regular drills for how to get critical networks back up and operating using only those back-ups. Without a clear and practiced procedure for resuming operations in the wake of a ransomware attack, the fallout can be immensely disruptive and continue for days, or even weeks, as organizations scramble to set up alternative systems.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/howard-university-ransomware-attack.html

Tim Collins: A Bearish View Toward Online Education - Eric Reed, the Street

Online education companies may have had a boost from the effects of COVID-19 on stay-at-home learning over the last 18 months, but sometimes investors miss the real lesson.Collins added "As we've seen from recent IPOs, the reaction can be hit or miss. Coursera grabbed hold of the online education burst because of Covid and rode the fires of momentum the first day. The stock opened around $40 but traded to $60 in its first week. This came after the company priced its shares at $33. From a nearly double back to even by mid-May. It's fair to say this one has been a roller coaster, but what I see are a series of lower highs and a bearish setup yet again."

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/tim-collins-a-bearish-view-toward-online-education

The geography of AI: Which cities will drive the artificial intelligence revolution? - Mark Muro and Sifan Liu, Brookings Institution

Based on advanced uses of statistics, algorithms, and fast computer processing, AI has become a focal point of U.S. innovation debates. Even more, AI is increasingly viewed as the next great “general purpose technology”—one that has the power to boost the productivity of sector after sector of the economy. All of which is why state and city leaders are increasingly assessing AI for its potential to spur economic growth. Such leaders are analyzing where their regions stand and what they need to do to ensure their locations are not left behind.  Scroll down in article to see the top 20 universities leading the way in AI.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-geography-of-ai/

Just Released: UNBOUND 2021 Issue - Second Installment - UPCEA

Among the newly-released articles are:

• Honoring a Legacy of Service: The UPCEA Diversity in Leadership Scholars Program
• Lifelong Learning Programs Adapt to an Online World
• A Virtuous Cycle: Driving Equity Through Financial Gifts in the Non-credit Space
• Prior Learning Assessment: Necessary Burden or Future-Proofing Strategy?

https://unbound.upcea.edu/

Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Online learning revolution - Stewart Watts, Open Access Government

According to a recent report by the British Council, and authored by the Association of Colleges, it is unlikely that colleges will ever return to pre-pandemic teaching and learning practices. In fact, based on research across five countries, the report revealed that six per cent of global technical and vocational education institutions will maintain purely face-to-face teaching delivery.(2) It appears that online learning is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, as institutions navigate the road ahead. As the pandemic continues to evolve, many schools and universities will want to establish robust contingency plans. 

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/technical-and-vocational-education-and-training-tvet-online-learning/119247/

Could Coursera Become as Prestigious as Harvard? This Expert Thinks So. - Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

Big changes are coming to higher education, and those changes will be bigger and more disruptive than many college leaders realize as online education grows in both size and prestige. That’s the view of Arthur Levine, in a new book called “The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future,” which he co-wrote with Scott Van Pelt, a lecturer and associate director of the Communication Program for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Levine has been a player in shaping education for decades. The positions he’s held include president of Teachers College at Columbia University, president of Bradford College and most recently, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation—which just changed its name to the Institute for Citizens & Scholars.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-09-07-could-coursera-become-as-prestigious-as-harvard-this-expert-thinks-so

Connected Campus Combines the Best of Physical and Remote Learning - Peggy Bresnick, Fierce Education

The ability for students and faculty to seamlessly engage and have complete access to information regardless of where they are located physically is key to the future of higher education. Before the pandemic, tech-savvy college students expected instantaneous connected experiences on their campuses. However, COVID-19 forced administrators to play catch up to ensure that everyone is always connected. “Higher education institutions need a smart campus strategy that supports new technologies like mobile apps and next generation platforms to ensure seamless engagement and accessibility for all,” said Elliot Markowitz, Head of Content at Fierce Education.

https://www.fierceeducation.com/accessibility/connected-campus-combines-best-physical-and-remote-learning

The Future of Online Learning Is Flexible and Stackable - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Over the past few years, online learning in higher education has gone through a period of disruptive change. Not only did the pandemic trigger a massive shift from in-person classes to online, but it also brought new models of hybrid learning to the forefront. And micro-credentials, programs certifying specific competencies that can stand alone or be applied toward a larger degree, have gained momentum as learners have needed to reskill and compete in an evolving workforce. To explore these trends and more, we spoke with Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, chief content officer at Coursera, about the state of online education, the future of the traditional four-year degree, and what universities should be doing to keep up with alternative credential pathways.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/08/26/podcast-the-future-of-online-learning-is-flexible-and-stackable.aspx

GSA seeks online learning providers for upskilling pilot across 24 agencies - Dave Nyczepir, FedScoop

The General Services Administration is looking to pilot a tool that identifies a federal employee’s knowledge gaps and lets them purchase online educational content to fill them, according to a request for information released Thursday. GSA wants online universities and tech companies to apply to work with the federal Chief Financial Officers Council on providing pay-for-access content across 54 competencies with an emphasis on data, technology and financial management skills.Applications are also open to business education content holders and talent development vendors, and those selected will become “trusted providers.” The deadline to apply is Dec. 16.

https://www.fedscoop.com/gsa-online-learning-upskilling/

Blackboard to Merge With Anthology, Creating Massive Ed-Tech Company - Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

Anthology, which emerged a year ago from the combination of three higher education administrative software firms, will merge with Blackboard, long the most visible company in learning technology, the two companies announced today. The companies did not share any financial data, but the combined entity is likely to be among the sector's biggest educational technology firms. "Our combined footprint, from both a product perspective and from the more than 4,000 colleges and universities we serve worldwide, likely makes this the largest education technology company selling into higher education," Jim Milton, Anthology's chairman and chief executive officer, said in an interview this morning. Milton will lead the combined company, whose name has not yet been decided.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/09/14/blackboard-merge-anthology-creating-massive-ed-tech-company

7 Keys to Re-Envisioning Higher Ed to Ensure Equity of Opportunity - ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Vistasp M. Karbhari, Fierce Education

While the scope and purpose of higher education may have evolved and the demographics of those seeking the opportunities of higher education have changed dramatically, the structures and mechanisms in place for access, progression, and success, have by and large not kept up. While it is not feasible to restart the entire system with a blank sheet of paper there are times, such as the one facing us today, where a true re-envisioning of structure, mechanisms, and purpose might well be possible. This in no way suggests that the entire system be disrupted and changed but rather that new options be added to address current and changing realities for the benefit of students, and society at large. In that vein, here are a few aspects for consideration as we look towards the development of higher ed for a post-COVID 21st century world.

https://www.fierceeducation.com/administration/7-keys-to-re-envisioning-higher-ed-to-ensure-equity-opportunity

Higher-ed students say they need more flexibility - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

The pandemic has prompted colleges and universities to revisit traditional methods of teaching and engaging students. And though the abrupt, nationwide switch to online and hybrid learning presented many challenges, it also served to emphasize that students do not all learn in the same way or at the same pace, and that for many, online learning can offer much-needed flexibility. As one community college student explained, “Not everyone is a traditional student with the same amount of time and resources.” While in-person learning will always maintain its value, technology will allow the future of higher education to become more accessible, and more desirable, to students. In fact, 69 percent of students said more flexibility for attending classes and completing coursework was a key need.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/08/31/higher-ed-students-say-they-need-more-flexibility/