Most undergraduate adult learners have earned some college credit along their journey. However, many adult students are not aware of other opportunities that might earn them additional college credit. The following is just a high-level overview of some of these options: Read the rest of this entry »
Is online learning for everyone? The answer is unequivocally “NO.” Certainly there are benefits to online learning for the majority of adult learners as related to overcoming the traditional barriers of time, location, and career/family constraints. However, these benefits do not ensure that an online learner will be successful. Although the demographics and learning styles of an adult learner do contribute to patterns of success, I recently read an interesting study on demographics and personality types of distance learners that indicated the following: Read the rest of this entry »
We are about ten days into this new year and I am wondering how many people who put forth a new year’s resolution to go back to school and earn their degree have actually started that journey. I actually posted several times during the holiday season on this very topic. Here are three ”gut-checks” to consider: Read the rest of this entry »
In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays a radio advertising salesman going through a mid-life crisis. He and his friends deal with the humdrumness of life by participating in a cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado — an experience that turns out to be a kind of epiphany for all of them. At the end of the movie as they prepare to return to New York and the familiar routine, Billy Crystal explains to one of those friends the concept of a “do-over.” Do you remember, he says, when you used to play ball as a kid? Sometimes when you fouled things up, you would get a “do-over.” Simply, it was a second chance to swing at the pitch.
This is the first time I have really had legitimate concerns over this form of policy movement of the Department of Education:
Officials of For-Profit Colleges See Department’s Proposed Rule Changes as ‘Aggressive’
By Jennifer Gonzalez
Washington
Any thoughts that the U.S. Department of Education planned only to tweak existing regulations that affect for-profit colleges and other higher-education sectors were dashed on Monday when the agency released a draft of proposed revisions to a panel of negotiators. Many people in higher education, especially those in the for-profit sector, were taken aback at the substantial changes proposed, with some calling the move “aggressive” and “surprisingly strong.” The panel, whose members include federal officials and representatives of institutions and associations affected by the regulations, has been charged with re-examining 14 rules in a process known as negotiated rule-making.
Among the department’s proposed changes are eliminating the 12 “safe harbors” adopted in 2002 to clarify a ban on incentive compensation for student recruiters. The safe harbors specify types of compensation plans that do not violate the ban. Other proposed changes deal with assuring the integrity of “ability to benefit” testing procedures, defining a high-school diploma, and determining how institutions ensure gainful employment for their students.
Ripples in the Markets
By far, the most significant change to come from the department is the proposal to eliminate the safe harbors.
Consumer advocates and admissions officers from traditional colleges have urged the department to do away with the safe harbors, arguing that the exemptions, which allow colleges to pay enrollment-based commissions under certain circumstances, encourage recruiters to sign up unqualified students. Officials of for-profit colleges and lobbyists favor keeping the safe harbors, saying they provide much-needed clarity on whether specific types of payments are in compliance with the law. Read the rest of this entry »