Business Schools to Offer More eLearning Options in Upcoming Academic Year - BNO News

The future of eLearning in business education seems promising and is poised to become even more integrated into mainstream curricula. Innovations in technology are expected to continue enhancing the accessibility and effectiveness of online learning. Virtual reality, for instance, could soon provide more immersive learning experiences, making online classes feel as engaging as physical ones. The road ahead is exciting, and who knows? Maybe the next big business breakthrough will come from a virtual classroom.

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2024/07/business-schools-to-offer-more-elearning-options-in-upcoming-academic-year/

Embracing The Convergence Of Academic Learning And Technology - Sachin Parate, Forbes Technology Council

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the convergence of academic learning and technology has become a critical factor in shaping the future of education and leadership. As technology continues transforming how we learn, work and lead, leaders must embrace this convergence and harness its potential to drive innovation, foster growth and create a more inclusive and accessible learning environment. Let's explore the significance of academic learning and technology convergence and highlight a few key strategies and considerations for leaders to navigate this transformative era effectively.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2024/07/17/embracing-the-convergence-of-academic-learning-and-technology/

New book from the Center for Engaged Learning: Online, Open, and Equitable Education - Elon University

The Elon University Center for Engaged Learning has released a new book in its Open Access Book Series. “Online, Open, and Equitable Education: Lessons from Teaching and Learning during the Global Pandemic,” edited by Nancy K. Turner, Nick Baker, David J. Hornsby, Aline Germain-Rutherford, David Graham and Brad Wuetherick, inspires readers to integrate equity and openness in online learning, ensuring and enabling inclusive and high-quality education in the future.

https://www.elon.edu/u/news/2024/07/16/new-book-from-the-center-for-engaged-learning-online-open-and-equitable-education/

J.D. Vance Called Universities ‘The Enemy.’ Now He’s Trump’s VP Pick. - Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed

The Yale Law School graduate has used sharp criticism of elite higher ed to help establish his MAGA bona fides and build a national brand.“So much of what we want to do in this movement and in this country, I think, are fundamentally dependent on going through a set of very hostile institutions, specifically the universities, which control the knowledge in our society, which control what we call truth and what we call falsity, that provides research that gives credibility to some of the most ridiculous ideas that exist in our country,” Vance told the assembled conservatives. “If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country, and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2024/07/16/trump-taps-jd-vance-sharp-critic-higher-ed-vp

AI News: A Massive Week For AI Advancement! - Matt Wolfe, YouTube

Matt explains in detail the earthshaking development this week.  Meta's newest model 405 Billion Parameter Llama 3.1.  This Version is being released as OPEN SOURCE! That is worth shouting via uppercase.  The new release has tested as generally equal or above the top-level AI models from OpenAI, Google, and more.  This step means that every large university, government agencies, corporations, and dedicated individuals are launching testing of creating agents and other advanced GenAI applications.  With a world-wide base of unrestricted developers, we will soon have a new wave of applications from around the world in 22 different languages, serving as many uses as you can imagine!  AI this week hit a very important inflection point!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULO-jshyOeY

Virginia public colleges, universities, asked to verify that investments aren’t politically motivated - Lisa Rowan, Cardinal News

The governor’s office is asking public colleges and universities in Virginia to verify that their investments, including those tied to endowments and foundations, are free from social or political interests. In a letter obtained by Cardinal News dated July 9, state education secretary Aimee Guidera and finance secretary Stephen Cummings said the state wants to ensure higher education institutions’ “commitment to invest in a manner that prioritizes risk-adjusted investment returns independent of social, political or ideological interests.” The request stems from a conversation between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the state Council of Presidents in March, according to the letter, which also cites “recent calls for colleges and universities to divest assets tied to Israel.”

https://cardinalnews.org/2024/07/12/virginia-public-colleges-universities-asked-to-verify-investments-arent-politically-motivated/

