Posts Tagged ‘degree’

Does you’re eLearning Stack Up?

Friday, July 16th, 2010

eLearning is fast becoming a popular classroom alternative for college students and for companies in need of flexible training options. To meet this growing demand for alternative learning options, colleges are finding that to satisfy this need in their markets, they need to be offering the in-demand courses these students need.

With more than 67% of the worlds colleges now offering distance learning, having a catalog of in-demand online offerings is essential to capturing these students. With online education partners, like Gatlin International, you can easily add all sorts of in-demand courses that fit nicely into your current distance learning programming. A partnership with Gatlin International means that you have access to Degree, Professional Certificate and Short Courses. At no cost to the partner, Gatlin International offers a turnkey solution so that you won’t have the burden of expensive development costs associated with creating and delivering online courses.

Today, companies are searching to provide their geographically distributed organization improved capabilities via training and education. As a result, companies are looking to their local colleges for flexible training options that will satisfy the training needs across their organization. Companies are looking to compete in this market and global economies are in need of fast, affordable and relevant training. On-line learning is increasingly perceived as a source of competitive advantage for these companies, especially for organizations that are in multiple companies and have multilingual staff. Employees cans access information as needed and the new skills they learn can be applied immediately, thus reducing delays and lost productivity. Gatlin International offers courses in multiple languages such as Spanish and French.

With an online education partner like Gatlin International, colleges can benefit from our catalog of over 300 courses that appeal not only your community of students but to the business you serve in your area.

Want a Master’s Degree in Facebook or Twitter?

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

College News

“It’s not what you know.  It’s who you know.”

Birmingham City University is proving its faith in the renowned saying by offering a Master’s degree in Social Media.

The British university’s one-year program will offer courses will teach students how to set up blogs, publish podcast and build up their social network using Facebook, Twitter and Bebo to develop their communication and marketing skills in hopes of increasing their chances of getting hired in the future.

The man who assembled the Master’s program, Jon Hickman, said that he had received significant interest from prospective students of the course after he had described its content and will begin offering the $6,200 program in the upcoming school year.

Despite the promising feedback, Hickman has received countless emails querying about the course’s content and others deriding his new and innovative program.  “We’ve had one email saying I should be ashamed” Hickman wrote on his Twitter page.

Professor Tim Wall, head of the university’s School of Media defended the program to the Associated Press, saying that “Social media, built around new technologies, are some of the most profound changes happening to the media at the moment. We are looking forward to sharing the research we are doing in the school with media professionals through the MA course.”

According to Birmingham City University’s web site, the School of Media is hoping students will take advantage of the “opportunity to explore the emerging area of social media through scholarly research and practice.”

The page is set up as a FAQ layout and provides informative answers to pressing questions of the program.

But some students continue to feel that the program is a waste of time and resources, arguing that course’s content is so basic that most can pick the skills up on their own, instead of wasting 48-weeks and a heavy chunk of change on a MA in social media.

Still, studying social networking is hardly a new trend. In 2007, Hung Truong, a 23-year-old graduate of the University of New Mexico began studying the rise of Facebook and other social networking sites. 

How did the site function while being free for its audience?  Why did people become so concerned with fixing false Wikipedia definitions?  He enrolled in a social computing graduate program at the University of Michigan to find out.  Truong and the University of Michigan initiated the trend that may soon now trickle down to elementary schools. 

The Guardian has reported that primary schools in the United Kingdom could be adding web skills and spell check to the curriculum, as technology is becoming an essential in research and education. 

Now after years of teachers being annoyed that their students are on Facebook, they have made adjustments to incorporate the social networking sites into the classroom.

Call for Free Degrees for Jobless

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

BBC

People made unemployed by the recession should be allowed to enrol on part-time degree courses for free, says a think tank representing new universities.

Million+ says fees paid by part-time students are “a barrier they should not have to face”.

It is urging the government to provide the funding to enable fees to be waived for those on job seekers allowance or short-time working.

The government said it was spending £4.7bn on developing the workforce.

Million+, which represents new universities across the UK, says allowing some people to enrol on higher education courses for free would cost the government £400m, but would bring in revenue of £523m.

Unemployed people who go on to gain a degree could stand to gain in excess of £95,000 over their working lives, the think-tank estimates.

It says Jobcentre Plus should provide the scheme as part of a range of options available to those affected by the recession.

Prospects

Part-time higher education students must currently pay fees up-front, whereas full-time students re-pay them after graduating.

This is because part-timers were excluded from the system of loans and grants created by the 2004 Higher Education Act.

Around 40% of students are studying part time, the vast majority of whom are over 21.

Some have their fees paid by their employers, and institutions may waive fees at their discretion.

But there are no regulations concerning how much institutions can charge for part-time courses

Million+ says its scheme would support government objectives regarding investment to meet the economy’s future needs, and would encourage older students to apply.

Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of Million+, said: “If the UK is to avoid a cycle of long-term unemployment, the government will have to look beyond short training courses if it is to improve the re-employment prospects of those with lower qualifications.”

This week, the jobless total in the UK passed two million for the first time since 1997, and the jobless rate jumped to 6.5% in January.

Jobseekers’ allowance varies according to age, but a single person over the age of 25 would be entitled to a maximum of £60.50 per week.

A spokesperson for England’s Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said the government was providing extra money which would create a further 75,000 training places in colleges, and 35,000 apprenticeships over the next year.

“We know that the route to long-term recovery is investing in the development of our workforce which is why the government is spending £4.7bn on adult skills this year and has put in place a substantial package of additional training.”