The Great Upheaval: Higher Educations Past, Present, and Uncertain Future by Arthur Levine and Scott J. Van Pelt

Published in September 2021

Beware of allowing online learning evangelists into your traditional, residential and research-intensive institution. Online learning people, it turns out, are hatching a secret plot.

This secret evil plan has three phases:

Phase 1: Initiate a smattering of online education programs (degree and nondegree), starting outside the core of the residential undergraduate program in graduate and professional schools.

Phase 2: To develop these new online programs, prioritize the recruitment of experts in learning science, such as instructional designers and other nonfaculty educators, who collaborate closely with faculty on online course and program development.

Phase 3: Apply the same research-based learning science principles and faculty/nonfaculty collaborations utilized in online programs to residential teaching and learning, focusing first on larger enrollment gateway and other introductory courses.

In this conspiracy, online education is a means to an end of institutional transformation. That transformation is to shift traditional residential education from teacher- to learner-centric and to put learning science at the core of instructional practices.

Creating new online education programs at traditional, residential, research-intensive institutions is a good lever for academic transformation, but it is not enough. What is most important is to gain traction in the campus marketplace of ideas.

The humans who work at our universities need to believe in the necessity of transformation and the efficacy of placing learning and learning science at the heart of change.

This is where Levine and Van Pelts The Great Upheaval comes in.

Neil Gaiman once said, A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. The Great Upheaval is a dream of a different sort of university.

The future of the university that Levine and Pelt envision is one where:

And my favorite quote from the book:

The Great Upheaval provides a road map for those institutions wishing to proactively chart their long-term paths to designing the university of the 21st century. The authors create this map by using the effective technique of looking backward, sideways and forward.

The backward view contextualizes the future transformation of higher education in past large-scale changes. Learning the history of how our postsecondary system evolved is necessary to assure us that large-scale change is possible and to remind us of the pitfalls that lie ahead.

The sections of The Great Upheaval that I most enjoyed were those on looking sideways. Chapters on the transformation of the music, film and newspaper industries provide insights into what the higher education industry will likely look like in the decades to come.

The impossibility of resisting the shift from analog to digital becomes clear from these sideways glances. Incumbents will use every mechanism available to avoid changing what has always worked, ranging from denial to lawsuits. The end result still ends up being a change from records to streaming, paper circulation to apps and theaters to digital platforms.

Levine and Van Pelt are convinced that higher education will become digitized, a process that will both supplant and support existing analog (residential, face-to-face) programs. Smart institutions will find ways to have digital learning complement campus programs to provide more choice for learners and greater resiliency for colleges and universities.

The Great Upheaval joins a chorus of book-length arguments (many published by Johns Hopkins University Press, including my own co-authored book with Eddie Maloney Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education) to situate learning and the learner at the center of university design and institutional strategy.

Coming out of the pandemic (hopefully), the time is now to have wide-ranging campus conversations about the future of our institutions.

An ideal way to generate smart campus discussionsones that avoid the traps of ahistoricism or faddish techno-boosterism (no, VR will not revolutionize higher ed) is to book club with the right book.

The Great Upheaval is that right book.

What are you reading?

Read more from the original source:
'The Great Upheaval' and the Coming Learner-/Learning-Centered University | Learning Innovation - Inside Higher Ed

In March 2020, when the emergence of COVID-19 spurred then-Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to order the closure of public schools throughout the state, the jobs of Park City School District teachers changed drastically.

The stress level went up immediately and adding to the difficulty was a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Magna and shook the Wasatch Front and Back on March 18, 2020, the first day of remote teaching.

We basically turned teaching around on a dime and we taught using several modalities, including meeting students in person and online, said Renee Pinkney, a Park City High School social studies teacher. Out of sheer necessity, we had to master technological skills we never dreamed of.

It was challenging to teach both the students sitting in front of her and others who were at home on Zoom at the same time, she said, and teachers had to be more flexible in their teaching.

Then there was the concern about the deadly virus that has now taken the lives of 23 Summit County residents and nearly 1 million people in the United States. Pinkney said people have been in a state of fight-or-flight for two years because no one knew what was coming around the corner, including how the coronavirus would affect them personally.

I dont say that just about teachers but for everyone worrying about getting COVID or exposing family members or having co-morbidities or being high risk, she said.

At the two-year mark of the pandemic, life is starting to get back to normal for teachers or at least a new normal but getting to this point has been tough.

After the pandemic struck, schools in the Park City School District switched to online teaching for the rest of the spring semester until they reopened in August 2020. Students at that point could to go to school in person, opt for remote learning or take some classes in person and others online. Teachers sometimes taught from their homes if they needed to quarantine or take care of family members who were sick.

The uncertainty of what each day was going to bring was really stressful, said Sam Thompson, a fifth-grade teacher at Trailside Elementary. The continual changing of the conditions, mandates and things like that were really difficult.

Teaching was the least effective during the weeks that the schools were closed because online learning is challenging for a lot of students, especially children in the elementary grades, he said.

Once in-person classes resumed, teachers had to implement new protocols, such as keeping track of where kids sat and wearing masks during the period when they were required, Thompson said. It was hard at first to get used to having a mask but he wore one gladly.

