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Western Governors University, a non-profit online college, is now reporting enrollment of over 10,000 students. This sometimes controversial school allows students to prove their knowledge through writing assignments and exams.
Deseret News reports:
“Western Governors University, which was founded just over 10 years ago, has reached enrollment of 10,000 students.
Skeptics of the nonprofit, online university founded by 19 U.S. governors, didn't believe the day of high numbers would come, let alone that the school would survive without state financing and in competition with similar, for-profit online schools.
“Our success thus far is primarily because of our intense focus on the student learning experience,” WGU President Robert Mendenhall said in a statement. He expects significant enrollment growth to continue, despite the lack of state support…
“A key part of our mission is to expand access to higher education,” Mendenhall said. “A great education doesn't have to be expensive and saddle our graduates with a heavy burden of student loans.”
At just $5,800 tuition per year, WGU is a competitive deal for many non-traditional online students.
See full article.
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A new federal grant is making it possible for native Hawaiian students to receive free laptops. Here's Molokai Times has to say about the program:
“The Maui Community College Molokai Education Center is offering Native Hawaiian residents of Molokai the opportunity to qualify for a free laptop.
This effort is the result of a USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine (RUS DS&T) grant. The grant entitled, Project Ohana (Online Health and Academic Network Access), has allowed Maui Community College to upgrade the distance-learning infrastructure at its distance sites.”
The students can use the laptop for distance learning courses, but they are also encouraged to share it with their families. If you think you may qualify, check out the full Molokai Times article for a list of requirements.
See full article.
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UMass Online is reporting record enrollments and revenue from its virtual programs. The Boston Globe explains:
“Matching last year's results, which were the best in three years, fiscal year 2008 at UMassOnline saw a 26.2% increase in enrollments, to 33,900 over 26,855 in fiscal year 2007, and a 31.9% increase in revenue to $36,977,854 over fiscal year 2007 revenues of $28,030,985.
According to the Sloan Consortium's most recent research report entitled 'Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning,' online enrollments nationwide were growing by 9.7% as of the Fall, 2006 semester, while the growth rate in the overall higher education student population was 1.5%. In contrast UMassOnline's enrollment in fiscal year 2008 grew two and a half times faster than the national average for online enrollments.
UMassOnline CEO David Gray attributes the sustained growth, in part, to developments throughout the fiscal year that saw UMassOnline, introduce new “blended learning” innovations for online learners.”
Just a few months ago, UMass Online announced three new online programs. Perhaps they're hoping to make next year a record breaker as well.
See full article.
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A growing number of high school students are taking online college classes to test the waters and earn university-level credit. RedOrbit reports:
“…About a dozen PVHS students, and about 150 juniors and seniors from 90 of the state's 140 high schools…take UMaine college courses via the Internet each semester, said Jim Patterson, coordinator of the university's Academ-e program.
Since it began about two years ago, the program has carried about $800,000 worth of tuitioned college programming paid for by the universities, public schools and private institutions, Patterson said.
The program's goal, Patterson said, is to do as Hockridge said: to let ambitious and properly qualified high school students taste the rigors of university academia without costing themselves a dime.
“To me it's like an insurance policy,” Patterson said. “Students get a sense as to what they will be needing in the fall [before enrolling in college], so they get to see what a strong college course is.”
While concurrent enrollment has always been a popular option for advanced high schoolers, these online classes allow students to take college classes without the commute. Many online college classes are also available on weekends and evenings, making it easy for students to meet their high school obligations.
See full article.
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The New York Times has launched a new educational website, called Epsilen, designed to help instructors build course content and help students connect with their classmates. Inside Higher Ed reports:
“Epsilen allows students and faculty members to create their own profiles - a free service for those with.edu e-mail addresses - which can contain resumes, an e-portfolio, a blog and more. The service was initially a central component, along with the availability of archived news and multimedia content, of the Times's foray into providing technology and marketing services to colleges that offer distance learning…
The New York Times Knowledge Network provides the service with tailored and subject-specific content modules, offering instructors template tools to match articles, graphs and other materials with their lectures or online notes. News content goes all the way back to 1851, Nudelman said. “We're really excited because we know that we're in the process now of really ramping up,” she said, with over 1,200 members of the Times network and active Epsilen users from more than 830 different institutions.”
