“Without having to miss out on fun, just outsource your test to us, an expert will take it and you will get the awesome grade that you deserve. All at prices you will not believe. How does that sound?”—Excerpt from one of many results of googling “take my test”
This pitch is more than incredibly crass. It is really just outright pimping of hired poseurs to ...
This is the second of a two-part essay on the organizational implications of online distance education.
Previously, I suggested that a gradual redistribution is occurring across American higher education, especially among adult learners. Local hegemony is at risk, as online interlopers, increasingly from top-tier universities and other academic behemoths, offer students choice they never had be...
Those nations trying to propel themselves into the global economy face a daunting task. And those emerging from dictatorships, theocracies and bloody revolutions face even greater challenges. Many had been drained of their best minds and most entrepreneurial spirits. Corruption and violence now need to be supplanted by a stable, civil society that can transact business with the rest of the world. ...
The Northeast United States just experienced one of the region’s worst natural disasters. Fortunately, because of the confluence of modern computing power and scientific computing methods, weather forecasting models predicted Sandy’s very complicated trajectory and development with a precision that would not have been possible even a decade ago. Many lives were saved as a result of the...
Universities typically emerge as gatekeepers of the professions, by wresting control over the training and certification that is required. The process generally begins outside academe—with apprenticeships and voluntary associations—and evolves toward a new norm of academic credit and degrees. Faculty then become the experts who determine the body of knowledge budding professionals need...
To listen as many of us incessantly complain, one would think academe is chronically resistant to change, new ideas and innovative programs. We often hear the smaller the stakes, the greater the petty battles—no opportunity is too minute to stall and impede. Before tenure, junior faculty need to be protected while they build their publications dossier; after tenure, they no longer need to ca...
Following last week's 8.9 magnitude earthquake off Northeastern Japan, continuing aftershocks and a massive tsunami, colleges and universities are keeping a close eye on that part of the world. Below are some updates from New England institutions.
Boston University's Daily Free Press reports BU students in Tokyo O.K.
19 Yale Students Safe in Tokyo, reports The New Haven Register
WTNH says two C...
Last month, I suggested we separate hype from reality—not so much to criticize distance learning, but to seek an even higher ideal. Much of what is thrust under the umbrella of distance learning isn’t conducted at much distance, isn’t well supported and limits opportunities for institution-wide collaboration and innovation. Distance learning should be an exciting appeal, ra...
The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 is out today, revealing the profiles of 322 schools and their sustainability policies. The fifth edition of the report by the Sustainable Endowments Institute assesses 52 indicators, ranging from green initiatives to recycling programs, and uses an A to F letter-grading system to evaluate different colleges and universities nationwide.Some New England ca...
College of the Atlantic President David F. Hales announced he will retire at the end of the academic year. During his tenure, the college became a carbon-neutral institution, expanded its faculty and diversified its academic programs. A search for a new president is underway for the 2011-12 academic year.Suffolk University President David Sargent, whose high pay captured regional and national hea...
“Without having to miss out on fun, just outsource your test to us, an expert will take it and you will get the awesome grade that you deserve. All at prices you will not believe. How does that sound?”—Excerpt from one of many results of googling “take my test”
This pitch is more than incredibly crass. It is really just outright pimping of hired poseurs to ... 
This is the second of a two-part essay on the organizational implications of online distance education.
Previously, I suggested that a gradual redistribution is occurring across American higher education, especially among adult learners. Local hegemony is at risk, as online interlopers, increasingly from top-tier universities and other academic behemoths, offer students choice they never had be... 
Those nations trying to propel themselves into the global economy face a daunting task. And those emerging from dictatorships, theocracies and bloody revolutions face even greater challenges. Many had been drained of their best minds and most entrepreneurial spirits. Corruption and violence now need to be supplanted by a stable, civil society that can transact business with the rest of the world. ... 
The Northeast United States just experienced one of the region’s worst natural disasters. Fortunately, because of the confluence of modern computing power and scientific computing methods, weather forecasting models predicted Sandy’s very complicated trajectory and development with a precision that would not have been possible even a decade ago. Many lives were saved as a result of the... 
Universities typically emerge as gatekeepers of the professions, by wresting control over the training and certification that is required. The process generally begins outside academe—with apprenticeships and voluntary associations—and evolves toward a new norm of academic credit and degrees. Faculty then become the experts who determine the body of knowledge budding professionals need... 
To listen as many of us incessantly complain, one would think academe is chronically resistant to change, new ideas and innovative programs. We often hear the smaller the stakes, the greater the petty battles—no opportunity is too minute to stall and impede. Before tenure, junior faculty need to be protected while they build their publications dossier; after tenure, they no longer need to ca... 
