Tag: education

25 Universities, 100 Free Classes and the One Bold Idea That’s Making College More Affordable for Millions of Americans

Posted on by robbie

Ditch your stuffy seminars and dusty libraries. A slew of big-name colleges are now accepting online courses for credit.
A consortium of 25 schools, including University of Memphis, University of North Carolina and University of Maryland, are allowing all or most transfer credits that students earn from a select number of online programs. The broad list of institutions — both public and private, two-year and four-year, for-profit and non-profit — will focus on roughly 100 intro courses in up to 30 subject areas that are offered either at a low cost or for free. It’s already received the stamp of approval from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with a $1.89 million grant.
This is welcome news to many, primarily the 31 million working adults who took a few college classes but never finished. Now, they’ll have a better shot at obtaining a degree, certificate or credential for the knowledge they’ve already accrued. The program also has major appeal to kids who followed a non-traditional path out of high school, first-generation and low-income students and pretty much any young person who doesn’t like the idea of graduating knee-deep in debt.
More and more students are taking some online courses: the most recent figure by the Department of Education says 5.5 million students took at least one virtual class. A degree earned online doesn’t always have the same heft as one from awarded on a physical campus, but sometimes it’s the only option.
The popular Kaplan University, for example, a school that’s been offering distance courses since 1999 and is a part of this program, draws non-traditional students. Two-thirds are over the age of 30, and nearly 8,800 active military, veterans and spouses are enrolled. On the flip side, at Kaplan (a for-profit), there’s been allegations that teachers felt pressure to pass underperforming students, and the school paid a $1.3 million settlement last month for hiring incompetent teachers without minimum qualifications. That’s not to say online education is inherently flawed, but there’s still a number of problems that must be addressed.
The American Council on Education (ACE), essentially a trade organization for colleges and universities, is working to resolve this. One of the most important aspects of the alternative credit program will be setting standards for online courses and helping the 25 schools verify sources and select criteria for evaluating quality. It’s also hoping this move leads the wider higher education community to have “greater acceptance of alternative forms of credit, in a way that ensures quality and encourages more people to complete their postsecondary education,” says Deborah Seymour, ACE’s assistant vice president for education attainment and innovation. If all goes well this year, ACE plans to recruit additional schools by the start of the fall term.
“The institutions serving in this pilot project will play a valuable role in helping enhance the work we have been doing for many years in developing quality mechanisms for determining the credit worthiness of education, training and life experiences outside of a formal higher education classroom setting,” says ACE’s President Molly Corbett Broad. Referring to the Gates Foundation, she adds, “We very much appreciate this generous investment and the commitment it represents to the effort to provide a more flexible and cost-efficient way to increase the number of Americans able to gain a college degree or credential.”
Wondering if your school is accepting online credits? Here’s the complete list:

  • American Public University, Charles Town, W.Va.
  • Capella University, Minneapolis
  • Central Michigan University, Pleasant, Mich.
  • Charter Oak State College, New Britain, Conn.
  • Colorado Community College System
  • Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, Colo.
  • East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.
  • Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, N.C.
  • Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan.
  • Goodwin College, East Hartford, Conn.
  • John F. Kennedy University, Pleasant Hill, Calif.
  • Kaplan University
  • Lakeland College, Plymouth, Wis.
  • Metropolitan State University of Denver
  • National Louis University, Chicago
  • Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.
  • Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, La.
  • Notre Dame College, South Euclid, Ohio
  • SUNY Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
  • Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas
  • Thomas Edison State College, Trenton, N.J.
  • University of Baltimore
  • University of Maryland University College, Adelphi, Md.
  • University of Memphis
  • University of North Carolina

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3 Ideas That Will Give Every Citizen Access to the American Dream

Posted on by robbie

During last month’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama declared an end to the nation’s economic downturn. “The shadow of crisis has passed, and the state of the union is strong,” he said. But for many, the president’s announcement felt premature.
Currently, 45 million Americans live below the poverty line. Income inequality, stagnating wages and job market volatility make the prospects of upward mobility bleak. According to research by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Americans raised at the bottom of the income ladder are likely to remain there as adults. Two-thirds will never make it to the middle class, and 96 percent will be barred from the top bracket, where household income exceeds $81,700.
Erin Currier, director of Pew’s projects on financial security and mobility, studies the factors that limit economic opportunity. Recently named one of the most influential women in Washington under 35, she has utilized the research to establish nonpartisan agreement on the facts that guide policy decisions. (It’s already helped establish a bipartisan caucus.) “We hold this up to be the national ethos of being able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” she says, “but it doesn’t happen that often.”
During a conversation with NationSwell, she identified three areas lawmakers from both sides of the aisle need to address if they hope to restore every American’s chance at success.
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The Two-Pronged Approach That’s Finding Success in Breaking the Poverty Cycle