I think I speak for a lot of teachers that we would much rather wear the mask and be with the kids in person than have to do the remote thing, and I think their parents would agree with that, as well, Thompson said.

He said its starting to feel as if the schools are a little bit back to normal.

Im impressed by the intelligent people who have been able to come up with a plan to keep the train on the tracks and keep us going forward, Thompson said.

Mary Morgan, who teaches choir and band at Ecker Hill Middle School, said the mask mandate made teaching difficult because she couldnt hear the children sing.

Other challenges have been helping students who get behind because they got COVID or have difficulties at home and filling in for teachers who are out sick, Morgan said. There is a shortage of substitutes in the Park City School District, which adds to teachers workloads, she said.

The Park City Education Association has been working closely with the School District and the board to allow teachers some extra time without having to fill up their days with meetings, said Morgan, who is co-president of the teachers union. Thats already in place right now. Were working on some things to alleviate some stress for teachers.

Morgan has firsthand experience with coronavirus she got COVID in September and was out from work for 10 days. Because she had been vaccinated, her case was mild, she said.

Mary Sue Purzycki, who teaches anatomy and physiology at Park City High School, said this academic year has been a little less stressful because its not so much on the fly.

She prefers teaching in person because a lot of students do not like learning online and it can be hard to get them to engage.

Last year was really hard. I lost probably a good third of my kids that were remote, Purzycki said.

She added that there were students who missed some developmental milestones because of the pandemic. Some ninth-graders who were learning remotely when they made the transition from Treasure Mountain Junior High to the 10th grade at the high school lack the socialization they would have gotten if they had been attending classes in person, Purzycki said.

Some forgot how to do school and missed deadlines and didnt turn in assignments, she said.

One of the biggest problems was that although every student had a computer, not all of them had good reliable internet, she said.

Not knowing whether youre going to have a good internet day or a bad internet day was hard for a lot of kids, Purzycki said.

There were some positives, including learning how to teach and deliver content in a different way, she said.

Ive seen a lot of changes in education and COVID just gave us another reason to change, Purzycki said.

The teachers said the students motivated them to keep going.

Morgan said students need them now more than ever, and not just for academics but for mental health reasons as well.

Pinkney, president-elect of the Utah Education Association, a statewide teachers union, said her other job is to advocate for strong public schools and to make sure they meet the needs of a diverse student population.

I truly believe in the promise of public education and I knew how important it was for our students to have role models who were resilient and doing everything that we humanly could to make sure that they could continue learning despite the fact that we were teaching during a pandemic and having to readjust continually, she said.

See the original post here:
At the 2-year mark of pandemic, Park City teachers say they've overcome coronavirus challenges - The Park Record

U.S. Market recovers fast; In a release on May 4th 2021, the U.S. Bureau and Economic Analsysis and U.S. Census Bureau mentions the recovery in the U.S. International trade in March 2021. Exports in the country reached $200 billion, up by $12.4 billion in Feb 2021. Following the continuous incremental trend, imports tallied at $274.5 billion, picked up by $16.4 billion in Feb 2021. However, as COVID19 still haunts the economies across the globe, year-over-year (y-o-y) avergae exports in the U.S. declined by $7.0 billion from March 2020 till March 2021 whilest imports increased by $20.7 billion during the same time. This definitely shows how the market is trying to recover back and this will have a direct impact on the Healthcare/ICT/Chemical industries, creating a huge demand for Malaysia Online Education (e-education) Market products.

Download Sample of This Strategic Report-:https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10075379

The Report Title Malaysia Online Education Market has been added by Kenneth Research, provides detailed insights of the market scenario which is further classified on the basis of market size and market volume, along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the market over the forecast period, i.e., 2021-2023.

The online education system is a software application designed to provide education through the use of web services. The system enables the learner to access the service anywhere and anytime across the globe. Advancement in information technology has led the online education system to great horizons. Owing to the presence of international branch campuses coupled with moderate tuition fees, the Malaysian online education market is considered one of the most attractive markets for higher studies across the globe.

The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry.

Malaysias educational capacity and the quality of its educational system is an important aspect of the regional and global markets. The Malaysian government is more focused on building an education system that enhances the unique identity of students by providing the specified education they actually need which can be very easy for the online education platform. The government of Malaysia is partnering with social and private sectors making students better prepared for higher education and the job market.

Market Size & Forecast

Malaysias online education market is anticipated to project a promising compound annual growth rate of 16.4% over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023owing to the strong government initiatives and rising smartphone and tablet users in the country. The Mobile e-learning segment is anticipated to dominate the market over the forecast period. the segment is estimated to account for a market share of 35% by the end of 2023 due to increasing internet penetration and rising mobile and tablet users in the country.

The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry.

Key Players

Appstronic Sdn. BhdDeskeraFrogAsia Sdn BhdSchoology, Inc.HicommandsWhite House Business SolutionsDigital SambaMoodle Pty LtdPearsonAlisonNotable key players.

Table of Content:

Key Answers Captured in Report?