Role of universities in the AI era - Changhee Kim, Korea Times

Today, we are witnessing digital technology and artificial intelligence impacting the higher education sector, demanding a transformation of the traditional university business model. Accordingly, the need to redefine universities' social role and responsibilities for the medium- to long-term perspective is becoming increasingly urgent. Universities must now move beyond the traditional "teaching and research" model based on the expertise of their faculty and instead build an ecosystem that encompasses universities, industry and society, playing a pivotal role within it. While the traditional roles of fostering knowledge and nurturing future generations remain paramount for universities, the rapid and drastic changes in the world around us demand universities go beyond these traditional boundaries. This means that they need to reflect the rapidly changing technology and society while making social contributions.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2024/07/137_378410.html

Americans' confidence in higher education falls, poll shows - Kiliane Gateau, Voice of America

Confidence in higher education among Americans is declining, according to a recent poll that found 36% of adults expressed a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education, down from 57% in 2015. The Gallup and the Lumina Foundation poll also revealed that more than two-thirds (68%) of adults feel the U.S. higher education system is heading in the “wrong direction” vs. 31% of those respondents saying it is going in the “right direction.” The poll, conducted June 3-23, surveyed 1,005 Americans aged 18 and older.

https://www.voanews.com/a/americans-confidence-in-higher-education-falls-poll-shows-/7695808.html

Why Students Are Not Learning and What We Can Do About It - Lixing Sun, Psychology Today

For more than two decades as a college professor, I had a reputation for academic rigor, and I took pride in it. My students received an education rich in knowledge and skills, worth far more than the tuition they paid. But everything changed when in-person classes resumed in 2022 after two years of Zoom learning at home. Post-pandemic mental health problems have been widespread and are still lingering. Mental health problems pose a major problem for students to learn well. Implementing elements of social learning in education can be an effective solution.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lies-and-deception/202407/why-students-are-not-learning-and-what-we-can-do-about-it

Massachusetts draws in nontraditional learners with free college program - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey Tuesday credited the state’s nascent free community college program for nontraditional students with nearly doubling enrollment among those eligible. MassReconnect, launched last August, covers the cost of community college for state residents 25 and older who don’t have a degree. In the 2023-24 academic year, Massachusetts’s 15 community colleges enrolled 8,411 students in this age group, up 45% from the year before.  The initiative also drove an increase in completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is a requirement for participation, the governor’s office said. Among students 25 and older, 86% filled out the form in fall 2023, up from 79% the year prior.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/massachusetts-nontraditional-learners-enrollment-free-college-program/721134/

The college-to-corporate pipeline is facing extinction. Here’s why - Steven Schwartz, Fast Company

A third of Gen Z is skipping college before joining the workforce—and opportunities in the internet economy are a major reason why. It’s an inflection point that decades of corporate dread have been building toward. As the first generation to be raised by the internet, Gen Z didn’t spend our childhoods outside—we spent them online. We exchanged ideas and connected with one another over chatbots long before we learned how to prepare for an interview or apply for a job. We participated in makeshift economies in virtual games long before we opened a bank account or submitted a summer job application.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91150442/genz-college-internet-economy

Where to next with AI in higher education? - University of Queensland

University of Queensland researchers are playing a key role in the education sector’s response to the new learning environment. Associate Professor Jason Lodge from UQ’s School of Education is developing a systematic approach to guide educators on how they can adapt to generative AI. “Fundamental changes are underway in the education sector and while the tech companies are leading the way, educators should really be guiding that change,” Dr Lodge said. “We’re currently focused on the acute problem of cheating, but not enough on the chronic problem of how – and what – to teach.” Dr Lodge said there are 5 key areas the higher education sector needs to address to adapt to the use of AI:

https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2024/07/where-next-ai-higher-education

Project 2025 Would Radically Overhaul Higher Ed. Here’s How. - Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed

The 44-page Education Department chapter was authored by Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, and credits several former Trump officials as contributors. Its proposals are bold and sweeping: It calls for dismantling the agency and putting an end to loan forgiveness. It details plans to overhaul the accreditation system and roll back new Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students and sexual assault survivors while ending all ongoing investigations into reported Title IX violations. Federal higher education policy should be more than “inefficient and open-ended subsidies” to colleges and universities, Project 2025 argues. Instead, it should focus on bolstering the workforce skills of those who don’t want to pursue a four-year degree. Project 2025 reflects Republicans’ push against diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the federal government, calling for stripping DEI requirements and references to sexual orientation and gender identity, among other terms, from “every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2024/07/11/how-project-2025-could-radically-reshape-higher-ed