Posted on by robbie

How do you end poverty? While there’s a wide array of options and theses, one solution stands out from the crowd: education. And not just kids, either. At the Dunbar Learning Complex in Atlanta, Ga., parents are students, too, thanks to its two-generation approach, which is a theory that combines high-quality, early childhood education and career help for parents to build better families and lives.
Comprised of a preschool and public elementary school, Dunbar accepts students into its pre-K program if their parents sign up with The Center for Working Families, a career development center, to improve their job skills. The pre-K is part of the Educare Network, which is a national network of full-day early education schools. The school also has an on-site art studio and infant classrooms, which accept students starting at six weeks of age, reports National Journal.
While parents can drop their kids off  from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., administrators stress that Dunbar isn’t a daycare; students are there to learn — no matter the age — and every classroom has a curriculum.
So far, Dunbar has provided results. In 2010, only six percent of students entering kindergarten were reading at or above grade level, but after Dunbar’s first year, that number increased to 55 percent. Furthermore, those student scoring below the 30th percentile on the Peabody Picture Vocab Test dropped by 33 percentage points, while those above the 50th percentile increased by 12 percent.
Beyond educating children, Dunbar provides adult services, including assistance with finding special teachers for students, choosing healthcare, inspecting homes for health risks and educating parents through monthly meetings concerning child development, literacy and health. It’s also helped 1,800 parents find jobs and access to services that provide assistance with tax refunds, credits, childcare subsidies and other benefits.
MORE: The Three Things That Innovative Thinkers Do As Children

Grab Your Device. Play This Game. Save the Planet

Posted on by robbie

As adults, we’re bombarded by news of shrinking polar icecaps, mowed-down rainforests and species extinction. We’ve come to realize these inconvenient truths, but how should little kids learn about greenhouse gases and changing temperatures? Why should children care?
Junior Explorers, a Brooklyn-based social enterprise, is taking a unique approach to educate a generation hooked on Facebook and Instagram: they’re using online computer games to introduce introducing kids to nature and wildlife preservation. Targeted at ages 5 to 12, the games take children on a monthly “mission,” visiting virtual ecosystems across the globe from Antarctic icebergs to the African veldt. And for a subscription fee of $19 or less a month, Junior Explorers also mails a kit with additional activities and collectibles, bringing the educational content off-line.
“Everyone’s talking about the planet but we want to speak with the generation most impacted: kids,” says Anurag Agarwal, Junior Explorer’s founder and CEO. “By simply combining all things that kids love: animals, gaming, collecting and sharing, we created a truly experiential program that kids and adults can get excited about.”
A seasoned Wall Street veteran, Agarwal’s love of nature motivated him to found the company last year. On trips to the world’s greatest natural wonders — from the Barrier Reef to the Central American rainforests — he was inspired by the beauty, but also concerned it wouldn’t last. With a team made up of former Gilt Group employees, he started the company with a long-term view of reaching kids to create a generation of environmentalists.
Each mission is led by Kia and Kyle, two cartoon kids in headbands and sneakers ready to explore the world. (Eleven-year-old Kia’s role model? Jane Goodall, the chimpanzee expert. Seven-year-old Kyle’s dream job? A field scientist in the Amazon jungle.) The first excursion takes kids to the polar ice caps, where they help reunite a polar bear cub with its mother.
As they complete tasks, children rack up “Give Back” points, which, at the end of each mission, can be allocated to an environmentally-conscious nonprofit of their choice, like the World Wide Fund for Nature or the Nature Conservancy.
So far, after their first month, the company had subscribers in more than 40 states. In the next year, they’re planning to launch the program across the globe with teams based in India, Brazil and Singapore.
When kids are young, every parent recognizes their instinctive love for cuddly animals. But something happens with age, and sometimes that concern for the natural world diminishes. Junior Explorers hopes to reverse that trend, teaching youngsters that maturity means conserving the globe for the next generation.

