IBL News

Author: IBL News

  • House Democrats Passed a Massive Spending Bill that Included Billions for Higher Ed

    House Democrats Passed a Massive Spending Bill that Included Billions for Higher Ed

    IBL News | New York

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed congressional Democrats’ sweeping $1.85 trillion climate and social spending bill by a vote of 220 to 213. No Republicans voted for the legislation, dubbed as the Build Back Better Act (BBB). Representative Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against it.

    The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to undergo changes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said the chamber “will act as quickly as possible.”

    In addition to a large investment in clean energy on tax credits, the BBB legislation includes substantial funding to universal pre-K, provides child care subsidies covering 20 million children, and extends an expanded child tax credit for one more year.

    It also includes billions of dollars in new investments for higher ed:

    • $550 increase to the maximum Pell Grant,
    • $2.35 billion for Black, Tribal, and Hispanic universities,
    • $500 million for college completion and retention grants,
    • $20 billion for workforce development.

    U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona [in the picture above] said in a statement that the passed act will be “transformative.”

    He added:

    — “Free universal pre-K and dramatically improved access to child care, so all our children can start their learning journeys from the same starting line.”

    — “Increased resources for HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other institutions that unlock opportunities for students of color and unleash their potential in our communities.”

    — “Expanded access to affordable college with increased Pell grants for anyone who dreams of getting a degree.”

    — “A stronger workforce pipeline with workforce development resources, for better pathways to the middle class.” 

  • Over 200 Million Children Are Missing Out on Remote Learning

    Over 200 Million Children Are Missing Out on Remote Learning

    IBL News | New York

    Over 200 million children in 31 countries do not have the resources to learn via online education during school closures. A study by UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, revealed this data last month.

    “We aren’t making enough progress to ensure the next time students are forced out of the classroom, they have better options,” said Henrietta Fore, the UNICEF Executive Director.

    The report measures countries’ readiness to provide remote learning when in-person education is disrupted while examining the limitations of remote learning and inequalities in access.

    Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, and Togo, are among the countries with the most significant need for educational improvement.

    Meanwhile, Argentina, Barbados, Jamaica, and the Philippines have the highest level of readiness.

    The key seems to be, according to United Nations officials, to leverage the tech power. And while there is no replacement for in-person learning, schools with “robust” remote learning systems can provide a degree of education.

    Through the Reimagine Education initiative, UNICEF and partners have set the goal of reaching 3.5 billion children and young people by 2030, providing them equal access to quality digital learning.
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  • EAB Acquires and Incorporates Rapid Insight into Its Platform

    EAB Acquires and Incorporates Rapid Insight into Its Platform

    IBL News | New York

    EAB announced the acquisition of data analytics technology provider Rapid Insight for an undisclosed amount.

    The purchaser will incorporate Rapid Insight, along with its 200 customer schools, into its Edify data platform, which was recently launched to bring together data from disparate campus systems into a unified source of information. Currently, 80 institutions use EAB’s Edify platform, according to the company.

    “The acquisition of Rapid Insight will add a suite of direct-to-user data capabilities to support decentralized innovation,” said Danielle Yardy from EAB.

    Rapid Insight says that its graphical data exploration, manipulation, and visualization tools empower users on campus to dig into that data directly.

    “By embedding data processes and custom analytics into their workflows, campus leaders can address emerging and shifting needs in the immediate term as they rely on a central data source,” elaborated Danielle Yardy.
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  • 2U Eliminates the Annual Fees for Current edX Consortium Members

    2U Eliminates the Annual Fees for Current edX Consortium Members

    IBL News | New York

    2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU) announced yesterday it completed its acquisition of edX Inc, the MIT and Harvard-created non-profit educational platform, sold last June by $800 million in cash. Now, edX will operate as a public benefit company property of 2U.

    Along with the closing of the business, 2U decided to eliminate all membership and annual fees for current and future edX Consortium members — 230 in total, including 19 top universities — as a measure to keep them on board.

    • Anant Agarwal, CEO at edX and professor at MIT, decided to join 2U after being named for a new executive position: Chief Open Education Officer. He will report to 2U’s CEO, Chip Paucek, and “will continue to steward the edX mission as part of 2U’s executive team.”  [Both in the picture, above]

    Moreover, the announcement indicated: “Anant Agarwal will serve as one of 2U’s representatives on Open edX’s new Technical Oversight Committee, responsible for guiding the technical direction and vision of the open-source platform and community to support learning outcomes around the world.”

    • edX Chief Technology Officer JP Beaudry was appointed Chief Technology Officer at 2U, succeeding former CTO James Kenigsberg.

