The question here is a controversial one. Did the recent presidential election help or hurt higher education? I suppose that the answer depends upon whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. However, when it comes down to the education of the American people, who can really afford to play either or? So, let us pretend that higher education was the only driving force in the votes that we cast. Forget every other issue and where each candidate stood on them during the time it takes you to read this article. Let the only question be about the effect on higher education. [Read more...]
Opinion
Did the 2012 Presidential Election Help or Hurt Higher Education?
By December 6, 2012 Leave a Comment
Should You Pay Attention to College Rankings?
By October 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
There are a lot of details to consider when it comes to choosing the right college. Beyond the applications, many students and families wonder how they should factor in college rankings that are published on an annual basis. If the school you’ve set your heart on doesn’t match up to top notch rankings, should that be a deciding factor on what institution you attend? Alternatively, some students wonder if they should base their choice schools on the rankings uniquely. While all of these questions are normal in the grand scheme of college hunting, it’s important to recognize that choosing a school is a very personal choice that results in the culmination of a number of factors. [Read more...]
Do Entrepreneurs Need a College Education?
By October 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
One question that comes up quite often in the world of business is whether or not a college degree is a necessary tool for entrepreneurs. Although this is only one seemingly simple question, there are two very different answers – or should I say opinions- to it. On one side you have the argument that entrepreneurs do need a college education – doesn’t everyone need one to be successful? On the other side you have the argument that no college can prepare you from creating a company the way the real world and natural talent can- college for entrepreneurs simply is not necessary. So which side is correct? Let’s examine some further information and you can draw your own conclusions! [Read more...]
Should All Textbooks Become Digital?
By October 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
Textbooks are some of the highest cost items for schools in every grade level, from K-12 to university. The burden can often lay with the school itself for the lower grades, and updated materials are far and few between. Then when college comes around, students often struggle to pay the often outrageous prices for the necessary materials. Some professors even write their curriculum around textbooks that their students are more likely to be able to afford. It is a sad state of affairs, indeed. [Read more...]
Harvard Faces Major Cheating Scandal
By September 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
There are some stories that have a ring of irony to them that you can’t help but be amazed at. Such as the news that Harvard is facing a cheating scandal of epic proportions in – of all things – their Introduction to Congress class. I will skip the obvious jokes about this one…I doubt you are having any trouble coming up with your own.
According to a story originally broken by the school’s newspaper, The Crimson, the course has 279 students currently enrolled. Nearly half of them have now been implicated in the scandal, which involved a take-home exam and other coursework involved in the course. Exams which were, by the way, open book. Making these allegedly cheating students some of the laziest in history. Even looking up the topic in Wikipedia was too much effort. [Read more...]
Free MOOC Courses…Will They Be Worth It?
By August 22, 2012 Leave a Comment
The idea of free MOOC courses (Massive Open Online Courses) has actually been around much longer than the Internet has. Of course, back in the 60′s when the idea first became popular, the part about it being “online” was not yet established. Instead, it was a form of open communication and interaction between universities and instructors. They would offer a fully accessible resource for anyone who wanted to learn what would normally be a part of specific courses from varying schools. [Read more...]
Number of Online Education Degrees Goes Through The Roof
By August 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
Online education degrees have always had a shaky reputation. Back when they first started hitting the scene in the early 90′s, he distrust was justified. Holding no accreditation, they would take thousands of dollars for what was essentially a useless degree. Even when this changed and accrediting agencies started to get on board, many employers refused to accept distance programs as real. It was a problem that went on for years. [Read more...]
Should The Amount of Testing Be Reduced For Teacher Certifications?
By August 2, 2012 Leave a Comment
You may not know it, but licensing procedure for a teacher certification has been a hot button issue for a while. Many in the academic world have been debating whether or not current standards are effective, and if changes should be made in how teachers are trained and passed. This is a question that has become more prevalent around the US recently, with questions as to the quality of some of the teachers who have passed in the last ten years.
Now, various states have opted to change the process of gaining a teacher certification. This time, it will no longer be about passing exams.
Less Testing, More Teaching [Read more...]
New “Shopping Sheet” Unveiled To Help US Students Determine University Costs
By July 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
When I was looking into local schools here, I had a really hard time trying to figure out how I was going to pay for it. This wasn’t due to a lack of financial aid; I qualified for a few grants, and I could go to class around my work schedule. But trying to figure out the actual university costs was next to impossible.
No one seemed to have the information I needed in one place. Instead, everything was scattered in different packets, handled by different departments, and just when I thought I had the full picture I would find out there was another explanation sheet with a different price tag listed. Many schools are like this, with only some offering a full university costs list. [Read more...]
Education Following The 2012 Presidential Election
By July 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Every election year there is a swing in ‘hot button’ issues. Some of these change over time, some of them do not. This time around, the big topics of conversation are the usual suspects: immigration, healthcare and education. No matter what year it is, these are always central point of focus for presidential hopefuls looking to take the big chain in the Oval Office.
Of course, here at Degree Pivot we are most interested in education and what the election winner will be planning for students across the US and her territories. But this time around, the future of education is more uncertain than ever.
To get a look at what might be in store, we should look at our two primary candidates and what they have said about education in America. [Read more...]
