Engineering Degree Online | Kentucky Education votes for a Diploma Mill?

Posted by bposton on November 8th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Hey so it’s the day after Election Day - did you vote? I did :-)

In the spirit of the election I thought I’d report about a recent political news story from
Kentucky.

It seems that a PAC from the Kentucky Education Association endorsed a state Senate candidate who received his
bachelor’s degree from a “diploma mill.”

The Kentucky Educator’s Political Action Committee recently changed its position to recommend
the Democratic candidate Douglas Goodman instead of the Republican Sen. Elizabeth Tori in the 10th
Senate District.

They first picked Tori as their recommended candidate, but then switched to Goodman after Tori
indicated in a forum that she would be open to a pilot program for school vouchers, which the teachers’
lobby opposes.

Then Goodman, a county magistrate who manages a construction company, says he received his
bachelor’s degree from Kennedy-Western University, which is an unaccredited institution based in Wyoming.

Of course, the PAC says that Goodman’s educational background wasn’t an issue…

And of course, Goodman is against vouchers…

Ah, the politics of it all…:-(

A timely reminder to just vote NO for Diploma Mills

Ben

, , , , , ,

No Comments »

Engineering Online Degree | Online Program Protested

Posted by bposton on November 7th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Did you hear about the protests going on at Florida Tech?

Seems that the Dean of the School of Business, David Steele was fired recently.

It’s alleged (by other faculty members) that he was fired because he disagreed with the board of
trustees over an online undergraduate business degree program the schools was starting.

The students are protesting his firing, and the online program, saying that
all that will be required for an online degree is a high school diploma and
students being 22 years of age or older.

The university says that it already has an online MBA program, and that the
standards for admission to the undergraduate program have not yet be defined.
The program is scheduled to begin in January 2008.

My opinion?

Well, from were I sit in my online degree dorm room, I can understand the student’s point,but
I think the protests are a little premature. I think the university should be given the chance
to determine the adimission requirements and then lets see if those requirements really impact
the traditional progams.

Those students (and faculty it seems) should take a look around. They’d see that a big part
of the future of education will distance and online learning programs.

Just my humble opinion :-)

Ben

 

, , , , ,

No Comments »

engineering degree online : A growing trend towards Technical Training - a case study

Posted by bposton on October 22nd, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

One reason why technical training is seeing a comeback is the increase in partnerships among community/technical colleges, high schools, and employers.

Here’s a great example of that in my home state of North Carolina:

There’s a company in Greensboro, NC called RF MicroDevices. They’ve hooked up with Guilford Technical Community College. Together they’ve developed several programs to help train student operators in “wafer fab”, which turn out integrated computer circuits.

“There’s no place else around here where someone can learn the skills necessary to perform efficiently in our facility,” says Ralph Knupp of RFMD. “Someone who graduates with a bachelor of arts would not arrive bringing the specific experience we need. So vocational training is critical for us to maintain our manufacturing strength in Greensboro.”

North Carolina is probably best know for our textile and furniture industries (High Point Furniture Market, for example). But we’ve seen those industries shrink dramatically in the face of foreign competition. So the state has relied alot on the community college system, which was started in 1958, to retrain displaced workers.

“We did a major study with industry and found that for two-thirds of all bio-tech jobs in this state, no four-year degree was necessary,” says Martin Lancaster, president of the North Carolina Community College system.

So I think there’s a hugh trend here:

First of all, families are struggling to afford the traditional college education. So they’re looking a technical training to learn a hi-tech skill or trade.

Second, employers are struggling to find qualified hi-tech labor. So that has increased the demand for skilled US workers in fields such as aviation mechanics, computer technology, electronics, global positioning, and trades ranging from culinary arts to construction.

It’s a combination that will only grow over time.

Ben

 

, , , , , ,

No Comments »