September 30th, 2011 by Robin Green

Although college enrollment rates have been steadily rising for decades, a new study shows that even though students get into college, graduating has proved somewhat challenging.

According to an article that appeared in Tuesday’s New York Times, the number of students who complete degrees has neither increased nor decreased.

Report Breaks Down Statistics

In a study conducted by Complete College America, a non-profit group funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups, numbers were broken down by part time and full time enrollment, and the pursuit of two or four year degrees. Groups of students were observed on a state-by-state basis.

In Texas, 79 of every 100 students started out at community colleges. Only two managed to earn a degree on time, and after four years, only seven students actually graduated.

In Utah, 71 out of 100 students chose a community college with 45 enrolling full time and 26 part time. After four years, only 14 full time students and one part time student graduated. Of 29 students who started out at a four year college, only 13 received degrees within eight years.

Stan Jones, the president of Complete College America, commented, “We know they enroll but we don’t know what happens to them. We shouldn’t make policy based on the image of students going straight from high school to college, living on campus and graduating four years later, when the majority of college students don’t do that.”

Time is the Enemy

The study goes on to say that “Time is the enemy of college completion. The longer it takes, the more life gets in the way of success.”

There is evidence to suggest that many students get bogged down with non-credit remedial classes that can interfere with completing the necessary coursework vital to obtaining a chosen degree. Students with grade point averages higher than 3.0 become mired in academic bureaucracy, taking too many required remedial courses and not enough courses pertaining to their chosen field of study. The study recommends “embedding remedial instruction in the curriculum, rather than requiring separate courses, and offering programs that students attend in a block, with a predictable schedule and a cohort of other students seeking the same credential.”

Could Online Learning Increase Graduation Rates?

Last week, I wrote about Digital Promise, a new federal program that promises to research how digital technologies to see how they can compliment our educational system. Although many vocational and academic coursework can now be completed online, timing and financial concerns still hinder many students’ ability to get the education they need in order to compete in a global economy. If the phony diploma mills can be stopped and e-learning legitimized by the U.S. government, perhaps we will see an increase in graduation rates sooner rather than later?

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September 22nd, 2011 by Robin Green

Earlier this month, President Obama gave his “jobs” speech and stressed the importance of education.

Last week, the White House announced the creation of Digital Promise, a new, non-profit national center that will “support a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education, formal and informal, in order to provide Americans with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy.”

Bipartisan Support and Prominent Leadership

Digital Promise has the support of both sides of the chamber, along with some pretty heavy hitters from the education and technology sectors.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appointed, by recommendation of Congress, a group of industry leaders who will steer the ship. They include John Morgridge (Chairman Emeritus of Cisco), Larry Grossman (former President of NBC) and Eamon Kelly (President Emeritus of Tulane University) to name a few. The group will endeavor to “work with leading educators, researchers, technology firms, and entrepreneurs on a number of key challenges.

Three Key Challenges

According to the Digital Promise Fact Sheet, the three main challenges are:

• Identifying Breakthrough Technologies: developing educational software that will transform learning from the “cradle through a career”.
• Learning Faster What’s Working and What’s Not: development of new approaches that will rapidly determine what works and what doesn’t.
• Transforming the Market for Learning Technologies: Update school district procurement systems so new learning technology and private sector innovations can be effectively utilized.

What Does This Mean for Online Learning?

Digital Promise is in its infancy, but we can hope that it will not be a “No Child Left Behind” scenario that will only focus on pushing kids through the school system. The possibilities for e-learning are endless, and if a government agency can shine a light on how valuable it is, the future will certainly be much brighter.

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Coggno.com is a LMS software platform.

September 16th, 2011 by Robin Green

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and continue your education online. Now the problem is, where do you sign up? Here’s where you have to be extra-careful not to get sucked into one of those bogus online “diploma mills” that are accredited in fantasyland. Translation: a diploma from one of those outfits isn’t worth the bytes it will take up on your hard drive, not to mention the paper it would be printed on.

How To Avoid Getting Scammed

The first thing to do before you submit your credit card information or sign up for a curriculum is to check the accreditation status of the online institution you wish to take courses at. Verify the institution by Google-ing it, and reading all available information. Two Web sites we’ve found to be extremely helpful in ascertaining the authenticity of online degree programs are GetEducated.com and CounterfeitDegrees.com. Both sites are useful for ferreting out the fakers and for finding online institutions with bona-fide e-learning courses as opposed to those that just want to rip you off. By the way, you get all this information free of charge.

Don’t Get Fooled By Sophistication and Savvy

Many of these “bogus” online diploma mills look for all the world like real institutions of higher learning. Many of their online advertising campaigns rival those of legitimate schools, so it’s easy to get fooled. Behind the facade is a scheme to reel you in with a “get educated quick” ploy that will promise you a degree in as few as 7 days. Don’t fall for it. Also beware of degree programs that promise to take into account your life experience, professional experience and workplace experience. Some even promise to take your hobbies into account. Yes, we all want to believe that what we’ve done with our lives outside the world of academia counts for something; it does, but not when there is minimal effort required. The bottom line is, these bogus institutions try (and succeed) in getting you to believe that you can earn a degree at any level - including a doctorate. That just ain’t so.