The Synthetic Professor - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

The role of the college professor has evolved over the centuries, but several core responsibilities have remained central to the position for many years. The four-part mission of tenure-track faculty at many colleges and universities continues to include teaching, advising, research and service. Emphases among these areas vary with the individual and institution. Now generative AI has arrived on the scene with the ability to assist with most all of the work that a traditional professor does. 

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/online-trending-now/2024/07/18/synthetic-professor

A Guide for Creating an Empathetic Learning Environment - Nancy A. Bellucci, Faculty Focus

Empathy, in course development, refers to an educator’s ability to understand the problems, needs, and desires a group of learners faces through research and inquisition. An inclusive learning environment is one where all students feel academically and intellectually supported, feel a sense of belonging and respect, and do not feel closed off from the rest of their peers. It is, therefore, invaluable to identify ways educators can create an inclusive learning environment while also crafting content that is empathetic to the needs of the diverse nursing student population.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/creating-empathetic-learning-environment/

Illinois Central College to cut majority of course term lengths in half - Liz Lape, 25 News Peoria

“[It] lets students customize to their learning style and it really helps them think through where they might need a little extra time on task,” Quirk-Bailey said. Swaim said they reviewed studies done at colleges across the country, as well as took student surveys and collected data from ICC, finding that shorter course terms increased student success. “Courses that may have had 80% to the mid-80s percent of a success rate, with eight-week classes, they’re coming out well into the 90% of success rates,” Swaim said.

https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/07/09/illinois-central-college-cut-majority-course-term-lengths-half/

Morehouse to use AI teaching assistants this fall - Wilborn P. Nobles III, Axios

Morehouse College is planning to use AI teaching assistants to help crack the code of education. Why it matters: Morehouse professor Muhsinah Morris says every professor will have an AI assistant in three to five years. Morris says the technology has taken off in the last 24 months faster than it has in the last 24 years. Meanwhile, baby boomers are leaving the workforce amid national teacher shortages and burnout.

How it works: Morehouse professors will collaborate with technology partner VictoryXR to create virtual 3D spatial avatars. The avatars use OpenAI to have two-way oral conversations with students.

https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2024/07/04/morehouse-ai-teaching-assistants

One-third of US adults have little to no confidence in higher education, poll finds - Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

Nearly one-third of U.S. adults, 32%, said they have very little or no confidence in higher education, up from 23% of respondents who said the same last year, according to new research from Gallup and Lumina Foundation. Meanwhile, the share of adults who reported strong confidence in higher education, 36%, stayed the same compared to last year. The percentage of those who said they have only some confidence in higher education dipped from 40% last year to 32% in 2024. The results show adults are increasingly questioning higher education, with the sharpest changes in views among Republicans. Respondents with low faith in colleges frequently cited their belief that the institutions are attempting to “indoctrinate” students, fail to teach students relevant skills and leave graduates struggling to find jobs. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/gallup-higher-education-confidence-value-survey-2024/720787/

Student Loan Borrowers Owe $1.6 Trillion. Nearly Half Aren’t Paying. - Stacy Cowley, NY Times

Millions of people are overdue on their federal loans or still have them paused — and court rulings keep upending collection efforts. At the end of March, six months after the hiatus ended, nearly 20 million borrowers were making their payments as scheduled. But almost 19 million were not, leaving their accounts delinquent, in default or still on pause, according to the latest Education Department data. “The nonpayment rate really is emblematic of a system that’s not doing its job,” said Persis Yu, the managing counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/business/student-loan-nonpayment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k0.HNW5.1HegwY8GHBXj&smid=url-share

How will the rise of AI in the workplace impact liberal arts education? - Danielle McLean, Inside Higher Ed

