One Degree of Separation

By Jean Johnson, Jon Rochkind & Amber Ott with Samantha DuPont & Jeremy Hess

In high school, the vast majority of young Americans say they want to go to college, but in the end, only 4 in 10 earn a credential by the time they are 35.1 That’s a problem for the young people themselves—workers without credentials beyond high school earn less and are more likely to be unemployed.2 It’s also a problem for the country as a whole. Policymakers in business, government, and education say the United States needs more college-educated workers to remain internationally competitive.3 President Obama, for one, has recommended that all students complete at least one year of education beyond high school.4

….As a result, there has been a concerted effort by leaders in federal, state, and local government, in higher education, and among foundations and policy organizations to increase college completion rates. We have better data, research, and analysis to shape solutions than were available several years ago. Across the country, elected officials, institutional leaders, faculty, K–12 educators, and other key groups are looking at new approaches aimed at getting more young Americans to enter postsecondary programs and complete them successfully.

The voices of young Americans themselves are sometimes muted in this crucial work. One Degree of Separation summarizes a piece of public opinion research designed to explore the perspective of a specific group of young Americans: those aged 26 to 34. We believe this group has especially important testimony to offer.

Continued at: http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/one-degree-of-separation.pdf

Traditional Higher Ed Opens Doors for Tuition-Free Online University

By Sarah Kessler

Online universities have earned a reputation among traditional higher education institutions as businesses that offer low-quality degrees in exchange for hefty debt. But online University of the People challenges the stereotype.

The University is completely free. Its mission is not to turn a profit, but rather to create a truly global opportunity for education. A thousand students who live in 115 different countries are taught by the university’s core of 2,000 volunteers. Traditional universities are starting to open their doors to People’s free, nontraditional counterpart.

In May, New York University announced it would accept students from University of the People at its Abu Dhabi campus. On Tuesday, HP invited the free university’s students to become virtual interns with its Catalyst Initiative — a global consortia of 56 organizations, most of them universities, that focuses on projects related to improving STEM education.

Continued at: http://mashable.com/2011/06/29/university-of-the-people-hp-nyu/