President Joe Biden ruled out yesterday canceling $50,000 in student debt per person. His rejection disappointed student borrowers as well as top Senate Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren.
The debate over loan forgiveness emerged during a town hall meeting sponsored by CNN Tuesday night.
Asked by a viewer about what is happening with the debt relief, Biden replied, “I will not make that happen.”
However, Biden did say he would support a smaller amount of $10,000.
One-third of federal student loan borrowers, or 14.4 million people, would see their balances reset to zero if all federal student loan borrowers got $10,000 of their debt forgiven.
If $50,000 of education debt was forgiven, it would wipe away all debt for 80% of borrowers, or roughly 36 million people.
Instructure Inc—the owner of Canvas LMS—discretely sold this week its corporate LMS for corporate customers Bridge to London–based Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG), which operates two platforms: PeopleFluent and BreezyHR.
The news service of the London Stock Exchange (RNS) reported that the acquisition amount was $50 million in cash.
Bridge registered a revenue of $21 million last year, of which more than 90% was derived from recurring annual and multi-year contracts from 800 customers. It posted an EBITDA loss of $1.3 million in the same period.
“This latest addition enables LTG to provide a holistic learning and talent development offering to meet the needs of small, mid-size and large enterprises,” said Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive of LTG, in a press announcement. Significantly, Instructure has not announced the transaction yet.
The acquisition of getBridge LLC—the company behind Bridge—is expected to complete on 26th February 2021. It will be funded from LTG’s existing cash resources, according to the company.
Bridge represents LTG’s seventh acquisition since May 2020, including Open LMS / Moodle Rooms. Its Board announced that “it will continue to pursue high-quality acquisition targets financed through its own cash resources and modest levels of debt.”
Virtual laboratory and 3D simulations producer Labster raised this month another $60 million in Series C funding, benefiting from the increased demand of students forced to learn from home.
The round brings Labster’s total capital raised to $100 million. Well-known investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, Owl Ventures, Balderton Capital, and EduCapital participated.
Michael Bodekaer, Founder & CEO of Labster, said that the company would use the funding to further expand—especially in South America—and develop new science courses.
“Labster recognizes that if you combine the best aspects of in-person instruction and a game-based platform, it’s a transformative learning experience for students,” said Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, the VC that led the funding round.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Labster says that its interactive simulations are a complementary learning tool for in-person university and high school education, as well as a resource to many hybrid and online courses.
The cannabis industry is now a fast-growing job-sector, “yet a significant shortage of qualified professionals exists,” argues Western Washington University. This institution has started to offer non-credit certificates “with focused instruction from top experts in the cannabis industry.”
Its Professional and Continuing Education division has adopted four certificate programs in Business, Agriculture & Horticulture, Healthcare & Medicine, and Law & Policy.
The programs—taught by expert instructors and developed in partnership with Green Flower education company—are offered 100% online. Each 24-week program costs $2,950 and includes three eight-week modules. Courses begin in March 2021.
“After completing a certificate, students will have access to Green Flower’s Employer Network–providing priority access to open positions, hiring contacts, and networking opportunities within multiple large national and regional cannabis companies,”explained this university founded in 1893.
Enrolling for Fall 2021, this program follows the in-person wine and beverage management master’s and the Online Master’s in Food Business—both of which graduated their inaugural classes in September 2020.
The Online Master’s Degree in Wine and Beverage Management will be a 30-credit curriculum program and will immerse students in every facet of the business, from bottle to glass, exploring global wine business management; spirits, fermented, and non-alcoholic beverages; entrepreneurial innovation, marketing, distribution; and much more.
The program will include three short residencies: two in Napa, CA―the heart of wine country―and one at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus, in New York’sHudson Valley.
“Today’s beverage professionals need a foundation that goes beyond product knowledge,” said Cathy Jörin, Senior Director of the CIA School of Graduate and Professional Studies. “Solid business acumen, an understanding of sustainability and world cultures, and the ability to innovate are vital. By bringing this program online, we’re making it accessible to even more people, giving them an opportunity to develop these skills without putting their current careers on hold.”
To enroll, students must have a bachelor’s degree.
Saylor Academy introduced Bitcoin for Everybody, a 12-hour, free certificate course to educate the world on bitcoin.
According to the creators, the class is intended to “assist anyone seeking to harness this digital monetary network,” said the creators.
