The collapse of good labor market opportunities for workers without a college degree is the elephant in the room in higher education policy discussions today. A high school diploma no longer provides a guarantee of financial security, let alone opens the door to the middle class. In response, some lawmakers and advocates have introduced a host of…

Online education is growing rapidly and there is little doubt that it will continue to expand until it one day encompasses the majority of higher education course offerings. Higher education leaders agree that online education will continue to grow even in the face of a slight recent decline (Allen & Seaman, 2013). As the rise of online…

Extended learning opportunities have emerged as a useful way to rethink how schools are organized and funded. That includes reconsidering who teaches and how they go about their work. That effort should be guided by four key policy considerations and goals: 1. Reengineer the role of teacher. 2. Rethink K-12, higher education, and community-based…

Fieldwork is an important and often enjoyable part of learning in Bioscience degree courses, however it is unclear how the recent reforms to Higher Education (HE) may impact the future funding of outdoor learning. This paper reports on the findings from a recent survey of 30 HE Bioscience practitioners from across the UK. Their current level of…

This report is the culmination of the "Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future" series of reports which have considered flexible learning from a range of perspectives. The report proposes fifteen conditions of flexibility to inject new thinking and new practices into an emerging new age. Flexible provision has the potential to…

Proposals in this report would result in greater freedom and flexibility in higher education at less costs and with no loss in quality. The Commission recommends that time required to earn degrees be shortened; that more rewarding alternatives to college be available to youth; and that more opportunities be provided for students to assess…

The Concentrated Study (COS) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is fulltime study of a single subject for a short period with no concurrent academic commitments. Chapter one describes the first trial of COS at MIT. Emphasis is placed on planning and preparation, description of course work and activities, and evaluation.…

In the third regional forum on positive change in teacher education, two themes dominated discussions: the pros and cons of the "fifth-year" plan for teacher education, and the impact and future of standardized testing. In both areas, a major emphasis on traditonally black institutions emerged. This report outlines the discussions, and…

This report summarizes the key discussions of a Conference of Directors of Carnegie-Funded Time-Shortened Baccalaureate Programs. Discussion centered on five major concerns, the nature of the baccalaureate; time shortening: where, when, and how; financing higher education; evaluation; and the dynamics of change. The report suggests that a number…

As various models for future teacher education programs are explored, extended programs of five years or more are frequently considered. Many questions are raised by this concept. Results of a survey of experienced and preservice teachers' and college heads' attitudes toward extended programs are discussed. (DF)

Some recent education reform proposals call for two essential and interrelated structural changes: changes in the organization of teaching, and a change from undergraduate to graduate degree status for initial teacher preparation. This paper examines these arguments for professionalizing teaching, and raises doubts that the goals set forth in the…

PROTEACH is a newly redesigned five-year preservice teacher preparation program at the University of Florida. During progress through the program, the bachelor's degree is obtained, and the program culminates on completion of the master's degree. Program features include emphasis on research and study in fields supplementary to education-related…

The restructuring of teacher education programs must involve a collaboration between members of college faculties involved in producing educational knowledge and those who use the knowledge to train teachers. The restructuring also involves: (1) extending the teacher training period to a minimum of five years; (2) better integration of the…

The University of Nevada at Las Vegas College of Education has responded to numerous calls for educational reform with the establishment of the Committee to Review Teacher Education (CRTE). CRTE is composed of school district administrators, elementary and secondary school principals and master teachers, a State Department of Education…

A mandate to reform the teacher education program on the Columbia Campus of the University of South Carolina was enacted in December, 1982. The mandate was contained in a motion to eliminate the baccalaureate degrees in education, the traditional route to teacher certification then offered. This action did not eliminate teacher education at the…