Florida International University Cultivates Veterans and Vegetables

When veterans return home from active duty, many face a difficult question: what’s next? Florida International University (FIU) is hoping to answer that question with its new Veterans and Small Farmers Outreach program.

ACE Endorses Call to Action for American “Innovation Imperative”

ACE was among the business, industry, higher education, science, and engineering groups yesterday issuing an urgent call to action for stronger federal policies and investment to drive domestic research and development.

Old Dominion University Offering Apprenticeships and Degrees

Inside Higher Ed has a great look at an apprentice program started at Old Dominion University that allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or electrical engineering while also working full-time as an apprentice at a local shipyard.

VIDEO: Revisiting Apprenticeships

This video accompanies ACE’s newly released paper, “Revisiting Apprenticeships,” which explores how an ancient concept is becoming a hot topic in American higher education.

How to Explode a Myth: Reshaping the Conversation About the Liberal Arts

Higher education leaders are living and leading in the context of increased public scrutiny, demands for greater public accountability, and a “new normal” of constrained resources. Educational leaders must redouble our efforts to clarify the essential components of a high-quality college degree and provide evidence on that oft-repeated and anxiety-generated question: Is college really worth it?

Where Are the Women in STEM?

From decades of widely reported and debated research, we know that women have been enrolling in and graduating from college in greater numbers than men since the 1980s. But there is one area where the increased presence of women is notably missing—the so-called STEM fields: with the greatest disparities occurring in the important fields of engineering and computer science.

Going International

For many United States colleges and universities, increasing international student enrollment has become a strategic priority. Such students often pay full tuition, and amid state funding and other cutbacks, admissions offices are increasingly reaching across national borders in their recruiting campaigns. But that’s not the only reason to go international, writes Robin Matross Helms.

General Education, the Four-Year Degree and Employment: What Needs to Change?

Which segment of the four-year degree is supposed to enhance students’ employable skills and prepare them for a job? Most would probably think, the courses in their degree major. But increasingly, employers are saying they can train employees in the specialized technical skills associated with their jobs. It’s the intangible skills that they hope will be taught by colleges and universities.

Mary Sue Coleman Tells Universities to Innovate, Disrupt, Repeat

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman kicked off ACE’s 96th Annual Meeting Sunday afternoon with the Atwell Lecture, the traditional opening to the meeting each year. Her focus was on the need for universities to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, using her own institution and state–which was hit earlier and harder by the 2008 recession… Read more »

VIDEO: Close the Innovation Deficit

Innovation Deficit:  The gap between actual and needed federal investments in research and higher education at a time when other nations such as China, India and Singapore are dramatically boosting research funding to develop the next great technological and medical breakthroughs. More at www.innovationdeficit.org/. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #InnovationDeficit.

SUNY Aiming to Increase Access and Completion with Online Offerings

Open SUNY, a new online initiative from the State University of New York, is pioneering efforts to expand access for current and future students to the 64-campus system. The program aims to maximize access to online courses worldwide and provide students with a better opportunity to complete their degrees and achieve success in the competitive… Read more »

Now What? Some Insights From OECD’s Adult Skills Survey

We’re not learning only in the classroom anymore—and maybe we never were. A new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report shows that throughout the world, the workplace is a critical learning environment. The question is, what does that mean for educational policy and adult learners?