Meet the Impressive Girl Who’s Working to Save the Planet Before Her 18th Birthday

Posted on by robbie

Every once in a while, you come across one of those kids who’s extra special. Maya Penn is one of them.
At just age 14, Penn has been doing everything she can to achieve her mission of saving the environment. And with everything she’s accomplished so far, she just might do it.
Penn’s mission first took life six years ago when she started her own eco-fashion line Maya’s Ideas. Not only does she design the clothing and the accessories, she also makes them herself using organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, vintage silks and wools. According to Grist, 10 to 20 percent of her profits are donated to charities such as Live Thrive Atlanta and Captain Planet Foundation.
By age 11, the Canton, Ga., resident decided to expand her enterprise by starting Maya’s Ideas for the Planet, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
And if that isn’t enough, Penn has also given a TED Talk and written and illustrated two children’s books about the environment: Lucy and Sammy Save the Environment and Wild Rhymes. Her books are printed on recycled paper, thanks to a grant from The Pollination Project, on whose Youth Grantmaking Advisory Board she now sits. As a member, she assists in bringing to fruition environmental projects for youths.
“I think it’s really cool that I’m able to help other people,” she tells Grist. “It’s always been my goal to inspire youth.”
Her latest projects involves technology, and she’s actively developing an animated series on pollination.
So, how does she have time for all of this? Well, Penn is homeschooled giving her leeway in how she manages her time, but she believes that anyone can become involved — regardless of their schedule.
“The smallest action leads to the biggest changes,” she says. “It has a big ripple effect, whether that person knows it or not. And that person might have been scared and might have been doubtful. But they went ahead and did it anyway.”
So, if a 14 year old can do it, why can’t you?
MORE: Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson Give a First Grader Terrific Advice About Saving the Earth

How Old Computers Can Make a Lifelong Impact on Low-Income Kids

Posted on by robbie

Between personal computers and the machines in computer labs, there are about as many computers on college campuses as students. But when these electronics become obsolete, what happens to them?
If tossed into landfills, they become a big environmental hazard. But the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) has figured out how to turn them into a solution that helps out low-income students.
The school’s program, Computers to Youth, runs camps for inner-city students, teaching them about life in college and how to refurbish old computers. At the conclusion of camp, each student takes home a computer.
Dave Newport, director of CU’s Environmental Center, tells KUSA that there are 10,000 computers on campus — all of which are regularly replaced. “We can’t give away enough of these,” he says. The program “helps protect the environment. It reduces cost. But the best part is, it empowers students.”
Basheer Mohamed, a sophomore engineering major at CU, can vouch for that. The immigrant from Sudan received a computer from Computers to Youth when he was in high school. Prior to that, his family couldn’t afford one. “Between us and more privileged kids, it was really hard to keep up with them,” he says. When he got his computer, he excelled in school, became interested in engineering and even researched and applied for the scholarships that now are funding his education.
What might he be doing if he never received that rehabbed computer? “If anything, I’d probably be going to a community college if not just working,” Mohamed says. “I don’t want to know where I would’ve been without it.”
Thanks to Computers to Youth, that’s one computer kept out of the landfill, and one mind sparked to great achievement by higher education.
MORE: How to Bridge the Digital Divide
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Does the Pen Have the Might to Help At-Risk Teens?

Posted on by robbie

We all have stories to tell, but for these students, telling it may be the key to their success.
Spoken in rhyme, Get Lit presents teen with opportunity to express their frustration, joy and thoughts on life through poetry. By entering the lyrical world, these students are able to verbalize and escape the trials of everyday life and envision a different future.
It all began back in 2006 when teacher and literary coach Dian Luby Lane started the program in a South Central Los Angeles high school. Coming from a low-income community herself, Lane wanted to show her students that there is a hope for a better future. So she introduced them to the world that saved her: books and poetry.
Since then, Get Lit has expanded to other schools and communities in order to show at-risk teens that there is hope. Through curriculums taught at high schools and in communities, Get Lit uses poetry to instill confidence and show the value of self-expression. Students who participate learn not only to read poetry, but also to write and perform it, reports Good.
The curriculum includes classical, spoken word and canonical poems from Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound to Langston Hughes.
Get Lit is more than just a class, though. It’s also a traveling troupe of performers known as the Get Lit Players, which performs famous compositions, as well as originals. During their travels last November, the Get Lit Players found themselves on The Queen Latifah Show where a video of their performance went viral.

