Author: uclafaculty

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The Pen is Mightier (at the Berkeley B-School)

Byuclafaculty

…Handwritten thank-you notes are apparently in vogue at the UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and not just for recruiters who hold a student’s fate in their hands. Recently, the school set up tables and invited students, faculty and staff to pen personalized notes to Haas donors… Hundreds of Haas students and staff participated in the note-writing effort, with many sharing specifics on how donors’ money directly influenced their education or work… Some of the notes included stories about accomplishments that would not have been possible without funding, such as research projects. Others included drawings… Full story at http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/UC-Berkeley-s-Haas-school-minds-its-manners-4267136.php It’s not known how anxiously donors are awaiting these letters….

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More on the new idea of distance (now online) learning

Byuclafaculty

In the light of the gubernatorial and regental excitement about online education, this blog earlier noted distance learning by TV as early as the 1950s.  But it appears that in the 1920s, there were college credit courses on radio: …In 1915, what would become AMRAD (The American Radio and Research Corporation) opened for business from Medford Hillside, about four miles from Boston… In 1917, AMRAD received a license for station 1XE and experimental broadcasts began on a fairly regular basis that same year…  It was in 1918 that Eunice Randall was hired by AMRAD, as their first woman draftsman; later,…

When do we delete comments?

Byuclafaculty

You may have noticed a few instances on this blog where comments to a posting have been deleted.  Up to now, all of the deletes have been spam.  Spammers put up ads which we surely delete.  Those spammers who are a wee bit cleverer will put up a comment that says something like “what a great post” and then include a link to their websites.  If you are a spammer and happen to be reading this post, kindly get outta here:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcj16EGYYrs?feature=player_detailpage]

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It could be a timing-is-everything-situation

Byuclafaculty

The state controller released his January cash statement for the state.  For the first seven months of the fiscal year, revenues are running over $4 billion ahead of what was anticipated in the original budget.  More than all of this amount is coming from the personal income tax.  I say more than all because sales tax has come in below forecast – suggesting that the underlying economy is not booming.  So why the jump in income tax revenue?  It may be that because of the fiscal cliff, etc., wealthy folks – who account disproportionately for the income tax – did…

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Reality Check on Online Higher Education

Byuclafaculty

Arizona State University (ASU) offers online undergrad and grad degree programs.  It is actively recruiting Californians. Click on http://asuonline.asu.edu/?utm_source=ca-asu-edu&utm_medium=ca-asu-edu&utm_campaign=california-visit If you visit this link, you will be given information in written and video format.  A sample course format is at: http://asuonline.asu.edu/how-it-works/learning-online-at-asu So what is the cost?    The ASU website offers a course calculator: https://students.asu.edu/costs  I used the calculator and entered that I was an Arizona resident, that I was seeking an online undergraduate degree, and that I would be enrolling as a freshman.  The cost per academic year was reported to be $10,792.  Of course, there are no living expenses payable…

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What about the Disney Hypothesis?

Byuclafaculty

An interesting article appears today in the San Francisco Chronicle about debate at UC-Berkeley over the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs.  Was it caused by a comet striking the Earth?  Or something else?  A more precise estimate of the timing of the strike has been produced. But what happened to the Disney hypothesis – which Southern Californians can relate to – that it was all due to too much sunshine and not enough water? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO1dtHJF5bc?feature=player_detailpage]Anyway, you can read the article at:http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Dinosaur-extinction-battle-flares-4261978.php

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Someone Else, Not Me

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today carries a story about various institutions that are offering MOOCs (massive open online courses).  Some of these courses have been approved for college credit by the American Council on Education.  But the institutions offering the courses say they are for other universities; they won’t give credit for the courses to their own students.  Among these institutions is UC-Irvine. All the courses are in technical fields such as math.  …No students at Irvine… will be able to take any of these courses for credit, though. Gary Matkin, UC-Irvine’s dean of continuing education, distance learning and summer session…said…