Author: IBL News

IBL News | New York

EdTech Territorium, with 9 million users, announced this week a partnership with non-profit Credential Engine to expand its business based on providing students lifelong records of achievement regarding competencies and skills.

Through this partnership, students on Territorium will be able to cross-reference their skills with Credential Engine’s free and open data standards.

Privately-held Territorium, founded by Mexican entrepreneur Guillermo Elizondo, seeks to help users eliminate their competencies and skills gaps towards desired jobs. “The disconnect between what students need to learn, what they know upon graduation, and what employers are looking for in candidates has gone on for too long,” he said.

According to the company, two of the products of this U.S. start-up, TerritoriumCLR (Comprehensive Learner Record) and TerritoriumSDW (Skills Digital Wallet), are “designed to increase gainful employment, employer interest, job offers, and improve the way students showcase their capabilities.”

The partnership Territorium – Credential Engine was presented during the IMS Digital Credentials Summit, in Atlanta, GA, this week by Kiko Suarez, VP of Higher Education & Workforce Development at Territorium. He highlighted the importance for K-12 and Higher Ed of increasing their connectivity in the entire ecosystem, including the labor market. He also depicted ways a student can use its digital wallets and corresponding CLR data to select courses, programs, and industry certifications and map courses to actual job opportunities.

Last year, Territorium close a deal with ETS to exclusively license content of the HEIghten Outcomes Assessment Suite, a tool for colleges and universities to measure student learning outcomes.

IBL News | New York

President Biden stressed his support for skills-based education, training, and hiring during his first State of the Union address yesterday.

“We’ll cut costs and keep the economy going strong by giving workers a fair shot, provide more training and apprenticeships, hire them based on their skills, not degrees,” he said.

Last week, the Biden Administration reiterated his commitment to creating pathways to the middle class for Americans, saying that people without a college degree were needlessly disadvantaged for good jobs, even when they have the skills and knowledge employers need.

To support skills-based hiring, the Biden Administration might use federal and procurement funding to hire based on skills rather than educational qualifications alone.

As an example, to date, the Biden Administration has developed paths for veterans and women to access good driving jobs.

“My Administration is supporting and challenging employers to move towards skill-based hiring, including through a new budget proposal to invest in skills-based hiring research tools and technical assistance,” he said on February 28.

The President’s support to skills-based education was cheered among the attendants at the IMS Digital Credential Summit, which took place this week in Atlanta, Georgia.

IBL News | New York

New York State announced yesterday the end of its mask mandate for schools, signifying the virus’ retreat.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the decision after consulting with public health and education officials. “My friends, the day has come,” she said.

“We will lift the statewide requirement based on all the data,” Hochul said. “However, there are some counties that have a higher rate of transmission. We will allow them to determine what is best for their county.”

The measure, which comes after two years of struggle against the COVID-19, will be effective this Wednesday, March 2.

The state’s decision does not supersede individual districts and counties, which can still impose mask mandates and other more restrictive measures.

New York City will follow the state’s example. The city will lift its indoor mask mandate for public school students on Monday, March 7, if the five boroughs continue to see a low level of COVID-19 risk, according to Mayor Erick Adams.

“Our schools have been among the safest places for our children since the beginning of the pandemic, and we will continue to make the proper public health decisions to keep our kids safe, including making masks available for any child or school staff member who wishes to continue wearing them,” Adams said in a statement.

IBL News | New York

This month, Coursera (NYSE: COUR) announced three new master’s programs showing that it is betting on degrees as an important revenue source for its growth.

The three new distance learning programs are:

• Master of Science in Applied Data Analytics from the Queen Mary University of London. Applications are expected to open in May 2022.

• Master of Engineering in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado, Boulder. This degree features performance-based admissions, with no application or transcripts required. Passing a pathway Specialization will lead to acceptance into the program. This is the third degree from CU Boulder offered on Coursera. Enrollments are expected to open in August 2022.

• Master of Science in Cyber Security from the University of London. This is the third degree with academic direction from Royal Holloway on the Coursera platform. Applications are expected to open in June 2022.

Overall, the admission details of these programs will be available in the spring.

“These new programs from leading universities in the US and UK will equip learners across the globe with skills in rapidly growing areas including data analytics, cyber security, and business management,” said Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. “They will help students accelerate their careers in our digital economy,” she added.

With these additions, Coursera now offers 37 degrees from 19 global universities.

A study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) showed that a master’s degree in business leads to a 51% average increase in earnings in the US compared to a bachelor’s degree.

IBL News | New York

Private investment firm Veritas Capital announced yesterday the acquisition of learning technology firm Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company (Nasdaq: HMHC) for $2.8 billion. The purchase price per share of $21 in cash represents a 36% premium to the company’s unaffected share price as of January 13, 2022 ($20.88).

“We are at an important inflection point, and the time is right to move into the next phase of our long-term growth strategy,” said Jack Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer of HMH, who will continue to lead the company along with the current management team.

The agreement was unanimously approved by HMH’s Board of Directors. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.

Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is a leading provider of K–12 schools and educators, claiming to serve more than 50 million students and four million educators in 150 countries.

IBL News | New York

San Mateo, California – based Engageli announced this month the launch of version 2.0 of its learning platform.

This release allows instructors to teach directly from a web browser while learners can join a session via a browser or a native iOS app, said Dan Avida, Co-Founder and CEO. Its new reporting identifies students at-risk.

IBL News | New York

Canadian LMS platform D2L Brightspace (Desire to Learn) will integrate within its learning ecosystem the Zoom-based Class.com solution in the first quarter of 2022.

Both companies did the announcement last week, highlighting, “D2L and Class Join Forces to Provide Comprehensive Digital Learning Built on the Zoom Platform.” No further transactional details of the deal were released.

Class.com, powered by Washington DC-based Class Technologies Inc, adds teaching functionalities on its Zoom platform. These features include automating attendance, measuring student engagement, quizzes, and polls.

D2L Brightspace already has 1,800 integrations. John Baker, President and CEO of D2L, said that its existing Zoom partnership would extend with the Class.com platform, supporting educators and learners “new ways of engaging in synchronous learning.”

Michael Chasen, Founder and CEO of Class, stated: “D2L Brightspace’s ability to manage and deliver content such as lectures, videos, assignments and assessments ‘on-demand’, in conjunction with Class’ engaging real-time virtual sessions, allows learners to receive the best learning experience.”

“We are excited to see our partners delivering not only closer interoperability between the three platforms, but also a seamless buying experience for our joint clients,” said Christy Flis, Head of Global Education at Zoom.