Legitimate Degree Programs Lose, Too

The proliferation of diploma mill scams has had an adverse effect on legitimate online degree programs offered by venerable colleges and universities. Many distinguished institutions have realized the potential of offering distance learning curricula to online students, only to be steamrolled by all the fraudulent online entities. Federal and state governments are woefully remiss in enacting anti-fraud legislation that would weed out the fakers, so it is up to students to literally do their homework to find a legitimate program that will give them the education they need to compete in the workplace.

Do Your Homework and Shop Around

Everyone should be familiar with the Latin expression “Caveat Emptor”. That means, “Let the buyer beware”. Keep that in mind when you are shopping around for an online degree program that suits your needs. As with everything else in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That is especially true of e-learning courses and schools that will tell you you can get an education while you sleep.

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Coggno.com’s online LMS provides e-learning to anyone, anywhere.

September 8th, 2011 by Robin Green

Education is a “hot-button” issue for many people, especially when the conversation turns to the cost of a college education. I hate to keep beating the horse here, but higher education is pricing out many students and cries to the government seem to be falling on deaf ears.

Texas governor Rick Perry, who seems to be gaining momentum in the Republican race to become the candidate to challenge President Obama, has made some interesting remarks about the state of education in the United States, particularly in his home state of Texas.

What is Governor Perry Proposing?

According to an article published last month in the Washington Post, Perry is attempting to “re-engineer Texas’s leading public universities to become more like businesses, driven by efficiency and profitability.” Part of his business plan, unveiled at an education summit he held back in 2008, is to challenge the state’s top colleges to come up with a four year degree costing no more than $10,000.00.

Although Perry is the longest serving governor in Texas history, his critics seem to think that he loves to “make a splash” when it comes to big political ideas. Sure, academia in all 50 states can stand to trim some fat, but is it logical to believe that a corporate mentality can rescue the sorry state of education in America? It hasn’t worked for the government, so why should we believe it will work for education?

A “Stripped Down Degree”

The Chronicle of Higher Education published the details of Perry’s plan, which proposes “statewide online courses, more opportunities for students to spend their first two years in community colleges, and accelerated and self-paced course formats.”

Perry has rattled the chain in a big way and sparked a passionate debate about whether his idea is crazy or genius. Of course there are opinions on both sides of that argument.

The average tuition at a state university in Texas in 2010 was about $26,000.00 for an undergraduate degree. With books and other fees, the number probably topped out closer to $30,000.00. Sure, a quality education for a third of that figure seems a bit far-fetched, but as the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, including ideas.

E-Learning Would Play a Significant Role

In-demand degree programs with coursework offered online would help students better manage their time, in addition to extending the time frame of course offerings outside the traditional semester system. This would allow students to work at their own pace and potentially graduate faster with year-’round learning options. Proponents of Perry’s plan also want to see stronger student advisement, perhaps through social media and other methods which would give students the support they need.

For another interesting take on Governor Perry’s plan, read the September 5 installment of the New York Times “Room for Debate” here.

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The LMS offered by Coggno.com is a quality learning management system for learners and publishers alike.

September 1st, 2011 by Robin Green

If hurricane Irene taught us anything, it’s that preparation is key when it comes to dealing with potential disasters. Knowing what to do in a disaster, natural or otherwise, is knowledge we all should have.

How Can We Get Prepared?

If you want to learn the basics of Disaster Management, it can be achieved online with 15 to 40 credit hours of coursework. You can complete this within 6 to 12 months. You’ll obtain an online disaster management diploma that will document your skills in meeting the needs of those affected by disasters, disaster preparedness, public safety and hazard mitigation.

Disaster Management Can Be a Viable Career Option

Those looking to pursue a career in disaster management will need an undergraduate degree to obtain the skills necessary to seek employment at the local level, or perhaps even a more high-profile job with a federal agency like FEMA. Typical coursework will include introduction to emergency management, disasters and psychology and hazard mitigation in disaster management.

Other potential industries for disaster management specialists include hospitals, power generation and distribution companies, natural resource extraction companies, and community organizations like food banks and housing programs.

Employment of individuals with disaster management training is expected to rise by approximately 13 percent over the next decade. With climate becoming more and more unpredictable, it is important that we all do our part to understand what it means to be prepared for the worst.

E-Learning is the Best Option

There are many accredited e-learning programs that offer disaster management training. Whether you are personally interested in obtaining this knowledge, or are part of a corporation that wants to improve its skills when it comes to being prepared, there are options that can be pursued individually, or via an LMS platform. The worst may never happen, but common sense dictates that we know what to do if it does.

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Coggno.com provides a robust Learning Management System platform for users all over the world.