Articles tagged with higher education

Economists predict higher education the next bubble to burst

img-thingWe know all about the “technology bubble” that burst earlier this decade, we’re now dealing with the fallout from a “housing bubble,” and economists are predicting the next bubble to burst will be the emerging “education bubble”—because too many people are seeking a higher education.

How can that be? We’ve heard over and over that the 21st century economy demands higher-level skills and a high school diploma is no longer good enough. We’ve seen the statistics on the lifetime earnings of college graduates versus those who only have a high school diploma or drop out.

To clarify, the “education bubble” is a lot more specific, and no, higher education is not a bad word. It turns out, though, that we need to be more careful on the type of higher education we’re pushing and the schools that students attend after graduation.

Since the economy took a nosedive in 2008, and unemployment rates have hovered around 9 percent nationally, more people are looking for a steady line of work and realize that they need new skills. Which is a good thing. However, at the same time, a cottage industry has arisen seeking to provide these people with a college degree, career diploma, or some other credential that may put them in debt but may or may not help them find a job.
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Naomi Dillon|November 29th, 2010|Categories: Governance, Leading Source|Tags: , |

How higher ed is preparing students for a new, increasingly connected world

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Photo courtesy of Stockvault

As a publishing arm of the National School Boards Association, most of our coverage, naturally, centers around K-12 education. But learning doesn’t and shouldn’t stop once kids graduate from high school. But just like their K-12 collegues, higher education officials are having to respond and adapt to changes in the market and workplace.

Today, for instance, I am at the University of Maryland, College Park, participating for the third year in a row, in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism’s recruitment fair. We’ve plucked a number of our interns from this distinguished J-school, but I wonder how has the college adapted to the changes that technology has brought to the field of journalism?

“We’re constantly looking and relooking at our curriculum,” says Chris Harvey, a UM professor, who teaches online journalism courses and is the college’s online bureau director. Harvey says the J-school overhauled their curriculum two years ago and is in midst of revamping their course offerings again, to reflect the dominance of Web 2.0 and social media tools.

Last year, for instance, more than 600 magazines closed up shop and venerable newspapers like the Christian Science Monitor, ceased its print edition.
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Naomi Dillon|October 19th, 2009|Categories: Curriculum, Educational Technology, Leading Source|Tags: , , |
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