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November 2019 EdTech Recap
Each month the Yellowdig Team puts together the latest news from the EdTech industry.
Colleges continue to expand their offerings to companies and non-traditional learners at a rapid pace.
* Ride-share company Uber is expanding its education benefits to include food-delivery drivers. Link.
* UMGC and Amazon team up for a better educated IT workforce. The initiative, which officially launches in January, prepares employees for IT industry certifications and associate degrees in IT-related fields through the Amazon Career Choice Program—under which Amazon will pay up to 95% of tuition and fees for hourly employees to receive training and education in high-demand areas. Link
* Are Colleges and Universities Meeting the Online Learning Challenge? There is a massive opportunity to expand potential enrollment to students who might not have the time or financial resources to attend brick-and-mortar institutions. Link
* Virginia Pledges $1 Billion for Tech Talent Pipeline. The commonwealth of Virginia will produce an additional 31,000 technology graduates over the next 20 years Link
Institutions see growing pressure to offer financial aid to students to be able to attract and retain them, amid questions around financial ROI of college.
* A great deal of college tuition inflation has been driven by an enrollment strategy to dole out more institutional aid to a growing number of students. Link
* Tuition revenue growth slows at public, private colleges. Nearly two-thirds of public institutions don't expect net tuition revenue to grow by more than 3% in 2020, while discount rates climb at private schools. Link
* Despite a growing number of jobs requiring a college degree, more students than ever are dropping out of college without finishing a degree. Link
Online/ courses and degrees are starting to rise in their profile within traditional institutions, and are starting to attract necessary resources to be competitive.
* Higher Ed has now split into dual economies: Online and Traditional. Online, about 80 percent work full or part time. In glaring contrast, just 25 percent of residential students work full time, a key economic difference that sets them apart from most academic consequences that follow. Link
* Will online learning help 4-year colleges weather the next recession? Colleges that can scale their distance programs will be better prepared in the event of another downturn that sends more adults back to school. Link
* In the past couple of years, several small private colleges and universities have closed suddenly or struggled. Why? Fewer college age kids. That fact is one public colleges and universities must deal with, too. Link
Ed Dept is starting to change the requirements on academic term length, offering more flexibility to institutions to cater to non-traditional learners.
* Ed Dept loosens requirements for academic term lengths. The changes will make it easier for programs with shorter or longer terms than traditional semesters and quarters to disburse federal aid. Link
Disclaimer: This recap is based on what the Yellowdig team came across in the edtech news media in this month. We do not endorse any 3rd party sources or claim this list is comprehensive.
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