BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Disney Aspire, The Walt Disney Company's 100% tuition-paid education plan for more than 94,000 hourly employees and Cast Members, welcomes Purdue University Global and Southern New Hampshire University to its network of schools. Eligible employees and Cast Members can now pursue a degree in Cloud Computing, Digital Photography, Legal Studies and Higher Education Administration, among others. This is in addition to the more than 300 programs in the current Disney Aspire network offered by universities and education providers, including University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, Valencia College, Brandman University, University of Florida Online, University of Denver, Wilmington University and Bellevue University.

"We are committed to providing our employees every opportunity to realize their hopes and dreams at the workplace and beyond," said Jayne Parker, senior executive vice president and Chief HR Officer, The Walt Disney Company. "We are excited to add Purdue University Global and Southern New Hampshire University to our best-in-class Disney Aspire program, which now offers even more choices for our employees to create the futures they imagine for themselves."

About Disney AspireDisney Aspire is the most comprehensive education investment program of its kind, offering more than 300 degrees and programs at 13 educational institutions nationwide in concert with Guild Education. The Company has committed $150 million to fund Disney Aspire over the first five years of the program and will add up to $25 million more each year after that. Disney Aspire is designed to remove key barriers to enrollment and support working adults in a multitude of ways, including:

Since Disney Aspire's launch in August 2018, more than 12,000 students have actively enrolled in classes and more than 500 have completed programs and graduated.

Purdue Global, part of the Purdue University system, delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of working adults. Southern New Hampshire University was named one of the nation's Best Regional Universities by US News & World Report, ranking as the Most Innovative School in the northern region.

"Disney Aspire continues to lead the way as one of the most comprehensive employee education programs in the country and we are proud that SNHU's workforce-relevant degree programs will now be available to Disney employees and Cast Members," said Paul LeBlanc, university president and CEO, Southern New Hampshire University. "Our collaboration with Disney will expand access to education for thousands of Disney employees and will allow them to further their career and personal ambitions without taking on any debt."

"We are proud to work with Disney, an organization known for its commitment to quality in everything it does," said Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, chancellor of Purdue University Global. "We look forward to supporting Disney employees on their personal path to a degree with a student experience that combines relevant real-world knowledge, learning flexibility and a strong online community."

For more information or to sign up, eligible Disney employees can visit Aspire.Disney.com.

Follow the conversation at #DisneyAspire.

ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY COMPANYThe Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in four business segments: Media Networks; Parks, Experiences and Products; Studio Entertainment; and Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $69.6 billion in its Fiscal Year 2019.

ABOUT GUILD EDUCATIONGuild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America's workforce through education, with a double bottom-line business model that does well by doing good. Guild partners with leading Fortune 1000 employers to help them provide education benefits to their frontline workforce. To do so, Guild partners with the nation's top universities focused on serving working adults. Through these partnerships, 400,000 working adults have begun exploring their path back to school with Guild. Guild has been named a Fast Company Most Innovative Company, Top Woman-Owned Business of the Year, Employee Initiative of the Year and was one of only three female-led companies listed on the Forbes Cloud 100 2019 List.

CONTACTS:Michelle Bergman The Walt Disney Company michelle.bergman@disney.com

Gregory Ten Eyck Purdue University Global gregory.teneyck@purdueglobal.edu

Lauren Keane Southern New Hampshire University l.keane@snhu.edu

SOURCE Walt Disney Company

http://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com

Follow this link:
Disney Aspire Adds Purdue University Global and Southern New Hampshire University to its Network of Educational Providers - PRNewswire

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Only about a quarter of adults in the United States believe that higher education is affordable, according to a new poll.

A Gallup poll asked more than 1,000 adults living in the United States if they believed higher education was available and affordable.

About 27% of U.S. adults report that education beyond high school is affordable -- a rate that is fairly consistent since Gallup began asking this question in 2012.

More than half of U.S. adults (60%) believe higher education is available to anyone in the country who needs it. This percentage has remained consistent since the last time Gallup asked this question in 2015 -- but has declined since its high of 71% in 2011.

