Posts Categorized: Schools

Learning to Do During High Unemployment

Even as the economy appears to have turned a corner, high unemployment persists. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the national unemployment rate teetered at 7.9% in January 2013, and New England’s was 7.3% in December 2012. Strangely, as millions nationwide struggle to find work, there are millions of jobs that remain unfilled. The BLS reports that on the last business day o...

Trendsetting: A New Way to Keep Up With Trends & Indicators in New England’s Education and Economy

Introducing NEBHE's new Trends & Indicators ... It should go without saying that data is tricky (or is it are tricky?).Take the issue of student aid as one example. Some states have annual budgets; some have biennial. Some states report all kinds of aid in one place; others leave it to observers to patch together the hodgepodge of merit and need-based programs from the state’s gener...

Coming to Terms with MOOCs: A Community College Angle

When MIT approached Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) to participate in edX, the new Harvard/MIT massive open online course (MOOC) initiative, we reacted with both interest and skepticism. What did MIT have in mind for Bunker Hill Community College? How would edX “transform the way that community college students learn” as edX President Anant Agarwal claimed, when he discussed the l...

Degrees of Durability and the New World of Credentialing

Those that believe a higher education degree is becoming increasingly superfluous make reference to the fact that 19 of the top 100 chief executives in the Fortune 500 lack college degrees. In consideration of that, a recent U.S. News analysis of the Fortune 500 CEOs reports that many of those CEOs who hold academic degrees choose not to mention their degree as among their achievements in their c...

Role Calls for Boys & Girls Clubs

The New Hampshire Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs has come a long way since the inception of the state’s first Club in Manchester more than 100 years ago. Today, there are Boys & Girls Clubs of America organizations in New Hampshire–Salem, Derry, Portsmouth Naval and Nashua serving the southern part of the state; Manchester, Concord, Souhegan Valley, and the Lakes Region serving...

Are Sandy Hook and Other Tragedies Creating a New Category of Student?

Today, students can be categorized in many different ways. Domestic, international, first generation and stealth are all terms used frequently in higher education. Through the application process to college, students may also be categorized as a “legacy,” having a learning challenge or even down to their demographic background. As our society and world changes with time, is there a new categor...

To Close the Skills Gap, Re-Value the Associate Degree

A number of economists, policymakers, elected officials and employers cite a “skills gap” as the reason the nation is not putting more people back to work. The problem, they reason, is that too many people have the wrong skills for today’s jobs, and colleges and universities are not doing enough to prepare people with the right skills.The idea of a skills gap is tempting to buy i...

Re-Dedicate State Resources to Higher Education

While other states are experiencing difficult budget decisions, only New Hampshire has completely de-funded student aid Today’s global economy requires a highly skilled labor force that is prepared to compete on the world stage. Studies from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Brookings Institution and the Conference Board have all identified building and maintaining a...

I Am Not a Machine

An education dean reflects on MOOCs … I am not a machine. This makes my college students happy. Though, to be honest, they assume as much since I walk into the classroom, make some small talk and launch into my lecture. After a few minutes, I may stop, ask for questions, prompt some discussion and perhaps tell a few bad jokes. Which should prove once and for all that I am human and fallibl...

The 2013 Guide Arrives

Announcing the 2013 Guide to New England Colleges and Universities! The 2013 Guide to New England Colleges and Universities, produced by NEBHE in association with Boston magazine, lists key data for each college, such as: admissions application deadlines and acceptance rates; faculty-student ratio; enrollment totals and breakdowns for part-time, commuting, female, international and minority stude...