A real (and perhaps not uncommon) anecdote: Two sets of researchers, using a respected national longitudinal data set, have been working on related but distinct topics, employing mainly descriptive approaches in their research. In the interests of informing their own work, one group asked the other to share its paper. Reading it, they see that some findings look unrealistic at best, if not inaccur...
Every September, I get a new fix of inspiration at the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) summit of innovators. Last week, I was at BIF’s 12th summit, my sixth. My main inspiration this year came from Dave Gray. The founder of the strategic design consultancy XPLANE, co-founder of Boardthing and author of Liminal Thinking gave a simple message: Shut off autopilot. As he said, the only place we...
Regularly reported statistics about high and growing student-loan debt levels, combined with increased rates of delinquency and default, have prompted calls to address the student-debt “crisis.” For New England, with its highly educated population and large higher education industry, student-loan debt is an important economic policy issue. Over the past decade, all six of the New England state...
In early 2015, I wrote an article for The New England Journal of Higher Education, titled “Living with Abundant Information: What’s a College to Do?” In that article, I described the sources and impact on colleges and universities of newly developed abundant information, elaborating on five areas that an institution interested in harvesting the potential of abundant information through innov...
Schools and teachers are looking for innovative ways to teach the “big ideas” emerging in the core curricula, especially in STEAM fields (science technology, engineering, arts and math). As a result, learning environments that support digital learning and educational technology on various platforms and devices are taking on ever-increasing importance in today’s schools.
Change is already ...
Fruits of our labor. With terms like task creeping back into the language (as both a verb and a noun), the true origins of Labor Day may be as remote to today's students as Lupercalia. The day, of course, is meant not simply to mark the end of summer by gorging on hotdogs, but to honor workers ... including faculty and staff in and out of higher education and, by extension, the millions of undergr...
Mathematical modeling is an open-ended research subject where no definite answers exist for any problem. Math modeling enables thinking outside the box to connect different fields of studies together including statistics, algebra, calculus, matrices, programming and scientific writing. As an integral part of our society, it is the foundation for many economical, medical and eng...
Lifelong learning and advanced credentials are increasingly critical for our economy ...
The “war for talent” is accelerating in the U.S. job market, as private-sector payrolls recently posted their 77th consecutive month of growth. Notably, today’s economy is demanding professionals with higher levels of education, as evidenced by the very low 2.5% unemployment rate for adults with a bac...
New England’s economy has improved, but economic opportunity and skills gaps contribute to slower growth in employment, income and social mobility than experienced in previous recoveries from recessions. With an aging population and relatively slow natural growth rates in the labor force, these gaps put the future of the New England economy at greater risk than that of other regions.
There ...
A net present value analysis of business schools in Massachusetts ...
Higher education institutions are increasingly being assessed on their ability to generate a positive return on investment (ROI) for their graduates. A variety of stakeholders use the ROI and similar metrics in the college decision-making process. Students, parents, policymakers, education institutions, and rating agencies al...
A real (and perhaps not uncommon) anecdote: Two sets of researchers, using a respected national longitudinal data set, have been working on related but distinct topics, employing mainly descriptive approaches in their research. In the interests of informing their own work, one group asked the other to share its paper. Reading it, they see that some findings look unrealistic at best, if not inaccur... 
Every September, I get a new fix of inspiration at the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) summit of innovators. Last week, I was at BIF’s 12th summit, my sixth. My main inspiration this year came from Dave Gray. The founder of the strategic design consultancy XPLANE, co-founder of Boardthing and author of Liminal Thinking gave a simple message: Shut off autopilot. As he said, the only place we... 
Regularly reported statistics about high and growing student-loan debt levels, combined with increased rates of delinquency and default, have prompted calls to address the student-debt “crisis.” For New England, with its highly educated population and large higher education industry, student-loan debt is an important economic policy issue. Over the past decade, all six of the New England state... 
In early 2015, I wrote an article for The New England Journal of Higher Education, titled “Living with Abundant Information: What’s a College to Do?” In that article, I described the sources and impact on colleges and universities of newly developed abundant information, elaborating on five areas that an institution interested in harvesting the potential of abundant information through innov... 
Schools and teachers are looking for innovative ways to teach the “big ideas” emerging in the core curricula, especially in STEAM fields (science technology, engineering, arts and math). As a result, learning environments that support digital learning and educational technology on various platforms and devices are taking on ever-increasing importance in today’s schools.
Change is already ... 
Fruits of our labor. With terms like task creeping back into the language (as both a verb and a noun), the true origins of Labor Day may be as remote to today's students as Lupercalia. The day, of course, is meant not simply to mark the end of summer by gorging on hotdogs, but to honor workers ... including faculty and staff in and out of higher education and, by extension, the millions of undergr... 
Mathematical modeling is an open-ended research subject where no definite answers exist for any problem. Math modeling enables thinking outside the box to connect different fields of studies together including statistics, algebra, calculus, matrices, programming and scientific writing. As an integral part of our society, it is the foundation for many economical, medical and eng... 
Lifelong learning and advanced credentials are increasingly critical for our economy ...
The “war for talent” is accelerating in the U.S. job market, as private-sector payrolls recently posted their 77th consecutive month of growth. Notably, today’s economy is demanding professionals with higher levels of education, as evidenced by the very low 2.5% unemployment rate for adults with a bac... 
New England’s economy has improved, but economic opportunity and skills gaps contribute to slower growth in employment, income and social mobility than experienced in previous recoveries from recessions. With an aging population and relatively slow natural growth rates in the labor force, these gaps put the future of the New England economy at greater risk than that of other regions.
There ... 
A net present value analysis of business schools in Massachusetts ...
Higher education institutions are increasingly being assessed on their ability to generate a positive return on investment (ROI) for their graduates. A variety of stakeholders use the ROI and similar metrics in the college decision-making process. Students, parents, policymakers, education institutions, and rating agencies al...