IBL News

Author: IBL News

  • Fintech Donation Start-Up Give Campus Raises Massive Funding

    Fintech Donation Start-Up Give Campus Raises Massive Funding

    IBL News | New York

    GiveCampus, a fintech fundraising platform for schools and education-related nonprofits, announced this week it raised $50 million.

    The funding was led by Silversmith Capital Partners. Y Combinator’s Managing Director Michael Seibel and Stripe’s executive Claire Hughes Johnson also participated.

    Founded in 2014, Washington DC-based, Patreon-style GiveCampus tries to make donations as easy as possible for donors. For that, it allows for receiving donations from Venmo or PayPal, recording in-person donations, and accepting cryptocurrency.

    It also can identify and engage with active alumni to promote ongoing donations.

    GiveCampus says it has processed $2 billion in donations to 1,000 educational institutions to date.

    The company claims that it has been profitable since 2016, with annual earnings of over $20 million.

    It started with a bootstrapped family-and-friends round of $1 million in 2015.

    “As we embark on this next chapter, we will continue to obsess over the needs and priorities of our partner schools while integrating additional capabilities, data, and insights into our platform in order to drive even bigger impact,” GiveCampus co-founder and CEO Kestrel Linder said in a statement.

    Crunchbase reported that social impact startups that make donating easy through frictionless payments are starting to see massive growth.

    Between 2018 and 2019, funding in the space jumped 187% and peaked in 2021 with $485 million, according to Crunchbase data.

    Betterfly and Sharebite are two of the most popular.

  • Coursera Expands Its Micro-Learning Approach by Adding Thousands of 5-10 Min Videos

    Coursera Expands Its Micro-Learning Approach by Adding Thousands of 5-10 Min Videos

    IBL News | New York

    Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR) announced this month that it expanded its offering of short videos and lessons to nearly 200,000 clips addressing the growing demand for micro-learning materials.

    The Mountain View, California – based company said that these instructional materials are designed to help students to learn high-demand skills in under 10 minutes. The offerings functions as scalable learning paths toward professional certificates and degree programs.

    Coursera also highlighted its intent of accelerating skills development for employees through Clips.

    “A growing number of employees are now looking to gain job-specific skills much faster through shorter, more targeted content; with this shift towards microlearning, Clips enables employees to learn specific skills with 5-10 min videos,” said Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer at Coursera. “It also provides clear pathways into courses for deeper skill development,” he added.

    The most viewed Clips to date include a range of data, cloud, and productivity-focused content such as:

    • Welcome to Python, by University of Michigan [1 min]
    • Fundamentals of Data Science, by IBM [2 min]
    • The Business Case for Visionary Leadership, by University of Michigan [7 min]
    • Why is Storytelling Important?, by Macquarie University [9 min]
    • Key Cloud Service Providers and their Services, by IBM [6 min]
    • What is SQL Anyway?, by University of California, Davis [7 min]
    • Customize Google Calendar, by Google [4 min]
    • Taking Charge of Excel, by Macquarie University [6 min]

    Some companies and government organizations like Google, the New York State Department of Labor, Alstom, and Bosch have adopted Clips for their workforce, according to Coursera.

    Coursera’s skills platform allows organizations to assess, measure, and benchmark skills in their workforce. Recent platform innovations include LevelSets which help employees quickly determine their proficiency in key skills and identify areas to focus on moving forward. In addition, SkillSets help employees develop specific skills for specific roles. These Skill Sets provide the foundation for Coursera’s Leadership and Data & Analytics Academies, which offer a packaged learning experience based on the depth of skill needed for specific roles across an organization.

  • Six Republican-Led States Sue Biden Administration Over Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

    Six Republican-Led States Sue Biden Administration Over Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

    IBL News | New York

    Six Republican-led states are taking legal action to block the Biden administration’s effort to forgive student loan debt, laid out in August. This week, these states accused President Biden of overstepping his executive powers, even as the administration tried to avoid a court challenge by reducing the number of people eligible for relief.

    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that student debt cancellation could cost $400 billion in the next three decades.

    In the lawsuit, filed last Thursday in a federal court in Missouri by Leslie Rutledge, the Republican Attorney General of Arkansas, those six states argue that Biden’s cancellation plan is “not remotely tailored to address the effects of the pandemic on federal student loan borrowers,” as required by the 2003 federal law that the administration is using as legal justification.

    The states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina joined Arkansas in filing the lawsuit.

    Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who is leading the group, said in an interview, “It’s patently unfair to saddle hard-working Americans with the loan debt of those who chose to go to college.”