    • edX VP of Product Lauren Holliday was appointed Managing Director of Open Courses & Marketplace at 2U.

    As part of the closing, 2U and edX also announced, without further detail, “a marketing campaign this week to expand the reach of edX partner organizations”, as well as “a million dollars in funding to support the production of 10 new free courses in Essential Human Skills for the Virtual Age to be developed by the edX partner community.”

    In addition, “edX partner Boston University has committed to launching a new disruptively priced Master of Public Health degree.”

    2U reported that “more than 25 2U partners are joining the edX Consortium and committing to contribute affordable, high-quality learning to edX.org, including Howard University, London School of Economics and Political Science, Morehouse College, Syracuse University, UC Davis, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University and others.”

    The Lanham, Maryland – based company reinforced its commitment to “contribute to the ongoing development of the open-source platform Open edX.”

    As part of the PR campaign, Chip Paucek and Anant Agarwal wrote a shared blog post titled “Potential, Unlocked.”

  • International Students Enrollment Shows a 68% Increase After the Pandemic

    International Students Enrollment Shows a 68% Increase After the Pandemic

    IBL News | New York

    The number of new international students enrolled for the first time at a U.S. institution in 2021 experienced a 68% increase, reflecting a rebound after the COVID-10 pandemic, compared to the 46% decline reported in Fall 2020.

    These data come from the latest Open Doors 2021 Report on International Educational Exchange, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with over 860 institutions participating.

    Overall, the total number of international students — enrolled and OPT — increased by 4% in Fall 2021.

    In addition, 99% of responding U.S. institutions reported that they are holding classes in-person or implementing a hybrid education model.

    During the year 2020, and in the midst of the pandemic, a total of 145,528 international students were able to begin their studies in person or online in the United States or from abroad.

    As in previous years, most international students (54%) pursued a major in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM field. Engineering continued to be the most popular major, with one in five international students pursuing it.

    “International students are central to the free flow of ideas, innovation, economic prosperity, and peaceful relations between nations,” said Matthew Lussenhop, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.  “The United States is strongly committed to international education as we continue to build back better.” 

     

  • Instructure Acquires Kimono to Integrate it with the Canvas LMS Platform

    Instructure Acquires Kimono to Integrate it with the Canvas LMS Platform

    IBL News | New York

    Instructure Holdings, Inc (NYSE: INST) announced this month the acquisition of the integration platform and long-time partner Kimono for an undisclosed amount.

    The Salt Lake City, Utah-based Instructure, the owner of the leading Canvas LMS, will rebrand Kimono as Elevate Data Sync as it joins the Instructure Learning Platform.

    This technology enables secure syncing of student, staff, and learning data across applications within a school environment.

    The move extends Instructure’s learning data integration and rostering capabilities between edtech applications and student information systems (SIS).

    “The acquisition underscores Instructure’s vision of building education’s most integrated platform and demonstrates our deep commitment to openness,” said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. “We want to give schools the freedom of choice to connect with their preferred applications.”

    Kimono is standards-agnostic. It supports industry-standard data models and protocols, such as OneRoster, LIS, SIF, APIs, and CSV, driving interoperability and ease of use.

    Created twenty years ago and based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kimono serves six state education agencies, over 2300 districts, 27,000 schools and universities, and over 16 million students globally.

  • ETS Strategic Capital Adds a Thirteenth Company to Its Portfolio of Acquisitions

    ETS Strategic Capital Adds a Thirteenth Company to Its Portfolio of Acquisitions

    IBL News | New York

    ETS continues to expand its portfolio of EdTech companies. Last week, ETS’ private equity investment arm, ETS Strategic Capital, announced it acquired a majority stake in Toronto-based Kira Talent for an undisclosed amount.

    Ralph Taylor-Smith, Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital, highlighted its “focus on driving global business growth for ETS.”

    Kira Talent, which commercializes an admissions platform solution for higher education, will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETS. Kira Talent’s CEO and staff will remain in place.

    In addition, Kira Talent’s video and assessment platform will be part of the deal’s terms.

    The Princeton, New Jersey-based ETS said that the acquisition “will fuel rapid growth for Kira Talent as they scale development of their education admissions solutions, which will include new suites of products incorporating alternative and quantitative assessments as well as further expansion of their structured interview platform.”

