KevinCarey’s March 5th NYT article is right on the money. Carey asserts that college as we know it will be seriously challenged when free and affordable learning resources are coupled with excellent and valid assessments of learning that are equally affordable. This adds up to very affordable, well-documented evidence of learning that will trump current transcripts and time spent in college with academic and career-relevant … Continue reading The University of Everywhere

I have had the honor and privilege of serving on the National Advisory Board to theMIT OpenCourseware project since its inception in 2001. Through this experience, I learned of the Global Open Courseware Consortium (OCWC), also established by MIT a few years later. OCWC was founded to promote open educational resources and encourage institutions around the world to offer open courses. At last look, OCWC … Continue reading OEC and OC@KU: Putting the Learner First

Open Education Week (OEW) is coming fast upon us; the week of March 9th to be exact. This global, week-long event will touch hundreds of institutions and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of learners and professionals from all stripes of education backgrounds and interests. It is hard to imagine a world without open resources in the learning space for all to use without accruing personal expense … Continue reading Open Education Rocks the World! (#AllAboutOpen)

“If you leave, go out the front door…” That’s what Leon Panetta said to me when I sought his advice about resigning as president of CSU Monterey Bay under fire from a small, but very active group of faculty, staff, and students. Leon was, and still is, the most respected person in Monterey County. He came to CSU after leaving the Clinton White House in … Continue reading “If you leave, go out the front door”

I have often prided myself on being a good “coper;” a person who, when the times and events require it, can simply deal with a negative situation or result and get through it. As one of my sons once told me, when describing a tough patch in his life, “Dad, I have learned that sometimes the best you can do some days is get through … Continue reading “Coping Up”

As a result of my developing relationship with Sister Elizabeth, I came to know Sister Janice Ryan, her close friend, confidant, and successor as President of Trinity College, as well as crusader against land mines and other global issues. The three of us stayed in touch throughout my career, until Elizabeth’s death, and in Sister Janice’s case, up to this day. Sister Janice helped me … Continue reading Sister of Mercy 2 – Janice Ryan

Sister Elizabeth helped me learn, at a tender age, the value of kindness coupled with stern resolve and human values. President of Trinity College in Burlington, Vermont, she would go on to become Secretary of The Agency of Human Services where she was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights — not always a popular issue with the Bishop in the 70’s and 80’s. With these … Continue reading Sister of Mercy 1 – Elizabeth Candon

When I was founding what is now the Community College of Vermont, the Chair of our Board was a man named Alan Weiss. Alan was the superintendent of schools in Montpelier, Vermont, a great educator, and one of the shrewdest people I have ever met. He went on the serve many years in the Vermont Legislature before retiring about 10 years ago. Our strategy for … Continue reading Learn to Read the Room

At OC@KU, we fully understand that learners want choices — among programs, pedagogical modalities, degrees, and price. People want to make up their own minds about these things, which is why we allow them to take control of their education. The OC@KU approach to learning and degrees emphasizes that learners can move themselves towards reaching their personal, academic, and career goals. By documenting what they … Continue reading Putting the Students in Control

We know from Dr. Allen Tough’s research — first published in his seminal book, The Adult’s Learning Projects (Toronto, Canada, OISE, 1971) — that adults learn continuously throughout their lives. In fact, the average adult learner conducts between 8 and 10 such projects each year, committing over 700 hours to these cumulative efforts.  But in the 1960’s, when Tough began his research, we were pre-Xerox machine, … Continue reading The OC@KU Difference