Epsilen is unique in that it combines the features of a content repository, a social network, and a course management system. By using the New York Times content, some online teachers have been able to create their own curriculum, eliminating the need for pricey textbooks.
See full article.
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Over the past few years, there has been a huge push towards making educational information freely available online. In most cases, the results have been extremely advantageous for online learners who do not always have access to university-level libraries.
Now, some professors are advocating to make academic journals publicly available. In a nutshell: university faculty regularly publish articles in academic journals as a requirement of their position. Students regularly need access to the information in these journals for papers and other research projects.
Those who do not have access to a university library may find it difficult to find these articles elsewhere. They may have to pay for an article service or purchase each article a la carte - both options are pricey and are not always available.
Academic Danah Boyd is currently boycotting academic journals by publishing in open-access journals instead - and she's encouraging her peers to do the same. Here's what she has to say:
“I'd be sad to see some of the academic publishers go, but if they can't evolve to figure out new market options, I have no interest in supporting their silencing practices. I think that scholars have a responsibility to make their work available as a public good. I believe that scholars should be valued for publishing influential material that can be consumed by anyone who might find it relevant to their interests. I believe that the product of our labor should be a public good. I do not believe that scholars should be encouraged to follow stupid rules for the sake of maintaining norms.”
Check out her post on academic journals to learn more about the boycott and her ideals for open access.
See full article.
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The University of Massachusetts (UMass) recently signed an agreement with the Chinese government to make its online classes available online. Their recent press release reports:
“Under the agreement, signed in Beijing, officials from UMass and from China's Continuing Education Association (CCEA) and the CerEdu Corporation will work together to make UMassOnline, the University's award-winning distance education program, available to students throughout China.
Plans call for UMassOnline to offer credit and non-credit courses, certificate programs, and degree programs from all five UMass campuses — through online and face to face programs — throughout China. Forty UMassOnline courses, four certificate programs, and one master's degree program could be made available in China within a year.”
This is the first agreement between a U.S. college and the Chinese government. Should the programs be successful, more online colleges may be encouraged to offer their services abroad.
See full article.
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This week Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger issued a statement urging philanthropists to support the creation of free online textbooks. Wired Campus reports:
“This week Mr. Sanger posted a public appeal to philanthropists in the form of an online petition, outlining his vision of a world where textbooks cost children nothing. He's asking other Internet users to sign on, and about 20 have done so as of this writing. (The letter focuses on K-12 textbooks, but it seems that a similar logic could be used for college textbooks as well.)
“Sometimes the simplest ways are the best,” says Mr. Sanger in the petition. “This opportunity is 'low-hanging fruit.'”
Unfortunately, the statement doesn't lay out any specific details or a plan for making the textbook project possible. But, hopefully, it will encourage conversation and get people to seriously consider altering the textbook industry. If the idea catches on, online students may be able to learn exclusively from no-cost virtual materials sometime in the near future.
See full article.
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Digital-Vending Services recently filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against the University of Phoenix, Walden University, and the Capella Education Company. The lawsuit charges that these online colleges are using patented online course delivery structures. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports:
“Digital-Vending Services, based in Washington, accuses the online institutions of inflicting “irreparable harm” on its business. The company is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction barring the institutions from “further infringement,” according to the suit.
Digital-Vending was established in 2003 to protect educational-software patents held by members of the Community Learning and Information Network, a nonprofit group that develops distance-learning applications. Members affiliated with Digital-Vending have ties to the education, defense, software, and aerospace industries.”
The lawsuit has been filed in Texas, where course management giant Blackboard recently won a similar suit.
See full article.
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Colorado State University is planning a new online college aimed at helping non-traditional students and college drop outs complete their degrees. The Denver Post reports:
“CSU president Larry Penley said he envisions the online school reaching those people who have been working or raising families and can't easily attend a traditional college.
“The rates for younger people to go to college are not as high as they are for people my age,” Penley said. “There is a need to turn this around. . . . And we don't have the money across the country to provide the kind of bricks-and-mortar institutions to deal with all these people.”
CSU Global Campus will have its own faculty who will tailor work to individual students. What makes the school unique is its emphasis on reaching at-risk populations. Courses will be timed, and tests scheduled. Degrees will be created based on the marketplace demand - like a master's in online learning.”
The new online public school is planned to offer lower tuition rates than many private programs. It will primarily serve adult learners who did not attend college after high school or who dropped out before completing a degree.
See full article.
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