Experts predict that skills like critical thinking and creativity will be more coveted as artificial intelligence replaces some technical jobs. While robotics in the 1990s replaced many blue-collar jobs, AI will replace jobs that require college degrees, or even graduate degrees like attorney positions, predicted Ray Schroeder, a senior fellow at UPCEA. Schroeder estimates big changes will occur over the next three to four years. “This is really a significant factor in employment and of course, those of us in higher education are monitoring it closely because we want to be able to give our students the skills that will enable them to thrive in this emerging workplace environment,” Schroeder said. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/artificial-intelligence-liberal-arts-education/720640/

How to Craft a Generative AI Use Policy in Higher Education - Tom Mangan, Ed Tech

There’s no point in waiting any longer: If your college or university doesn’t have a generative AI use policy, it’s time to build one before the fall semester gets here. There’s plenty of guidance from schools that already have policies on generative artificial intelligence, including dozens of examples from across the higher education landscape. There’s also plenty of need for AI policy guidance, judging by the 2024 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study, which asked higher education leaders how well their employers are developing acceptable use policies on AI. “Only 23% of respondents indicated that their institution has any AI-related acceptable use policies already in place, and nearly half (48%) of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that their institution has appropriate policies and guidelines in place to enable ethical and effective decision-making about AI use,” EDUCAUSE reports.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2024/07/how-craft-generative-ai-use-policy-higher-education-perfcon

AI fast-tracks software tasks - McKinsey

Generative AI (gen AI) tools can significantly increase the productivity of software product managers, especially for content-heavy tasks. Research by senior partner Chandra Gnanasambandam and coauthors finds that when using gen AI programs, product managers can complete certain tasks, such as writing press releases and creating product backlogs, in 40 percent less time than they would without the tools. However, gen AI capabilities have a smaller impact on content-light tasks, such as gathering and summarizing data for presentations, reducing time spent by 15 percent.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/chart-of-the-day/ai-fast-tracks-software-tasks

Co-Intelligence: How to Live and Work with AI - Ethan Mollick and Stefano Puntoni, Knowledge at Wharton

 “The best way to work with it is to treat it like a person, so you’re in this interesting trap,” said Mollick, co-director of the Generative AI Lab at Wharton. “Treat it like a person and you’re 90% of the way there. At the same time, you have to remember you are dealing with a software process.” This anthropomorphism of AI often ends in a doomsday scenario, where people envision a robot uprising. Mollick thinks the probability of computers becoming sentient is small, but there are “enough serious people worried about it” that he includes it among the four scenarios sketched out in his new book, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/co-intelligence-how-to-live-and-work-with-ai/

‘We can’t cut anymore’: Can colleges recover from the gut-punch of inflation? - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

When the small, nonprofit University of Saint Katherine announced it would close this spring, the president of the California-based institution placed partial blame for its cash crunch on “extraordinary inflation.” Saint Katherine is hardly alone in that lament. Over the past few months, Pittsburgh Technical College, Delaware College of Art and Design, Wells College and Goddard College also cited inflation or rising costs when announcing decisions to fold their institutions. Even colleges and universities on somewhat better footing are feeling the pain of inflation. A recent budget proposal by University of Minnesota’s interim president included some form of the word “inflation” 25 times, citing increased costs for food, services and labor, among other things.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/can-colleges-recover-from-the-gut-punch-of-inflation/720214/

Hampshire College to cut 9% of employees in restructuring - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

Hampshire College is laying off 9% of employees in a major restructuring of operations amid lower-than-expected enrollment growth for the upcoming academic year, the institution’s president confirmed Monday. The move comes for an institution often cited as a turnaround model among small colleges facing financial distress. Hampshire’s restructuring involves consolidating the college’s financial aid, enrollment, events and fundraising functions into a new division with the overarching title of “Institutional Support.”

https://www.highereddive.com/news/hampshire-college-staff-layoffs-9-percent-restructuring-edward-wingenbach/720351/

Broadening the Gains from Generative AI: The Role of Fiscal Policies - Fernanda Brollo, et al; International Monetary Fund

Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) holds immense potential to boost productivity growth and advance public service delivery, but it also raises profound concerns about massive labor disruptions and rising inequality. This note discusses how fiscal policies can be employed to steer the technology and its deployment in ways that serve humanity best while cushioning the negative labor market and distributional effects to broaden the gains. Given the vast uncertainty about the nature, impact, and speed of developments in gen AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for both business as usual and highly disruptive scenarios.