“Bitcoin for Everybody” takes the learner to the basics of this Bitcoin economics, investment, philosophy, and history, as well as its technical and practical components. [Course Syllabus Page]
To earn a course completion certificate, the learner needs a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam. The delivery platform is Moodle.
Coursera announced yesterday a partnership with Howard University—a historically Black college and university (HBCU) which includes alumni such as Vice President Kamala Harris—aimed to empower black learners.
“We are focused on creating social justice and anti-racism content and elevating Black voices in our instructor community,” explained Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera.
Howard University will launch this year a course catalog on Coursera.org starting with Information Systems for Business and Linear Algebra for Data Science Specializations.
Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, President Howard University, joined Coursera’s University Advisory Board, which approves all new university partners and provides strategic counsel.
“These kinds of partnerships can help enhance opportunities for people of color by aligning their education with the needs of businesses,” stated Dr. Frederick.
In the same context, Coursera also announced several new social justice courses from other university partners, such as:
Over 40 additional courses on topics such as overcoming bias, systemic racism, effective allyship, and diversity in the workplace wiil be likely to launch in the upcoming months. Also, learners can enroll in 20+ courses taught by Black instructors featured in the Black History Month collection.
With Black Girls CODE, a nonprofit focused on bringing tech education to Black girls, Coursera is partnering to provide up to 2,000 girls with free access to its catalog.
edX will be part of the Microsoft Viva initiative, making its low-cost, self-paced courses and programs available to employees that use Microsoft Teams and other tools. This way, corporations will be able to contract for bulk licenses for seats in edX through Teams.
Coursera, Pluralsight, Skillsoft, LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, and other content providers will be part of Microsoft Viva’s educational library, as well. Microsoft Viva includes LMSs as Cornerstone On Demand, SAP SuccessFactors, and Saba.
“Our collaboration with Microsoft Viva Learning puts the life-changing tool of education into the hands of millions of more potential learners,”saidAdam Medros, co-CEO and President at edX.
“With the launch of Microsoft Viva, we are bringing learning directly to workers, putting people and teams at the center,” explained said Chuck Friedman, CVP, Employee Experience at Microsoft Corp. “Integration with key partners will add robust content libraries and bring learning into employees’ flow of work.”
Announced on February 4th, Microsoft Viva is a new employee knowledge and learning platform—or Employee Experience Platform—that integrates with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams productivity and collaboration tools. It is a service designed for the pandemic and post-pandemic times that redefines how employees remotely work.
Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft, justified the initiative by stating: “Every organization will require a unified employee experience from onboarding and collaboration to continuous learning and growth. Viva brings together everything an employee needs to be successful, from day one, in a single, integrated experience directly in Teams.”
Analysts size the nascent Employee Experience Platforms (EXP) category at $300 billion in annual spending, according to Microsoft. It spans what is today a fragmented market of services, infrastructure, and hundreds of tools, many that go undiscovered and underutilized by employees at the companies that have invested in them. The pandemic is accelerating this market.
On Microsoft Viva, the Seattle-based corporation incorporates features built on SharePoint, Yammer, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and other tools.
Microsoft Viva—priced at a $60 user/year–uses AI “to empower people with knowledge and expertise in the apps they use every day; help people learn, develop new skills, and innovate faster while they work; and automatically connect, organize, and protect content across teams and systems.” On the learning side, AI is used for personalized recommendations.
Taught by Catholic experts in their fields, the courses will be 8-weeks—at 90 minutes per week—and priced at $300 each.
“Catholic Polytechnic University combines a deep quest for scientific, tech, engineering, and business expertise with the enduring truths of the Catholic faith,” explained her Founder and CEO, Jennifer Nolan. “Catholic sacraments, Masses (including Latin offered), and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be hallmarks of student life.”
Its primary goal is top job placement of graduates in business, science, or tech career-driven jobs. Learning outcomes include critical thinking and writing skills; understanding and appreciation of Catholic theology and a deepening of faith; business skills; general knowledge of several polytechnic fields; and expertise in at least one polytechnic field.
Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft, justified the initiative by stating: “Every organization will require a unified employee experience from onboarding and collaboration to continuous learning and growth. Viva brings together everything an employee needs to be successful, from day one, in a single, integrated experience directly in Teams.”