One member of the troupe is 18-year-old Kyland Turner, a senior with aspirations to work in television and movies.
“[Get Lit] came to my school and someone did a poem about a father son relationship and it spoke to me and my struggles so I decided to get involved,” Turner tells The Queen Latifah Show. “Since joining Get Lit I have turned my grades around and now I’m looking and applying to colleges, something I never thought I would have a chance at doing two years ago. They saved me in so many ways; I owe my life to Get Lit.”
Currently, Get Lit has a pilot program in Washington, D.C., and it’s also working in coordination with After School All-Stars, a program offering after-school programs to almost 90,000 students. The organization is currently holding a fundraising campaign with the hope of further expansion.
MORE: These Student Hacks Make Choosing Classes Less Nightmarish

7 Reasons Why Community Colleges Are Necessary for America’s Prosperity

Posted on by robbie

In last week’s State of the Union, President Barack Obama laid out a plan to offer a community college education free of charge to every American. These schools, as Obama said back in 2010, are “treated like the stepchild of the higher education system. They’re an afterthought, if they’re thought of at all,” but now he’s hoisted them up as the “centerpiece of [his] education agenda.”
Some question whether his proposal for free tuition is the best use of limited cash, but setting politics aside, there’s no denying that the nation’s 1,130 community colleges play a vital role in higher education. Here’s why they’re essential to our success.
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One Small Town in Maine Is Trying Something Radical to Keep Its Population From Decreasing

Posted on by robbie

The problem facing some Maine towns: declining enrollments and budget crunches in public schools.
As a result, some local schools have been forced to close, and the community must send their kids elsewhere for their education. The town of St. Francis, for example, was about to lose its local elementary school because only 32 kids were enrolled. Closing the facility would save the district $170,000, but result in hour-long bus trips to Fort Kent, 16 miles away.
But the residents have come up with an innovative idea that could save their elementary school: give the building to the town. Part of the structure would continue to serve as classroom space for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students, and the other part would be converted into much-needed housing for town seniors, whose rent would contribute to running the school.
Although there is much to be worked out before the plan can go ahead, both sides involved agree that it’s a good idea. The school district superintendent Tim Doak tells the Bangor Daily News, “The more we talked about it, the more it looked like a win-win for everyone. It would help keep elderly residents in the community, it keeps the kids at school and it could provide jobs.”
Local representative John Martin has introduced legislation to allow this transfer to happen. At a recent school board meeting, he said, “There is currently nothing in the law that gives [St. Francis] the ability to do what they want to do: generate income from elderly housing [and] put them in the position to apply for grants.”
Doak is hopeful that this solution could help other struggling small-town schools in Maine. “I do think this idea for St. Francis can work,” he says. “We just need to move carefully, [and] this could be a model for the rest of the state.”
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Forget Calculus and Gym Class. At This High School, Students Are Trained for Workplace Success

Posted on by robbie

What is the purpose of high school?
At Camden County High School (CCHS) in Georgia, the school employs a “career technical” approach: using various academies aimed at different career fields to create a pre-professional, engaging environment for its almost 2,800 students.
All freshman are enrolled in the Freshman Academy, where they’re introduced to the curriculum and get acclimated to the school, as well as take most of the traditional academic core. From there, students pick one of the five career academies to enroll in, where they receive first-hand experience from people in that respective field, reports the Atlantic.
In the Government and Public Services Academy, students can follow the law and justice curriculum and take a class with Navy-Kings Bay NCIS official Rich Gamble. In Gamble’s class, students are trained in appropriate investigative procedures and court room preparation.
For those students looking for more technical work, there’s the Engineering and Industrial Technology Academy. This field includes a wide variety of careers, but CCHS covers many, including woodwork, welding, auto-repair, electrical work, computer-aided design and robotics program. Learning doesn’t just take place in the classroom; students actually sell products and perform services for the community, too.
Within the Health and Environmental Sciences Academy, students interested in the medical field can bring textbooks to life as they diagnose and care for dummies. The models are also used as test prep for certification exams.
There’s also a Fine Arts Academy (which covers all facets from theater to cooking) and one for Business and Marketing, where students learn the keys to success in the corporate world.
At CCHS, students are shown that there’s more to high school than just surviving class: a thriving career.
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