GPA v Degree Class: a “Goldilocks” solution?

As UK looks at GPA, US considers degree class There has been a debate in UK Higher Education for the past few years about the merits of moving away from traditional degree classifications to a US style Grade Point Average (GPA). A recent piece in the Guardian notes the arguments for moving to GPA in …

Universities learning from cities

More alike than you think? The Chronicle of Higher Education has a diverting piece on what cities can teach Higher Education. Essentially the argument is that there are many similarities and that a long term view is necessary to deliver success: Cities and colleges are more alike than people think. Both are considered economic engines …

‘Digital Intelligence’ for Higher Education

Is this the future? Or just a passing trend? A recent post discussed the possible benefits of learner analytics for delivering a more personalised education. Now we have a broader view as The Chronicle of Higher Education provides an update on Educause, the huge US Education Tech Trade Show in which it is observed that …

It’s started – the Nottingham professional services NOOC

The Changing University: Inside Nottingham is underway   The University of Nottingham professional services NOOC (Nottingham Open Online Course) is underway. Thanks to a great deal of work by many colleagues a first four week course is now open and over 400 members of staff have signed up. The NOOC has been designed especially for …

Norway Doesn’t Like University Rankings

The Norwegian Government Gives a Big Thumbs Down to Global University Rankings The Chronicle of Higher Education has a piece on an analysis commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research of Norwegian universities’ performance in international university rankings. The report concluded that the "top rankings are so based on subjective weightings of factors …

Ghana gets tough on Honoraries

In Ghana, the Accreditation Board is "mad" at honorary degree awards Ghana News reports that the country's Accreditation Board is "mad" at honorary degree awards by unqualified institutions: The conferment of honorary degrees is the prerogative of degree awarding institutions so mandated. Therefore accredited private tertiary institutions operating under the mentorship of chartered, degree-awarding universities …

Launch of the university professional services NOOC

The Changing University: Inside Nottingham - a post just for University Nottingham (UK, China and Malaysia) colleagues An earlier post invited views on the possibility of a University of Nottingham professional services NOOC (Nottingham Open Online Course). Following much discussion and a great deal of work by many colleagues a first four week course is …

THE World University Rankings 2014-15

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are out The waiting is over and the final ranking of the season is now available from THE. All the details of the methodology and regional and subject variations are available on the THE rankings site. The claim is that they are "the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons …

A campus facilities arms race?

It's all about the aquatics apparently I've posted before about the growth of luxury student accommodation in the US. Now the Education Advisory Board has a report on what it says amounts to a recreation facilities arms race on US campuses: Auburn University has a 45-person paw-print shaped hot tub, Pensacola Christian College has a …

The Promise of Personalized Education

Is this the future of student support? There has been a lot of talk of late about learner analytics and the potential benefits in terms of tracking student performance and identifying and intervening where they are at risk of dropping out. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a story on a number of companies who …

Applying to uni via video

Better than qualifications? The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting story on the use of videos in university applications. Whilst some institutions have been encouraging students to submit videos as supporting information, it seems at least one has now gone further and is offering students the opportunity to provide them as the primary selection …

Outsourcing student recruitment

Australian colleges trust to agents Very surprised by this piece in @insidehighered which notes that agents have expanded their reach into domestic higher education recruitment in Australia: When the Australian Skills Quality Authority examined 400 college websites during last year’s marketing audit, as many as 70 turned out to belong to brokerage firms rather than …

Tooled up campus security

Guns and Grenades for University Security Earlier this year I posted on the acquisition of an armoured truck by security at Ohio State University. The Chronicle of Higher Education has since discovered that other US universities have also taken advantage of the opportunity to buy surplus army kit including grenade launchers, M-16s, and armoured vehicles: …

New 2014/15 QS World University Rankings

The latest QS world league table is out Full details of the rankings can be found at the QS website. A summary of the world top 10 follows where we find MIT retaining the top spot for a third consecutive year but really not a lot to grab the headlines here: Global top ten 1 …

Dialogue through technology

Dorm Room Diplomacy   Intrigued to learn about the activities of an organisation called Dorm Room Diplomacy which gets groups of students together from around the world, via videoconferencing, to engage in dialogue aimed at promoting greater international understanding: Founded by students at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, Dorm Room Diplomacy fosters intercultural dialogue …