UMass Global Will Pursue to Be a National Powerhouse in Online Adult Education

UMass Global, the new brand created by the University of Massachusetts after purchasing of California-based Brandman University, plans to become a national powerhouse on adult education by implementing an ambitious growth strategy. It will directly compete with Southern New Hampshire and Western Governors University. UMass Global announced that it will build on Brandman’s track record of helping employers build talent pipelines. Marty Meehan, President at The University of Massachusetts, stated that "UMass Global will be essential to millions of adults in Massachusetts, California and across the nation as job markets have been disrupted and employer needs and priorities have shifted." The target audience of UMass Global, a nonprofit affiliate of UMass, will be adult learners seeking to complete their degrees and accelerate their economic mobility. It took two and a half years and discussions with more than 100 potential partners to approve this initiative. Finally, this week, the University of Massachusetts and Chapman University announced the transfer of control of Brandman University to UMass. "UMass has found an excellent partner in Brandman University as both institutions push forward with meeting the growing needs of adult learners," said Chapman University President Daniele Struppa. Chapman began serving the active military in the late 50s, which eventually grew into what is now a recognized leader in adult learning in Brandman. About 36 million Americans have some college but no degree, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.  

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Six Hundred Students of the American University of Afghanistan Left Under the Taliban Regime

As U.S. troops left Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war, but failed to defeat the Taliban, hundreds of students, their relatives, and staff of the American University of Afghanistan were turned away and couldn’t evacuate. According to The New York Times, the university administration sent an email on Sunday to approximately 600 students and alumni to go home, as there would be no more rescue flights. The group stayed seven hours in a safe house, waiting for permission to enter the airport. Moreover, the gathering was alarmed after learning that their names had been shared with the Taliban fighters guarding the airport checkpoints. When the Taliban took over Kabul on Aug. 15, one of the first sites they captured was the modern American University campus. Men in traditional Afghan outfits bearing AK-47 rifles brought down the university flag and raised the flag of the Taliban. The Taliban commented on social media that this University was where America had trained infidel “wolves” to corrupt the minds of Muslims. In 2016, the Taliban attacked the campus with explosives and guns in a terrorist assault that lasted 10 hours and killed 15 people, including seven students. The American University of Afghanistan opened in 2006, receiving most of its funding from the United States Agency for International Development, which gave $160 million. It was one of the U.S.A.I.D.’s largest civilian projects in Afghanistan.

LEGO Education Launches a Hands-On, Playful Set for Primary School Students

LEGO Education announced this month a hands-on STEM program and set for primary school students in grades 1 to 5 intended to engage them through playful problem-solving and storytelling. SPIKE Essential is part of a suite of solutions that includes SPIKE™ Prime, Education BricQ Motion Essential, and Education BricQ Motion Prime. Denmark–based Lego states that "its learning system puts students on the path to become resilient and independent thinkers, while sparks joy and a love of learning in students that never stops." The LEGO Learning System also claims that it allows cultivating essential skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. SPIKE Essential costs $275, which can be shared by up to two students at a time and comes with five hardware components and 449 bricks. It offers 50 combined hours of educational content. Each unit includes: A unit-wide theme: Great Adventures, Amazing Amusement Park, Happy Traveler, Crazy Carnival Games, and Quirky Creations A learning sequence with one introductory lesson, several guided practice lessons, and one open-ended project 7-8 lessons Additional 30+ minute language arts and math extensions for each lesson 6-10 hours of content

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Student Debt Cancelled by the Federal Government Reaches $9.5 Billion for 563,000 borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will cancel $1.1 billion in student debt for 115,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute and didn't complete their degree. Since January 2021, the total amount of debt canceled approved by the Federal Government reaches $9.5 billion, affecting over 563,000 borrowers. Still, President Joe Biden remains under pressure from Democrats, advocates, and borrowers to go further and cancel $50,000 per borrower in student debt for all. Under the U.S. Department of Education, borrowers who attended an institution that shut down between November 1, 2013, and July 1, 2020, will receive a discharge. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona [in the picture above] addressed the wrongdoing of ITT and other predatory institutions, highlighting the need for accountability throughout the federal financial aid system. "For years, ITT hid its true financial state from borrowers while luring many of them into taking out private loans with misleading and unaffordable terms that may have caused borrowers to leave school," he said.  

Learning a New Skill Results in a Raise of $12K a Year, According to the Top Paying Certifications Research

Cybersecurity and cloud-related courses are the top-paying certifications in the corporate world, with salaries over $150,000, according to research released last week by Global Knowledge, a Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL) owned company. Corporate digital learning company Global Knowlege extracted data from over 3,700 U.S. IT professionals and decision-makers. Its 15 Top-Paying Certifications List reveals the most in-demand skills and technology areas for organizations, as well as the average salaries associated with them. It also points out that learning new skills or earning a certification can result in a raise upwards of $12,000 a year. "Certifications are an excellent way of infusing vital skills into an organization while boosting employee productivity and investing in ongoing professional development," said Michael Yoo, General Manager at Boston-based Skillsoft. The research states that 76% of decision-makers struggle with the existing skills gaps, are challenged with talent recruitment and retention, and face overwhelming workloads. This is the list: Google Certified Professional Data Engineer — $171,749 Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect — $169,029 AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate — $159,033 CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control — $151,995 CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional — $151,853 CISM – Certified Information Security Manager — $149,246 PMP® – Project Management Professional — $148,906 NCP-MCI – Nutanix Certified Professional – Multicloud Infrastructure — $142,810 CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor — $134,460 VCP-DVC – VMware Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualization 2020 — $132,947 MCSE: Windows Server — $125,980 Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate — $121,420 CCNP Enterprise – Cisco Certified Network Professional – Enterprise — $118,911 CCA-V – Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization — $115,308 CompTIA Security+ — $110,974   [ Disclosure: IBL Education, the parent company of IBL News, works for Global Knowledge / Skillsoft ]

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UMass Global Will Pursue to Be a National Powerhouse in Online Adult Education

Scottish Peter Vardy Foundation Launches an Open edX-Based Platform to Educate GenZ Leaders

The Ten Top Most Valuable EdTech Start-Ups: A Mix of Chinese, Indian, and American Companies

Tutor.com Reaches 21 Million One-to-One Tutoring Sessions

Six Hundred Students of the American University of Afghanistan Left Under the Taliban Regime

LEGO Education Launches a Hands-On, Playful Set for Primary School Students

Andrew Ng-Backed Education Company Workera.ai Raises $16 Million

"With OPMs, Colleges Forfeit Their Future," Explains Robert Ubell In His Latest Book

Udemy Acquires Group Learning Platform CorpU

Student Debt Cancelled by the Federal Government Reaches $9.5 Billion for 563,000 borrowers

Learning a New Skill Results in a Raise of $12K a Year, According to the Top Paying Certifications Research

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