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Growth Drivers and Challenges

The rapid adoption of mobile technology is playing a vital role in the online education system. Students are more comfortable with the online education system these days as they can access the content more effectively and can spend more time in the learning process, this will further spur the growth of the Malaysian online education market. Malaysias government is taking initiatives to promote education through an online platform in order to increase the adoption of technology among the younger generation and to provide affordable and convenient education to overcome the shortage of quality education. The strong government initiatives are pushing students to enroll in the online education platform for higher education; this will further propel the market growth at an ever-increasing rate.

Introduction of new and effective mandates for the digitization of textbooks in the academic sector and promotion of online education platform by providing tablets and laptops to the students of schools, colleges and universities are expected to expand the market growth over the forecast period. The online education system provides advanced technology graphics and simulation which makes easy to understand the concepts. This is further expected to raise the growth of the online education market in Malaysia. The growing need for highly developed IT infrastructure and a lack of professional academic staff are some of the factors that can restrain the market growth over the forecast period.

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Kenneth Research provides scheduled syndicated reports that help industry professionals and organizations decipher market trends to take significant decisions and plan strategies. We cater to a wide range of industries including healthcare & pharmaceuticals, ICT & telecom, automotive & transportation, energy & power, chemicals, FMCG & food, aerospace & defense, among others. Our research team ensures to track and analyze the industry on a regular basis to offer strategic business consultancy services on a global level. We, at Kenneth Research are adept at capturing descriptive insights on crucial topics to help our clients make their informed decisions.Contact Us

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Malaysia Online Education (e-education) Market Size 2022, Share, Growth with Recent Trends, Development, Revenue, Demand and Forecast to 2031 ...

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 21, 2022 / UK Ed-Tech start-up, Sophia Technologies Ltd., is inspiring a better, more equitable vision for the future of education through online education and immersive virtual learning.

A female-founded education technology start-up has announced its arrival in the Metaverse. Sophia Technologies offers a best-in-class affordable online British education program for students from across the globe and has now set its sights on shaping education inside the Metaverse.

London based Sophia Technologies, founded in 2018 by CEO Melissa McBride, is reimagining education in the digital age through its leading British Online School, Sophia High School, and its pioneering Athena Labs Immersive Virtual Reality learning program for children. The company has students in over 24+ countries joining its leading online education program since its launching in September 2020, and its arrival into the Metaverse is the next step of its reimagining education mandate.

Through a partnership with Tokens.com subsidiary, Metaverse Group, they are one of the first British Education providers to enter the Metaverse, in the Ethereum blockchain-based Somnium Space, and is pioneering a vision for a better, more equitable era of education.

Melissa McBride, the Sophia CEO, said the challenge for education is to move from an analogue model to a future of education fit for learning and life in the digital age. But Sophia doesn't just want to be considered as another online school. They believe there is no greater opportunity than to be leaders of the community that is reimagining education in the digital age and embracing the full potential of Web3.

Melissa is part of a growing set of female leaders in Web3 who are already rising to the top as they shape the emerging futuristic internet platforms of the Metaverse. According to a recent estimate, in the crypto landscape, only 5% of companies are being led by women. But in this next version of the online world, it is becoming clear that there is an opportunity for an inclusive, diverse and accessible community, open to whoever is willing to develop in it.

Story continues

McBride, who previously founded several outstanding Independent Schools and worked for global player Cognita Schools, said the metaverse could be the best thing for education.

"The immersive environments of the metaverse opens the door to hands-on real-life activities not possible in the classroom. We have seen that virtual reality experiences engage students in ways that simply have not been possible before. The impact of this learning is felt both inside the VR setting and in the real world. Children learn without them realising it, which is the holy grail of education," she said.

According to Bloomberg, the metaverse is on its way to becoming an $800 billion market by 2024. It's this growth potential and the certainty that students will need to have the skills for life and work in a cyber focused world, which make shaping education inside of the metaverse a compelling proposition.

Everybody in the education world knows that this will eventually happen, but someone has to be the one to get it off the ground. Sophia is happy to be a catalyst but recognises the need for a community to build a world for education in Web3. What this community needs are educators, creators, developers, investors, entrepreneurs, corporations, parents and students to come together. The future is now and this is just the beginning. Sophia believes Metaverse Education raises the potential for an accessible, decentralised, and more equitable vision of education to be achieved. Virtual reality learning has the potential to address the two greatest challenges perhaps facing education; income and geography.

Whilst income is partly addressed through a digital approach (reducing the need for physical school buildings and dramatically driving down the cost of educating students), the most impressive improvement comes from making geography irrelevant.

In a school deployed through online education and virtual reality, students, regardless of their physical location, may find the learning environment and curriculum that best suits their needs and have access to a quality of education not previously available to them. This is the power of a future of education driven by online education. The difference between Sophia's approach and wider technology and business-driven solutions is that Sophia puts the needs and interests of students first.

McBride and her team drive their core philosophy of developing global citizens within their online learning community. Like other organisations looking for ways to support the developing situation in Ukraine, the company has even committed to offering remaining places in the school, for free, to Ukrainian children in their network who have been displaced by the war. We saw it with school closures during covid, and we are sadly experiencing it now with the crisis in Ukraine.' When situations arise that mean children can no longer go to school, online education has the power to bring the school to them, wherever they are in the world.

