Category: U of Pennsylvania

Loneliness of the long distance MOOC runner

In a recent study at the U of Pennsylvania, it turned out – as many other studies have noted – that few takers of MOOCs actually complete the course.  What’s interesting about the study is that many takers don’t even start them.

Emerging data from a University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) study show that massive open online courses (MOOCs) have relatively few active users, that user “engagement” falls off dramatically—especially after the first 1-2 weeks of a course—and that few users persist to the course end. Presented today by Laura Perna and Alan Ruby at the MOOC Research Initiative Conference in Texas, the findings are from the newly established Alliance for Higher Education & Democracy at Penn GSE…

Across all courses, about half of those who registered viewed at least one lecture within their selected course…

Full article at http://www.gse.upenn.edu/pressroom/press-releases/2013/12/penn-gse-study-shows-moocs-have-relatively-few-active-users-only-few-persisti

Yale & Penn Sue Defaulting Students But UC Doesn’t

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 Coolidge, associate director of student financial support for the University of California system. They may be more likely to pay back private student loans first because they can carry much higher interest rates, she said. Perkins loans are given to the most at-risk students, and “they may have the least ability to pay it back,” Coolidge said…

The University of California system tries to use its own personnel before suing Perkins debtors because balances are relatively small, said Coolidge. When borrowers don’t have assets or income, winning a judgment doesn’t actually result in collecting the money, she said. “It’s not that we wouldn’t do it,” she said. “It’s not that practical.”

Full story at http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22530769/schools-sue-graduates-amid-record-defaults-federal-loans

If they ain’t got it, it’s hard to get it:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ZD9cFk7DM?feature=player_detailpage]