A study conducted by WECT before the pandemic found that only about 20 percent of colleges they surveyed charged less tuition and lower fees than they do to those who study in person. Counterintuitively, the study also revealed—to my surprise—that more than half of the colleges charged more tuition and higher fees to their remote students than to those studying on campus. The survey also uncovered another revelation: online fees added to tuition can be so large that they are greater than tuition alone.
A recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that colleges with a greater-than-average share of remote students largely charge lower tuition than their on-campus counterparts. As prices rose at most post-secondary institutions over the last decades, tuition at these colleges fell.
Since then, MOOC degrees have mushroomed, now with more than 70 others available in partnership with about 30 first-class universities worldwide. Coursera, the biggest provider, offers nearly 30 virtual degrees in business, data science and public health, among other fields, most discounted at less than half of comparable on-campus programs
The survey from the College Innovation Network asked nearly 700 students enrolled at four higher ed institutions to answer questions about what online learning has been like for them during the 2020-21 academic year.
“Has anyone ever used Discord to communicate with their students and to deliver short lectures or have office hours? We don’t use Zoom and MS Teams only covers one section. I have four sections of the same course. I found one article in favor of it, but figured I’d check with the general community.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a stackable credential is “part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs.” In general, stackable credentials are shorter-term programs that can lead to higher-level credentials.
The traditional system of higher education puts students’ focus on earning, at minimum, a four-year degree. The traditional student is fresh out of high school and entering college or university with the intent of completing those four years consecutively and graduating with a degree in hand. That traditional student, however, is no longer typical. Statistics show that more than 47 percent of people entering college are over 25 years old, and 40 percent of those are over 35.
If your answer is yes to the following, then your next virtual event should go off without a hitch.
You offer a balance of topics.
You keep things as concise as possible.
You have someone to keep the pace—perhaps a moderator.
You’ve planned for transitions.
You use graphics and other visuals.
You’ve included time for interaction.
You have a closing segment—and say your thank you’s!
While the above should guide your overall structure, don’t be afraid to play with the format. Virtual events are still in their infancy, making them a great opportunity to innovate storytelling and audience engagement.
the responses of 1,461 virtual learning academy participants—pre-K to 12 teachers and administrators—to survey questions on impactful tools that I conducted from May to December 2020, and over 70 webinars and virtual learning sessions, these are the top teacher-tested tech tools I have identified.
“The goal of ALOE is to develop new artificial intelligence theories and techniques to make online education for adults at least as effective as in-person education in STEM fields,” says Co-PI Ashok Goel, Professor of Computer Science and Human-Centered Computing and the Chief Scientist with the Center for 21stCentury Universities at Georgia Tech
Research and development at ALOE aims to blend online educational resources and courses to make education more widely available, as well as use virtual assistants to make it more affordable and achievable. According to Goel, ALOE will make fundamental advances in personalization at scale, machine teaching, mutual theory of mind and responsible AI.
The ALOE Institute represents a powerful consortium of several universities (Arizona State, Drexel, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Harvard, UNC-Greensboro); technical colleges in TCSG; major industrial partners (Boeing, IBM and Wiley); and non-profit organizations (GRA and IMS).