"It's the right thing to do," says McBride. Global citizenship is a very important part of our purpose and direction. "We believe that online education and virtual reality will play a key role in the development of humankind, and this small gesture is a simple yet powerful way of showcasing the potential digital education holds for the world."

This is education reimagined.

Based in the UK, Sophia is a female-founded fast-growing Ed-Tech Company. With over 60 years of educational leadership experience, Sophia reimagines education for the digital age. It is a leading UK provider of British online education, immersive learning, and VR learning for children of four to 14.

More than just an EdTech company, Sophia is led by a team who share over 60+ years of educational leadership experience in some of the best British schools in the UK and international schools overseas. This deep-rooted expertise in the sector drives their team to innovate through the use of technology in the online educational setting to create a high-quality model of digital learning which is personalised and engaging for students.

Sophia is one of only a handful of online school providers working with both the UK Department for Education towards their soon to launch Online Education Provider Accreditation Scheme and is already a Member School with the globally recognized Council of International Schools.

For Press Enquiries Please Contact:

Melissa McBride (CEO / Founder)Sophia Technologies Ltdmelissa.mcbride@sophia.app+44 79 1720 0587+44 20 4547 5870

SOURCE: Sophia Technologies Ltd

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/693923/The-Female-Founded-Start-up-that-is-Shaping-Education-in-the-Metaverse

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The Female Founded Start-up that is Shaping Education in the Metaverse - Yahoo Finance

For Youth Golfers Looking to Improve Their Game, Laurel Springs' Popular Online, Asynchronous Learning Model Allows Student-Athletes the Flexibility to Train and Receive a Proven Private School Education

ONTARIO, Calif., March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southern California Section of the PGA of America is excited to announce Laurel Springs School as its official online education partner.

As part of the agreement, the leading K12 online private school will have a presence on-site at various SCPGA events in 2022 and through digital mediums, raising awareness of its proven asynchronous learning model for youth golfers who are looking to take their game to the next level.

Laurel Springs has a 30-plus year incomparable track record of successful alumni including collegiate and professional golfers, Olympians, performing artists, professional athletes in all sports, and accelerated learners.

"Our partnership with Laurel Springs School creates a unique opportunity to help our membership set exceptional educational goals through a flexible online approach. Their diverse curriculum is designed to accommodate schedules that foster interests and passions that extend beyond the classroom such as the game of golf," said SCPGA Chief Operating Officer, Nikki Gatch, PGA.

"There are more than 180,000 kids between 12 to 18 years of age, golfing competitively more than two times per week", said Laurel Springs School President, Arra Yeganian. "Through our proven, self-paced, mastery-based educational model, we provide young people the flexibility to pursue their interests and passions. The Laurel Springs model allows student athletes to train, travel, and compete at the highest level, while receiving a top-tier college-preparatory education."

Laurel Springs' Class of 2021 graduates were accepted to 59 percent of NCAA Division I Schools. Ranked by Newsweek in 2021 as one of the best online private schools in America, Laurel Springs' academic experiences help pave each student's learning path and pace.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PGA

The Southern California Section was established in 1924, and today, is comprised of more than 1,700 golf Professionals working at over 500 facilities within the Section. The mission of the Southern California Section (SCPGA) is that Purpose of the PGA of America, to promote the enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to its growth by providing services to golf professionals and the golf industry. The SCPGA provides competitive playing opportunities, educational seminars, and growth of the game initiatives, within a geographic area that stretches from San Luis Obispo to the Tijuana Border, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Nevada and Arizona borders.

ABOUT LAUREL SPRINGS SCHOOL

Laurel Springs School has offered accredited private online K-12 and postgraduate academic programs since its establishment in 1991. Laurel Springs values and encourages student individuality and recognizes the need to aid them in aligning their passions and pursuits with their academic aspirations. By providing expert faculty to teach more than 200 college prep courses paired with a student-driven personalization for academic design and vibrant student life of over 30 clubs and activities, Laurel Springs fosters inquiry, growth, mastery, purpose, and independence within each student. On average, students attending Laurel Springs earn higher than the national average scores on the SAT and ACT, which has led to acceptance to the top colleges and universities. Of the more than 4,500 graduates from over 100 countries, Laurel Springs alumni can be found leading today's business, education, athletics, and entertainment industries. Learn more at http://www.laurelsprings.com

SOURCE Laurel Springs School

Link:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SECTION OF THE PGA OF AMERICA NAMES LAUREL SPRINGS SCHOOL ITS OFFICIAL ONLINE EDUCATION PARTNER - PR Newswire

Wondrous are all those success stories that are grown from the ground up, and most importantly, those that were created with pure intent to spread the good among others. Very few brands and businesses across sectors have been able to deliver on what they promise and add value to peoples lives. To be able to do that in current times, when competition is too fierce, is no cakewalk for any education platform, but Just Tutors emerges as an exception and stands unique from the rest in the industry. Just Tutors has truly become one of the most trusted online education platforms, turning into a well-renowned global ed-tech company that has garnered headlines all over the world.

