Online Colleges: Ready for Some Respect

At least 28 more plan to seek one

(NEWSER) - Ten of the first 11 states to apply for a waiver from the controversial No Child Left Behind law will be freed from the law's requirements by President Obama today, the AP reports. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee received the waivers; New Mexico's application was not approved, but it is working with the White House to get the OK. Another 28 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are expected to seek waivers in the future; the heavily populated states of California, Pennsylvania, and Texas are among those that have not yet signaled they will apply. More»

Introduces plan to control tuition costs

(AP) - President Barack Obama today called for an overhaul of the higher education financial aid system, warning that colleges and universities that fail to control spiraling tuition costs could lose federal funds. Speaking to students at the University of Michigan, Obama said he was "putting colleges on notice" that the era of unabated tuition hikes is over. "You can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year. If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down," Obama said on the final stop of a three-day post-State of the Union trip to promote components of his economic agenda. More»

Oversubscribed schools aim to accommodate unusual schedules

(NEWSER) - College students are famous for burning the midnight oil; now, professors are joining them. A "handful of colleges" throughout the US are offering late-night classes for their students—particularly those with kids or late shifts at work, USA Today reports. Leading the way are community colleges where enrollment is outpacing capacity. The odd hours allow classes to use campus space that’s filled throughout the day. More»

If they agree to his education reform push

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama is today offering states a deal: If they adopt his preferred education reform policies, he’ll let them waive some of the more stringent and unpopular provisions of the No Child Left Behind law—most notably the 2014 deadline for making all students proficient in reading and math. “Our administration will provide flexibility from the law in exchange for a real commitment to undertake change,” Obama said in a statement. More»

College presidents predict big increase in education via the web

(NEWSER) - Online education will be booming over the next decade, according to a new Pew survey of college presidents. Some highlights, as noted by Today's Digital Life :

• Half of the presidents surveyed say most undergrads will take at least some classes online in 10 years, up from the current estimate of 15%.
• 62% say more than half of textbooks will be digital in 10 years.