    This lawsuit is the second attempt this week to shut down the loan forgiveness program. On Tuesday, a conservative legal group filed a lawsuit seeking to block debt cancellation, saying the program would force people to pay taxes on the debt that was forgiven.

    Abdullah Hasan, a White House spokesman, said the lawsuit is attempting to stop Mr. Biden from providing much-needed relief to people who are struggling in the wake of the pandemic.

  • UCLA Acquires Marymount California University’s Campuses for $80 Million

    UCLA Acquires Marymount California University’s Campuses for $80 Million

    IBL News | New York

    UCLA announced this week that it is acquiring two properties belonging to Marymount California University (MCU) in Rancho Palos Verdes (24.5-acre main campus of MCU) and San Pedro (11-acre residential site) for $80 million. This purchase will enable the instruction of nearly 1,000 students in the next academic year and enhance the university’s impact in the region.

    Marymount California University ceased operations earlier this year due to rising costs and declining enrollments.

    The “shared educational purpose” of the two institutions prompted MCU to opt for UCLA ahead of the residential developers.

    “We chose UCLA because it has a long track record of educational excellence, and is perfectly suited to build upon the mission of teaching and community service we established here,” Marymount California University President Brian Marcotte said.

    In a message to the UCLA community announcing the news, Chancellor Gene Block said that “this acquisition will allow us to expand student access in line with UC’s 2030 goals, strengthen our connections to the greater L.A. region, and deepen our institution’s research and public service impact.”

    The 2030 enrollment goals include increasing summer enrollment, expanding remote instruction as appropriate, and investing in resources to help students graduate more quickly. 

    UCLA and its Academic Senate will establish a task force of faculty members and administrators to study how best to utilize the property.

    The MCU site adds to existing spaces UCLA operates in downtown Los Angeles and elsewhere. UCLA Health also has over 250 patient care facilities throughout the region.

     

     

  • Zovio Sells Fullstack Academy and Liquidates the Company

    Zovio Sells Fullstack Academy and Liquidates the Company

    IBL News | New York

    The for-profit edtech firm Zovio Inc. (Nasdaq: ZVO) will approve the liquidation and dissolution of the company at a virtual shareholder meeting next October 25, 2022, as reflected in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Board of Directors closed the business on September 11, 2022.

    Following the liquidation, Zovio plans to sell Fullstack Academy for an amount estimated between $34 and $55 million, according to the mentioned filing to the SEC. Stockholders would receive only a portion of it, probably below $20 million.

    With a team of 1,400 employees, mostly residing in Arizona, California, and Colorado, Zovio was a troubled education technology company servicing higher education institutions.

    In August, Zovio sold its online program management (OPM) business to the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC). Two years before, the University of Arizona purchased another company asset, Ashford University, which became the Global Campus.

    The Global Campus also took over a Zovio office in Chandler, Arizona, with $20 million remaining on its lease.

    In May 2022, Chandler, Arizona-based Zovio, sold TutorMe, for $55 million.

    Now, under its Plan of Dissolution, Zovio will sell Fullstack Academy, an initiative that offers coding, data analytics, and software development classes online and at their New York City campus.

     

  • President Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan Will Cost $400 Billion

    President Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan Will Cost $400 Billion

    IBL News | New York

    U.S. President Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness could cost $400 billion, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (C.B.O.), released this Monday.

    The plan, outlined last August through executive action, cancels $10,000 in debt for those earning less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 for low-income families who already received Pell grants. This relief will impact 37 million borrowers with federal loans.

    Today, 45 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion for federal loans taken out for college.

    Biden’s plan would be one of the costliest programs of the Biden Administration, and its effects on the economy would be felt over the next decade.

    Moreover, Joe Biden’s decision to extend a pause on federal student loan repayments through the end of the year could end up costing $20 billion more.

    The report revives the political debate over student loan forgiveness just weeks before the midterm elections.

  • Learners Prefer the “Anytime-Anyplace” Approach Along with Blended Technology

    Learners Prefer the “Anytime-Anyplace” Approach Along with Blended Technology

    IBL News | New York

    In the new post-pandemic landscape, the blended option that combines asynchronous (online, on-demand) and synchronous (live, whether in-person or online) instruction is the most popular use of education technology. In addition, the most valuable quality is flexibility to fit around one’s life — meaning the “anytime-anyplace” approach.

    These are the main findings of new research conducted by edX and ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) on the role and trends of educational technology, titled “EdTech: Supercharging careers in accountancy.” Over 1,400 learners and educators connected to accountancy participated in this global survey.

