Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

The 10 most inventive cheating attempts on online exams

Exams are just around the corner and there is so much of the syllabus still left to cover. It’s the story of every student’s life.

Anxiety and fear has often pushed us to cheat. We all have seen, heard or even participated in some form of cheating. I had a friend who would use all his time making crib notes before exams instead of studying.

His argument: most of the subjects are unimportant and a waste of time.

Call it genius at work or another smart innovation, but here are some of the smartest ways in which candidates have cheated in exams. And by no means, intentionally or unintentionally we are advocating in favor of cheating.…Read More

Higher-ed spending gaps do a disservice to minority students

Inequities that negatively impact students of color in the K-12 education system continue into postsecondary education and are detrimental to student success, according to a new analysis.

When students of color graduate from underfunded and understaffed high schools, gaps in support and spending follow they into postecondary education.

In fact, according to a Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis of IPEDS spending an enrollment data, public college spend roughly $5 billion less educating students of color in one year than they do educating white students.…Read More

3 ways to actually support nontraditional learners

Nearly 60 percent of today’s U.S. undergraduate students are nontraditional learners, according to new research–and institutions can follow a few key steps to support these learners.

Nontraditional students, as noted in the report, are students who are 25 or older, working full-time, are financially independent, or are connected with the military. These students include single parents, immigrants, veterans, and those working full-time jobs.

The Post-traditional Learners Manifesto Revisited: Aligning Postsecondary Education with Real Life for Adult Student Success, from the American Council on Education (ACE), notes that more than 1 million Americans could get out of poverty if everyone in the U.S. 25 years or older, with some college but no degree, earned an associate degree.…Read More

#2: 5 major ways Trump’s proposed education budget would impact schools, students

[Editor’s note: This story, originally published on May 22nd of this year, was our #2 most popular story of the year. Happy holidays, and thank you for tuning into our 2017 countdown!]

If “near-final” documents obtained by The Washington Post are true, education would see deep cuts to the tune of more than $10 billion under President Donald Trump’s education budget. The budget is set to be released as early as Tuesday.

The Washington Post reports that funding for federal K-12 and higher-education initiatives and programs would vanish or be redirected.…Read More

Report: Federal HED policy must undergo dramatic shift

A new policy framework identifies a three-pronged plan to shift the focus of federal policy from higher education to higher learning by ensuring high-quality outcomes, focusing on today’s students and creating a more affordable and responsive system of education and training beyond high school.

Most federal higher education policies were designed when the typical college student attended a four-year college directly after high school.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) estimates that 75 percent of students today are now either working adults, part-time students, parents with dependent children or student with some other non-traditional characteristic. In the framework, Higher Learning Advocates argues federal policy should adapt to meet the needs of those students.…Read More

Why the regional Title IX proposal needs tweaking, but shows promise

Right now, campuses across the country are responding in broadly disparate manners to student allegations of sexual assault. The lack of consistency from campus to campus, and even from case to case within campus systems, deters many victims and frustrates accused individuals. Victims, accused students, and colleges and universities could benefit from greater consistency and transparency in Title IX compliance in cases of sexual assault.

Title IX, which prohibits discriminatory practices, has been regulated by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Most colleges and universities established misconduct codes to forbid “discrimination” which was considered to occur where a student was victimized by sexual assault or sexual harassment.

In those “codes,” procedures were established to investigate and adjudicate where a student was accused of sexually assaulting or harassing another student. Recently the OCR has been under pressure to revise its various regulations to accommodate criticism that the regulations do not provide sufficient due process for the accused in those misconduct codes.…Read More

State greenlights new funding model for universities

State funding for Kentucky’s public colleges and universities will be determined by how many and what types of degrees its students earn under a policy finalized by state regulators.

The Council on Postsecondary Education approved the details of a new state funding model that state lawmakers passed earlier this year.

From now on, 35 percent of state funding for public colleges and universities will be based on the types of degrees awarded. Of that, 5 percent will be determined by the number science, technology, engineering and math degrees; 3 percent based on degrees for low-income students and 3 percent based on degrees for minorities.…Read More