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Staff-Discussion-Notes/Issues/2024/06/11/Broadening-the-Gains-from-Generative-AI-The-Role-of-Fiscal-Policies-549639

Cornell transforms generative AI education and clones a faculty member - Molly Israel, Cornell Chronicle

 Cornell University, a top-ranked leader in the growing field of AI research and development, launched a groundbreaking online certificate program, Designing and Building AI Solutions, with one-of-a-kind features designed to enhance the learning experience in our AI world. Lutz Finger, program faculty author and senior visiting lecturer at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, generated an AI clone of himself who continuously updates the courses with new content, keeping the curriculum relevant as real-world developments happen. “We are democratizing AI,” says Finger. “No coding experience is necessary. What sets this program apart is its design for non-technical professionals. By the last class, participants will have identified a potential business application and built their own AI product to meet that business need.”

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/06/cornell-transforms-generative-ai-education-and-clones-faculty-member

AI can beat university students, study suggests - Ian Youngs, BBC News

University exams taken by fake students using artificial intelligence beat those by real students and usually went undetected by markers, in a limited study. University of Reading researchers created 33 fictitious students and used AI tool ChatGPT to generate answers to module exams for an undergraduate psychology degree at the institution. They said the AI students' results were half a grade boundary higher on average than those of their real-life counterparts. And the AI essays "verged on being undetectable", with 94% not raising concerns with markers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqqqln0eg65o

Six Ways to Address the AI Leadership Deficit - Russell Reynolds

In the six months since we first asked leaders about generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), confidence in the technology’s potential has remained high. According to Russell Reynolds Associates’ most recent Global Leadership Monitor, there’s significant enthusiasm around how AI might revolutionize organizations, with 74% of leaders reporting excitement around AI’s potential to dramatically improve team productivity, and 58% believing in AI’s potential to create new revenue streams in their organization (Figure 1). And while it’s impossible to avoid wondering about the potential downstream impacts on workforces, leaders are far more likely to believe that AI will create new jobs in their organizations than they are to be worried about AI causing layoffs (57% vs 15% strongly agree/agree).

https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/insights/articles/six-ways-to-address-the-ai-leadership-deficit

AI Agents and Education: Simulated Practice at Scale - Ethan R. Mollick, et al; SSRN

This paper explores the potential of generative AI in creating adaptive educational simulations. By leveraging a system of multiple AI agents, simulations can provide personalized learning experiences, offering students the opportunity to practice skills in scenarios with AI-generated mentors, role-players, and instructor-facing evaluators. We describe a prototype, PitchQuest, a venture capital pitching simulator that showcases the capabilities of AI in delivering instruction, facilitating practice, and providing tailored feedback. The paper discusses the pedagogy behind the simulation, the technology powering it, and the ethical considerations in using AI for education. While acknowledging the limitations and need for rigorous testing, we propose that generative AI can significantly lower the barriers to creating effective, engaging simulations, opening up new possibilities for experiential learning at scale.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4871171

Salaries for full-time faculty tick up 0.4% after inflation, AAUP finds - Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

The average salary for full-time faculty climbed to roughly $112,000 in the 2023-24 academic year, representing a scant 0.4% year-over-year increase when adjusted for inflation, according to an annual report from the American Association of University Professors. Part-time faculty members face “particularly dire” conditions, AAUP said. Those paid based on how many classes they taught “received an average of $3,903 per three-credit course section” in the 2022-23 academic year, the report said. When adjusted for inflation, the rate represents a 5% pay decline from the 2019-20 academic year. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/salaries-for-full-time-faculty-tick-up-04-after-inflation-aaup-finds/719849/