News

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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…

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Two Charts from the UCLA Anderson Forecast Worth Pondering

Byuclafaculty

Economist says California at risk of losing its educational advantage Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star, February 5, 2013 SACRAMENTO — A senior economist with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast warned lawmakers Tuesday that California is at risk of losing what has long been one of its top economic advantages, a workforce that is better educated than those in other states. Jerry Nickelsburg told members of an Assembly panel (that)… California still leads the nation in percentage of college-educated adults, calling that statistic “a reflection of our advantage in skills.” But Nickelsburg disclosed census data that shows the state’s advantage has disappeared among…

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Yale & Penn Sue Defaulting Students But UC Doesn’t

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Daily News:Needy U.S. borrowers are defaulting on almost $1 billion in federal student loans earmarked for the poor, leaving schools such as Yale and the University of Pennsylvania with little choice except to sue their graduates. The record defaults on federal Perkins loans may jeopardize the prospects of current students since they are part of a revolving fund that colleges give to students who show extraordinary financial hardship. Yale, Penn and George Washington University have all sued former students over nonpayment, court records show…  Repaying Perkins loans may be a lower priority for borrowers with multiple debts, said Nancy…

Don’t Waste Your Money Listening to Social Scientists

Byuclafaculty

House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor is anxious to cut funding for social sciences, especially poli sci, according to Inside Higher Ed today: Cantor… called for cutting federal funding for research in the social sciences, with the goal of “reprioritizing existing federal research spending,” he said. “Funds currently spent by the government on social science – including on politics of all things – would be better spent helping find cures to diseases.” In doing so, Cantor revived prior efforts by House Republicans to end federal funding for research that goes beyond basic medicine…  Full story at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/06/cantor-supports-rubio-wyden-salary-disclosure-act-criticizes-funding-political  Oddly, these words were delivered…

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Magical Thinking on Online Higher Ed to Spread to Legislature

Byuclafaculty

From the Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert blog we learn that legislative Democrats are going to be educated on online higher ed: (excerpt) Senate Democrats will be gathering for a policy retreat at the Stanford Mansion today…  Democrats will be mapping strategy for the year ahead, and Capitol Alert has learned that online education guru Sal Kahn will be speaking. Kahn’s presence underscores the serious attention online education has been getting, including from Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, as a way to educate more students for less. The University of California regents have lent their support to the idea as Brown pushes the university system…

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The Moral: It’s a Good Idea to Avoid the Rush

Byuclafaculty

From Inside Higher Ed today… Maybe it was inevitable that one of the new massive open online courses would crash. After all, MOOCs are being launched with considerable speed, not to mention hype. But MOOC advocates might have preferred the collapse of a course other than the one that was suspended this weekend, one week into instruction: “Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application.” Technology and design problems are largely to blame for the course’s problems. And many students are angry that a course about online education — let alone one offered by the Georgia Institute of Technology — wouldn’t…

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Yeah, sure. We believe you, Mark.

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Times:…Governor Jerry Brown suddenly became active in UC policies and Mark Yudof resigns. Is there any connection?There is really no connection because I’ve been pondering [resignation] for a long time. The governor is extraordinarily intelligent, he is extraordinarily passionate. It does require some energy to respond to his ideas, but I’m fine with that. That would not be a reason to move on. If anything, I have some confidence that out of this passion of the governor, some very positive things for the university can come… Of course, we believe you, Mark…[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjTVYQ-Xcg?feature=player_detailpage]…But there were the good old…