Amit drew the success path forJust Tutors, leveraging and optimizing his years of experience in building an online education business in 16+ countries, emphasizing the importance of teacher-learner bonding to make learning more fruitful. The whole framework of Just Tutors today is about standardizing delivery by teachers by appointing only full-time employees and shying away from the industry standard of freelancing. This has encouraged the concept of hiring only full-time teachers who can take full ownership of learners. Just Tutors makes this possible by providing constant feedback to teachers via thorough quality audits and also providing quality training programs for required improvements.

The USP of Just Tutors is its prime focus on its personalized approach in education, making it a hyper-personalized education platform, offering 1:1 classes on Maths, Science, and English for students in Grade 1-10.

The platform is currently helping students in more than 12 countries that follow British Curriculum, IB, US Curriculum, Australian and Indian Curriculum. Besides this, Just Tutors has also introduced Global Tutoring Solution, combining technology seamlessly with the human touch to give a highly personalized 1:1 learning for K10 students. They take full ownership of learner growth by not only improving the academics but also the overall confidence. Their teaching framework was developed after nine years of rigorous and extensive research, and the custodians of this framework are a team of senior academicians.

With online classes given in a controlled environment, they carry out quality audits and provide frequent academic reviews to give an enthralling education experience. Picking the practices in education from Europe and US and implementing the same in the controlled education ecosystem has also led Just Tutors to become the best in the industry.

The founding team includes Rakesh Jena, an IIM Indore graduate with over 10+ years of leadership experience in sales and business operations; Jai Narayan Yadav, a technocrat with an eye for futuristic technologies; and Nivedita Saxena, an educator with over 23 years of experience in online and offline education, who are more than glad that they are taking the right steps in online and offline education.

Just Tutors is growing globally and has plans to capture a sizeable chunk of the Middle East market by the end of FY23. The ed-tech company is driven to focus more on education than tech to ensure childs growth by giving personalized attention and developing a strong teacher-student bond. Vindicating their approach are feedbacks where some of the Just Tutors' students have got merits of being the most improved students of their batch in their respective schools.

(Sponsored Feature)

Read this article:
Global ed-tech company Just Tutors delivering one-of-a-kind learning experience - Zee News

John Broadwater teaches English online to students around the world, and one of his students is a 5-year-old boy named Milan who lived in Kyiv until the Russian invasion began.

A teacher in Maryland is working to help a family that had to flee its home in Ukraine.

Your heart kind of breaks for them, said John Broadwater, of Allegany County, Maryland.

Broadwater teaches English to students around the world through an online education platform called Outschool, and one of his students is a 5-year-old boy named Milan, who lived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv until the Russian invasion began.

They were woken up by the bombings and they had to pack up and leave right away, Broadwater said. They were in a survival mode.

Broadwater said he has talked with the family frequently, including through a video call on Wednesday.

According to Broadwater, the family was able to make it to Romania and then Denmark. He launched a GoFundMe page to help with living expenses.

This is one small way that I can personally help someone who Ive taught online, Broadwater said.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, sharply criticized Russia in a speech in front of the U.N. General Assembly, saying, In one month, Russia caused the fastest-growing humanitarian catastrophe in the world.

According to the U.N., about 10 million Ukrainians a quarter of its population have fled their homes and are now displaced in the country or among the 3.6 million refugees; 12 million need aid and 5.6 million children are unable to go to school.

The White House announced Thursday that Washington would increase its humanitarian assistance by welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and providing an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies.

The announcement came as President Joe Biden and world leaders gathered in Brussels for summits in response to the Russian invasion, seeking new ways to limit the economic and security fallout from the conflict.

Russian authorities maintain they did not start the war and have repeatedly and falsely decried reports of Russian military setbacks or civilian deaths in Ukraine as fake news. State media outlets and government officials insist Russian troops target only military facilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Maryland teacher works to help family that fled Ukraine - WTOP

On Thursday, March 24, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, in accordance with a proclamation from President Biden, announced that all U.S. and Nebraska flags are to be flown at half-staff to honor former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who passed away on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.

Albright served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 and as Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001.

Flags will be lowered to half-staff immediately and return to full staff at sunset on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

The full proclamation can be read on the White House website.

Located in one of Americas best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraskas premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

Follow UNO on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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Flags Lowered to Honor Madeleine Albright | News - University of Nebraska Omaha

UGC head M Jagadesh Kumar talks about how the common entrance exam for central universities wont make board exams irrelevant but will take the pressure off students. This session was moderated by Sourav Roy Barman, Senior Correspondent, The Indian Express.

First of all, we need to see what is the purpose of education. Is it to get high scores of 99 per cent or is it to become a well-rounded person and a good learner? For too long, we have unnecessarily driven our children to achieve high scores rather than encourage them to be good learners. If the student gets admission in a top college of his or her choice, what would he/she like to be? The student has to continue to be a good learner. And if you want to be a good learner in your college, you must have been a good learner even in your school. So, if I neglect my board exams, just because I have to focus on my entrance examination, then that is going to defeat the very purpose of my entire education. As parents and educators, it is very important for us to emphasise that your primary goal is to be good learners, to become a well-rounded human being. Your goal is not scoring high percentages. I think we need to drive this into the minds of both parents and students.