    The research also found six key trends for educators in EdTech::

    1. Bite-sized or short-content videos
    2. Integrated learning and practice
    3. Role of AI and machine learning in learning and assessment
    4. Micro-credentials in professional learning and employment settings
    5. Gamification and simulation
    6. Augmented or virtual reality/Metaverse

    The study detected the increased use of AI and algorithms to support students’ learning outcomes, along with innovative resources, including micro-video lessons, open-source textbooks, and creating custom exam practice software.

    The research identified the existence of several barriers that increase the digital divide, such as access to reliable high-speed internet, power, and quiet learning places.

  • Stanford Law School Launches Controversial Income-Share Agreements as a Pilot Program

    Stanford Law School Launches Controversial Income-Share Agreements as a Pilot Program

    IBL News | New York

    Stanford Law School decided to offer students, as a pilot, the controversial ISA programs, or “income share agreements”, in an attempt to make its annual tuition — roughly $67,000 — more affordable.

    Under this program, announced last week, participating in the first and second year Stanford law students will receive up to $170,000 upfront to pay for their degrees through a nonprofit called Flywheel Fund for Career Choice.

    Upon graduation, students will pay 10 percent of their future earnings for a period of 12 years to Flywheel.

    Stanford officials said their ISA program was designed to make sure that students do not pay more than they would if they had taken out federal loans.

    ISA programs have faced increasing scrutiny in higher education in the last year. Consumer advocates have long argued that such programs are predatory loans. Many colleges have decided to remove them.

    According to a report issued by Reuters, the rising law student debt loads are a growing concern in the legal profession.

    Nearly 71% of law students leave campus with student loans, and their average debt hovers around $138,500 — higher than any other field besides medicine.
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  • The Owner of Inside Higher Ed Acquires a Leading Student Recruitment Events Firm

    The Owner of Inside Higher Ed Acquires a Leading Student Recruitment Events Firm

    IBL News | New York

    The London-based, owned by Inflexion Private Equity firm, media group Times Higher Education (THE), the recent owner of Inside Higher Ed, announced this week another acquisition: an organizer of international student recruitment events called BMI. The transactional amount wasn’t disclosed.

    Founded in 1987, BMI runs international student recruitment events and high school counselor workshops. It also has a digital advisory platform in Latin America, Viva Mundo. Over 2,400 institutions from over 40 countries have participated in BMI events.

    Paul Howarth, CEO at THE, commented, “together we can transform the events landscape for students looking to study abroad connecting them with institutions.”

    THE, a 50-year-old company, said that it “will collaborate with BMI on event content and unlocking its brand reach, unique data, and insights for their hundreds of thousands of annual event attendees.”

     

     

  • The London School of Economics Launches a Stackable Pathway to Degrees in Mathematics and Statistics on edX

    The London School of Economics Launches a Stackable Pathway to Degrees in Mathematics and Statistics on edX

    IBL News | New York

    The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a member institution of the University of London, became the first university to launch a series of edX micro-credentials — two MicroBachelors programs and a MOOC — that provide learners with a stackable pathway towards a full Bachelor’s degree.

    2U’s brand edX (Nasdaq: TWOU) announced the partnership with LSE yesterday. The two MicroBachelors programs are Statistics Fundamentals and Mathematics and Statistics Fundamentals, as well as a free MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on foundational mathematics titled An Introduction to Pre-University Mathematics, scheduled for 2023.

    “This is the first truly stackable path to a fully online undergrad degree,” said 2U Co-Founder and CEO Christopher “Chip” Paucek.

    Each of LSE’s new MicroBachelors programs includes four transferable, university-level courses. They are priced at $896.40, each. Upon completion, the students will be able to apply to online undergraduate degree programs from the University of London.

    “The innovative offering creates an incredible opportunity for us to further increase our global impact by providing a vast community of learners with a clear pathway to gain the critical mathematics and statistics knowledge to achieve academic success,” said Wim Van der Stede, Academic Dean for Extended Education at LSE.

    According to edX, its partnership has played a role in LSE’s strategy to expand its educational offerings and make teaching, learning, and research accessible to people who wouldn’t have been able to access the institution in traditional formats.

    To date, over 26,000 learners have completed online certificate courses offered through LSE and 2U, and over 1,000 students have enrolled in its online undergraduate degrees powered by 2U.

    “Creating new pathways to degree attainment is an essential part of edX’s mission to unlock the potential of our community of 45 million learners worldwide,” said Christopher “Chip” Paucek.