    ETS Strategic Capital has a portfolio of twelve companies:

    • ApplyBoard
    • Capti
    • Ciee
    • CollegeKekho
    • Degreed
    • EdAgree
    • GradSchoolMatch
    • MPowerFinancing
    • OpenClassrooms
    • Pipplet
    • Pymetrics
    • Vericant
  • More High Schoolers Dismiss Attending a Four-Year College

    More High Schoolers Dismiss Attending a Four-Year College

    IBL News | New York

    Interest in a four-year college has sunk to a new low as nearly half of the high schoolers say their ideal would be three years of college or less.

    A recent survey from the ECMC Group — a nonprofit aimed at helping students find success — notes that amid the ongoing pandemic, many high schoolers are rethinking their future plans. They mostly prefer career training and post-college employment, especially given they are more affordable.

    This survey, conducted on over 1,000 high school students, highlights that the likelihood of attending a four-year school has decreased more than 20% in the last year and a half.

    Jeremy Wheaton, ECMC Group’s CEO, said that “the good news in here is that there’s been an uptick in the awareness of career and technical training as a pathway to a good career; what is troubling is the decline in education overall.”

    The cost, as well as the student loan debt, is the No. 1 concern.

    According to the College Board, this year, tuition and fees in-state public colleges rose to $27,330; at four-year private colleges, it averaged $55,800.
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  • Coursera Creates an Assessment Tool to Recommend Content and Develop Skills Faster

    Coursera Creates an Assessment Tool to Recommend Content and Develop Skills Faster

    IBL News | New York

    Coursera (NYSE: COUR) unveiled yesterday a new skills assessment tool, named LevelSets, intended to help learners to enroll in recommended, targeted courses and develop skills faster. It is currently available to companies, universities, and governments that have implemented Data and Analytics SkillSets.

    LevelSets is designed as part of Coursera’s enterprise platform to test students’ proficiency in high-demand skills such as data, analytics, cloud computing, machine learning, Python, and SQL, among others.

    It includes over twenty skill assessments created using machine learning programs, according to the company.

    “LevelSets’ assessments determine where training should begin, and create a clear development path for learners,” said Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer at Coursera.

    As a result of this tool, courses that are too rudimentary, too advanced, or content already mastered are not suggested.

    Leah Belsky claimed that “initial data suggest that learners within these companies are 3x more likely to enroll in a recommended course within one day after taking a LevelSet assessment.” It added, “course completion rates have increased 66% among those that have completed assessments.”

    Content recommendations include:

    The Mountain View, California-based start-up ensured that it has early adopters of LevelSets, such as Fidelity, Ingka IKEA, Pfizer, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

    Coursera plans to make LevelSets available across its portfolio of over 300 SkillSets early next year.

  • Thirteen Colleges Explore Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs

    Thirteen Colleges Explore Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs

    IBL News | New York

    Several colleges are exploring new three-year bachelor’s degree programs in an attempt to overhaul the undergraduate curriculum and its escalating tuition cost, according to a report on the Inside of Higher Education.

    “Very few undergraduates complete a bachelor’s degree in three years,” said Mikyung Ryu, Director of Research Publications at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

    Robert Zemsky, a Professor of Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and Lori Carrell, Chancellor of the University of Minnesota at Rochester, recruited a total of 13 pilot institutions to explore the option of creating a brand-new three-year bachelor’s degree program on their campuses.

    These pilot institutions include the American Public University System, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Merrimack College, New England College, Northwood University, Portland State University, Slippery Rock University, the University of Minnesota at Rochester, the University of North Texas, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and Utica College.

    Some institutions tried three-year undergraduate programs but they were often met with little student interest.

    The Inside of Higher Education story notes that “breaking away from the four-year tradition will be difficult—accrediting agencies, college athletic associations and graduate program admission requirements could present logistical hurdles for designers of three-year programs.” “The social and psychological benefits students reap during four years on a college campus may not easily translate to a three-year option.”

    Robert Zemsk and Lori Carrell said that its goal is to create a curriculum that allows students to learn the skills and material they need for a bachelor’s degree in three-quarters of the time.

    Over the last 30 years, average tuition and fees have increased by $6,580 at public, four-year colleges and by $18,710 at private, nonprofit four-year institutions, according to College Board data.

    Today, the University of Iowa offers a three-year program, but it requires students to take a heavier course load and to proceed at a much faster pace. “Iowa Degree in three isn’t right for everyone; it is designed for students who come to Iowa with specific goals, have already earned some college credit, or are ready to complete more courses per term than average,” explains the university on its website.

    Manchester University in Indiana also offers Fast Forward programs intended to graduate in three years while keeping the 120-credit hour standard.

    It’s unclear how the three-year degree plans will be received by the U.S. Department of Education.
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