Why would Class XII board exams become redundant? The universities will still use these marks as a qualifying mark for admission. For example, some universities may set this benchmark at 60 per cent of Class XII results. Some universities may set 70 per cent as the qualifying mark or to be eligible to apply for admission in a university. So, once you have crossed 65 or 70 per cent, whatever be the threshold set by the university, you dont have to be stressed to get 98 per cent. Even if you get 70 per cent, if that is the qualifying mark, then your actual admission will depend on the CUET score. The Class XII education will not become redundant.

Will it lead to a huge coaching industry training our students for CUET? Look at the IIT, for example. The entire IIT system has about 16,000 seats and nearly a million students compete for them. But if you look at the 45 central universities take, for example, Delhi University alone it has 70,000 seats. And if you look at all the central universities, there will be a couple of lakhs of seats in the undergraduate programmes. And the same one million students are competing for these seats. So, its a kind of 1:5 as compared to 1:50 or 1:60 kind of competition. Therefore, my belief is that CUET wont fuel any coaching industry.

The five pillars on which the NEP is built are access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability. For us, access and equity to high-quality education is of primary importance. If you look at students from rural backgrounds or remote areas, they dont have access to high-quality public education. I come from a village and I know the ecosystem there has a lot of disturbance and the students may not be able to focus on their studies. As a result, they may not get 98 or 99 per cent. But they are really talented people. With the introduction of CUET, without the cut-throat competition to get 98-99 per cent, we are providing a level-playing ground for students who come from different economic backgrounds and are geographically distributed across the country.

The other reason is that we have seen non-uniformity in awarding marks for the Class XII across boards. For students of some boards, where evaluation is really tough, even getting 80 per cent is difficult, while in others, it is easy to get even 95 per cent. So, this diversity leads to a lot of inconvenience to students and is not a level-playing ground.

The NCERT syllabus is widely accepted across the country. Were aware that there are some differences between the state syllabus and the NCERT. Now, Im sure when our experts set the question papers, some of these issues will be taken into account. These exams are not going to be like the IIT exams, which are supposed to be among the toughest in the world. Im sure our experts will moderate the difficulty level. And the questions will be confined to the Class XII NCERT syllabus alone, not some advanced version. So, whether youre coming from a rural or urban background, it should not make much difference.

Some people have also said, children from rural background are not much familiar with a computer-based test. I come from a village and I interact with children there. They are very smart. Those who are saying that they cannot use computers, do not have the ground reality in the villages. In a computer-based test, all you need to use is the mouse. On the screen, you choose from the multiple-choice questions, work out the solutions on a piece of paper and choose using a mouse. Thats going to be an easy task. The CUET will be conducted in 13 languages: English and 12 Indian languages. So, if a student has studied in the local language or in their mother tongue, they can opt to write this exam in their mother tongue. NTA (National Testing Agency) will take special measures to ensure that exam centres are accessible to the students. Our goal is to see that a large number of students, who are not necessarily from the urban areas but from rural areas, take the CUET test.

One of the solutions suggested in the NEP is the introduction of digital technology in higher education. If you continue to construct physical campuses, at this rate, we will not be able to meet the needs of the millions of students who will be coming into higher education. So, what the UGC has done is to focus on offering online education to the students who could not join a physical university. There are two things that we are doing one is the establishment of a digital university. We are also amending the current online regulations.

Its available on the portal. This portal will provide you with information on all kinds of undergraduate programmes that are available. You will have technical experts who will source the best of the courses that are available from educational institutes within the country and also from abroad. The IITs and the best central universities, which are going to offer some of these courses, will be the spokes of this digital university. The edtech companies will provide the technological support for conducting the online assessments for providing the students information on career development, career growth, and also bringing the employers face to face with the students so that a matchmaking happens. Our goal is that in the next six to eight months, we should have a complete picture of this digital university. And our goal is that by the academic session of 2023, the digital university should be in place to offer the courses.

One is the social aspect. You are saying that if I dont go to a physical university, I miss out on meeting my own peers and developing networking. That is true. But imagine the other side. I come from a village. At the age of 10, I left my family to go to a nearby town to live away with my parents and study. From there, I went to a city. I stayed away from my parents for long. Now imagine if I didnt have to go out of my village, and if I could access this online education, I would have stayed with my parents. Socially, I would have bonded much more with my own place, with my own people. Therefore, its a question of, from which side you see, is it half full, or half empty?

The other factor is that the focus will be more on online education, to the extent that we will neglect physical education. Please remember that online education cannot be given in all disciplines. In many disciplines, you need a lab, you need real experiential learning. Im sure if I do an online MBBS degree, you will not come to me, right? So, there are going to be a lot of other disciplines for which we need to continue to develop the physical infrastructure. But even there, digital technology will play a much larger role. Physical universities will continue to be built. But there are emerging areas like data science, data analytics, financial management, and fintech. These are areas in which a large number of jobs are going to be generated. And if you dont have physical infrastructure to train our aspirational youth, and if you are simply waiting for years for them to be built, what will happen to their future? This is where digital technology, the digital university will play a major role.

Did anyone from JNU object to this? Did anyone who might have thought that those characters are actually representing me, object? I have not seen anybody objecting to that. So let us leave it there. Youre saying that this film targets JNU, but in JNU itself, those people who are apparently represented in this movie have no problem with that. Let people watch it and then make sense of whatever they want to make of it.

