For-Profit Colleges Hope for Republican Gains

For-profit colleges, under fire from the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats, will be rooting for Republicans the mid-term elections, optimistic that Republican gains would ease the pressure on the for-profit sector.

The outcome of the election is expected to have a more immediate effect on the fight over for-profits than on any other federal higher-education policy debate. If Republicans reclaim the House of Representatives, as political forecasters and polls predict, they could block bills aimed at for-profits and attempt to overturn the administration’s proposed “gainful employment” rule, which would penalize programs whose graduates carry unmanageable levels of debt. They could also shift the spotlight from for-profit colleges to higher education as a whole, drawing equal attention to problems at nonprofit institutions.
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What Can Colleges Learn from Facebook?

The popular social networking platform certainly seems to have their students’ attention. Yet if Facebook does add unique value as a teaching platform, that value has so far proven limited.

Where Facebook has shown unique value is as a data-gathering tool. Never has a website been able to learn so much about its users. And that is where higher education should be taking notes, said Angie McQuaig, director of data innovation at the University of Phoenix, at the 2010 Educause conference last month in Anaheim.
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To Save Students Money, Colleges May Force a Switch to E-Textbooks

You’ve heard it before: Digital technologies blew up the music industry’s moneymaking model, and the textbook business is next.

For years observers have predicted a coming wave of e-textbooks. But so far it just hasn’t happened. One explanation for the delay is that while music fans were eager to try a new, more portable form of entertainment, students tend to be more conservative when choosing required materials for their studies. For a real disruption in the textbook market, students may have to be forced to change.
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News Notes

This month, get quick takes on a new brochure on accreditation from CHEA, learn about DETC Executive Director Michael Lambert's new committee appointment, and more.
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DETC Fall Workshop Sees Record Attendance

More than 120 people gathered at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in Denver, Colorado October 3-5 to attend the DETC Fall Workshop—an increase of more than fifteen percent compared to 2009, and an increase of forty percent compared to the 2008 Workshop!

The Fall Workshop featured a dozen richly informative sessions, including a Q&A on Federal Perceptions and Initiatives, a presentation on monitoring faculy communications, and a panel presentation on working with third-party call centers. The Fall Workshop aslo gave attendees the chance to get some hands-on experience during an afternoon of "bring-your-own-laptop" sessions. Attendees could try using video in distance education, building a personal lerning network, or test a variety of Web 2.0 tools to use in education.

You can visit the online workshop program to download handouts and powerpoint presentations from the meeting, and a final copy of the Workshop registration list is online as well.

Photos of the 2010 DETC Fall Workshop have just been added, click here to see a slideshow!

Remember to save the date for the DETC's 85th Annual Conference, taking place April 3-5, 2010 in Williamsburg, VA! Look for more information soon on the DETC website!

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