The competition for admission in some of the best higher educational institutions will continue to be there. Globally, dont we see people aspiring to get admission into some of the well-known universities? But with the introduction of CUET, even if I get, lets say, only 70 per cent, I dont have to think that its the end of my life, my career. I still have an opportunity to attempt CUET and check out if I can get admission. So, this entire focus on getting only high scores will now go away.

At JNU, we train our students to question the status quo, which is very important. If we can create that kind of openness in the classroom, and in the educational institute, students will become fearless in asking questions and it will lead to creativity and innovation. One of the unfortunate things in Indian society is that we look at failures with repugnance. But what we need to emphasise in our classroom is that failing is a natural phenomenon and that every failure can actually be used as a lesson to improve yourself further.

And this is what happens in JNU. We dont look at failures as something bad. In fact, unlike in many other universities, we have a system known as the zero semester system. If a student feels they dont want to study the next semester because they have a health problem or something else, in any other university, perhaps, he will be out of the system.

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But in JNU, we have created a facility for the students to take off and come back to study. In JNU, the education is highly affordable; the tuition fee in JNU is just Rs 300 per annum and this has enabled a lot of students from economically weaker sections to study at JNU. By the time they pass out of JNU, they are a completely transformed bunch. Only the kind of ecosystem that JNU has can create this transformation.

I think there was some misunderstanding. It was not raising the hostel fees, it was about paying the establishment charges such as electricity and water charges. So, you only pay for what you consume. There was an increasing electricity bill burden on the university. But having said that, we also gave heavy concessions to the students from lower-economic backgrounds. By charging only lightly to the reserved-category students and weaker sections, and by charging the general students who are anyway getting scholarship, our calculation was that we could offset some of the expenditure and use that spend for improving our lab facilities, our research facilities. But ultimately, we withdrew those and then continued with whatever the existing charges were.

Infrastructure will continue to be a challenge and we cannot create it overnight. Can we also look at the possibility of optimum utilisation of our existing resources? I think efficiently using our existing infrastructure also needs to be looked into, while we continuously try to expand the infrastructure. Expansion and introduction of new programmes will stretch the existing capabilities of the universities. But thats how we need to go forward. You cant wait until all the buildings come up and start only then, that will be too late.

If you ask experts, what are the major challenges that human societies are facing today, they will identify three. One is growing inequality. The other is the failing economic systems. And the third one is deteriorating environment. So, the rise in unemployment, perhaps, is a fallout of the failing economic systems. And growing inequality is another major issue. So, as an educator, my challenge will be how to enable my students to acquire appropriate skills, so that they match the requirements of the job sector, which is growing.

This is a multiple-choice-question-based test and it will also have negative marking. There will be a certain weightage for correct marks and certain weightage for wrong answers and so on. Therefore, we expect that there will be enough granularity in order to distinguish studentsthese are all issues we internally discuss and will introduce measures to overcome any challenges that may pop up.

My challenge was to make sure that the research facilities are expanded in the university. When I joined, there was no R&D cell in the university, we established one. Many people dont understand the importance of integrating social sciences with mainstream science and technology education. Our School of Engineering is unique in the entire country, where our engineering students also have the opportunity to do a masters degree in social sciences, languages, humanities, and in other areas.

I will always stand by all the students and teachers. They have every right to protest. However, you may have a right to protest but others have a right to carry out their academic programmes and research. As long as you do not disturb them, do not do anything unlawful, it is perfectly all right for you to go on with your protest.

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Jagadesh Kumar: Even if I get 70%I can take CUET this entire focus on high scores will go away - The Indian Express

NEW YORK, March 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMS), TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL), New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: EDU), and Biogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMS)

Class Period: March 31, 2021 February 1, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 4, 2022

According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1)ELMSs previously issued financial statements were false and unreliable; (2)ELMSs earlier reported financial statements would need restatement; (3)certain ELMS executives and/or directors purchased equity in the Company at substantial discounts to market value without obtaining an independent valuation; (4)on November 25, 2021 (Thanksgiving), the Companys Board formed an independent Special Committee to conduct an inquiry into certain sales of equity securities made by and to individuals associated with the Company; and (5)as a result, Defendants statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

For more information on the ELMS class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ELMS

TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL)

Class Period: April 26, 2018 July 22, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 5, 2022

TAL provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in China.

The lawsuit alleges that defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (i) TALs revenue and operational growth was the result of deceptive marketing tactics and illicit business practices that flouted Chinese laws, regulations, and policies, and exposed TAL to an extreme risk that more draconian measures would be imposed on TAL; (ii) TAL had engaged in misleading and fraudulent advertising practices, including the provision of false and misleading discount information designed to obfuscate the true cost of TALs programs to its customers, the creation of fake customer reviews designed to fraudulently lure new customers to TAL programs, the misrepresentation of teacher qualifications and course qualities, and the marketing of rigged promotional events; (iii) TAL had defied Chinese policies designed to alleviate the burden imposed by tutoring services on students and their families, including by imposing hefty advances and recurring debt payments on course enrollees, by offering courses designed to give affluent students unfair advantages, by holding courses outside of allowable tutoring hours, and by linking for-profit courses to government-mandated schooling; (iv) as a result, TAL was subject to an extreme undisclosed risk of adverse enforcement actions, regulatory fines, and penalties, and the imposition of new rules and regulations adverse to TALs business and financial interests; and (v) consequently, TALs historical growth was not sustainable or the result of legitimate business tactics as represented, and defendants positive statements about TALs business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and lacked a reasonable factual basis.

From March 4, 2021 through March 11, 2021, China held its annual Two Sessions parliamentary meetings. Media reports stated that attendees of the ongoing Two Sessions conference had proposed stricter regulations to rein in the online education industry, such as regulations aimed at enhancing teacher quality, limiting fee scams, reducing market abuse by large players like TAL, and reducing the stress that for-profit tutoring companies had placed on students in the Chinese educational system.

As news of the governments focus on the after-school tutoring industry spread, the price of TAL ADSs began to drop from $76.04 when the market closed on March 5, 2021, to $56.31 by April 1, 2021, a 26% decline.

Then, on May 12, 2021, news reports revealed that the impending government crackdown on for-profit tutoring companies in China would be much more drastic and far reaching than previously publicly known. Sources stated that anticipated rules would include measures such as banning on-campus tutoring classes, the provision of tutoring services during weekend hours, and the imposition of industry-wide fee limitations.

On this news, the price of TAL ADSs dropped 13% over a two-day period.

Then, on June 1, 2021, Chinese regulators announced they had fined 15 off-campus training institutions, including TAL, for illegal activities such as false advertising and fraud. Among the violations by the 15 offenders were reportedly fabricating teacher qualifications, exaggerating the effects of training, and fabricating user reviews. The regulators gave examples of how TALs subsidiary, Xueersi, had advertised false parent user reviews in Beijing and Shanghai. The offending companies, including TAL, were hit with maximum penalties for their illegal business practices, totaling a combined $5.73 million. Officials stated that the crackdown on the for-profit tutoring industry had grown out of the Two Sessions parliamentary meetings held earlier in the year and followed a deluge of complaints against bad industry actors, including 155,000 complaints and reports for education and training services received by authorities in 2020 alone and over 47,000 similar complaints and reports received by authorities in the first quarter of 2021. In addition to the issues outlined above, TAL was reportedly found to have: (i) forced students to pay hefty advances and take on recurring debt payments in violation of Chinese law; (ii) offered courses that gave students unfair advantages in contravention of Chinese government policies; (iii) engaged in illegal bait-and-switch tactics; (iv) misrepresented teacher qualifications and course qualities; (v) mishandled user data; and (vi) rigged promotional events to defraud consumers.

On this news, the price of TAL ADSs dropped approximately 18% over a two-day period.

Finally, on July 23, 2021, China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its education sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital, or going public. This drastic measure effectively ended any potential growth in the for-profit tutoring sector in China.

On this news, the price of TAL ADSs plummeted from $20.52 when the market closed on July 22, 2021, to just $4.40 by market close on July 26, 2021, a nearly 79% decline.

For more information on the TAL class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TAL

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: EDU)

Class Period: April 24, 2018 July 22, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 5, 2022

The Complaint alleges that the Defendants made materially false and misleading statements because they misrepresented and failed to disclose adverse facts about New Orientals business, operations and prospects, which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them, as follows: (a) that New Orientals revenue and operational growth was the result of deceptive marketing tactics and abusive business practices that flouted Chinese regulations and policies and exposed the Company to an extreme risk that more draconian measures would be imposed on the Company; (b) that New Oriental had engaged in misleading and fraudulent advertising practices, including the provision of false and misleading discount information designed to obfuscate the true cost of the Company's programs to its customers; (c) that New Oriental had falsified teacher qualifications and experience in order to attract customers and increase student enrollments; (d)that New Oriental had defied prior government warnings against linking school enrollments with the provision of private tutoring services; (e) that, as a result of the foregoing, New Oriental was subject to an extreme undisclosed risk of adverse enforcement actions, regulatory fines and penalties, and the imposition of new rules and regulations adverse to the Company's business and interests; (f) that the new rules, regulations and policies to be implemented by the Chinese government following the Two Sessions parliamentary meetings were far more severe than represented to investors by defendants and in fact posed an existential threat to the Company and its business; and (g) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and lacked a reasonable factual basis. Additionally, as defendants knew or recklessly disregarded, New Oriental's annual reports misleadingly failed to include information required by SEC rules and regulations.

For more information on the New Oriental class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/EDU

Biogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB)

Class Period: June 7, 2021 January 11, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 8, 2022

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the larger dataset did not provide necessary data regarding aducanumabs effectiveness; (2) the EMERGE study did not and would not provide necessary data regarding aducanumab's effectiveness; (3) the PRIME study did not and would not provide necessary data regarding aducanumabs effectiveness; (4) the data provided by the Company to the FDAs Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee did not support finding efficacy of aducanumab; and (5) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

For more information on the Biogen class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/BIIB

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Brandon Walker, Esq. Alexandra B. Raymond, Esq. (212) 355-4648 investigations@bespc.comwww.bespc.com

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Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed ... - The Bakersfield Californian