Those numbers differ when Gallup analyzed the data based on age. About 46% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 said education beyond high school is available to those who need it -- compared to the 60% or higher among those in older generations.

Only 22% of people ages 18 to 29 said higher education is affordable, compared to 31% of people ages 30 to 49, 23% in the 50 to 64 age bracket and 31% among those ages 65 and older, according to Gallup.

The percentage of U.S. adults reporting higher education is affordable and available has remained stable since Gallup last asked the same questions in 2015, according to Gallup.

This may seem like good news given Americans declining confidence in higher ed -- but perhaps not, given the proliferation of online degree-granting programs and the expansion of degree alternatives such as digital badging and micro-credentialing, Gallup said about the poll. These programs were designed to improve access to education beyond high school for millions of Americans interested in upskilling and reskilling -- unfortunately, public opinion about availability appears stagnant despite these changes.

In May, U.S. News & World Report ranked New York State 15th for the best state for higher education.

The site ranked the best states to receive a higher education by weighing several factors, including: the number of citizens in each state who have college degrees; the time it takes students to complete both two- and four-year college programs; the cost of in-state tuition and fees; the burden of debt of college graduates.

Heres a breakdown of how New York ranked on each individual factor for higher education.

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.

Read more:
Is higher education affordable? Heres what one poll found. - SILive.com

HONG KONG, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (NetDragon or the Company, Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, is pleased to announce that Huayu, NetDragons education subsidiary, and National Center for Educational Technology (NCET) signed a cooperation agreement to jointly bolster the development and promotion of virtual experiment teaching system in primary and secondary schools. According to the agreement, with the support of the National Public Service Platform for Educational Resources, the two sides will integrate their respective advantages and build a Virtual Experiment Teaching Service System, in order to improve the quality of experiment teaching and laboratory construction of certain related subjects in primary and secondary schools.

Huayu and NCET will conduct collaborative research and development around experimental resources, software and service systems in this cooperation. The first is the development of a virtual experiment teaching database for primary and secondary schools, which will comprehensively cover supporting experiments including physics, chemistry, biology of junior and senior high schools and science disciplines of primary schools, including experimental videos, 3D interactive courseware, VR simulation interactive courseware, 3D/VR simulation testing and other forms of experiment teaching resources. The second is the development of a virtual experiment teaching software system for primary and secondary schools, including basic and optional software such as experiment teaching systems and experiment testing systems. The third is the development of a supporting service system for virtual experiment teaching for primary and secondary schools, with functions including backstage management, integrated user management, resource management and data analysis. The system will be introduced progressively, based on the development progress of experimental resources. The system will first select some qualified primary and secondary schools for trial, and after successful trial, this system will then be rolled out to primary and secondary schools all over the country.

In recent years, the construction of the virtual laboratory teaching system has received great attention from education departments and schools. In November 2019, the Ministry of Education issued the "Opinion on Strengthening and Improving Experiment Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools", which requires junior high schools to include experiment operations in the academic examinations by 2023. Qualified provinces with sufficient resources can include physics and chemistry experiment operations in senior high school academic exams. The opinion also emphasizes innovative experiment teaching methods. For experiments with results that are difficult to observe or control, and dangerous or destructive experiments, they can be presented with the support of AR and VR technologies. The release of this opinion shows that AR and VR technologies are officially adopted in the field of experiment teaching.

Leveraging on its internet DNA and innovative mindset, NetDragon has taken lead in deploying "VR + Education", and has applied VR technologies to the field of education and become a pioneer in the VR industry. Meanwhile, NetDragon also builds core educational technologies through self-development, investment, mergers and acquisitions, as well as integrating high quality global education resources through cooperation with world-renowned educational institutions, publishers and top-notch universities. The Company hopes to integrate its strengths to improve the level of experiment teaching in primary and secondary schools with modern information technology, in response to the countrys policies and initiatives. At present, NetDragons education business footprint extensively covers over 2 million classrooms in more than 190 countries and regions, benefiting over 100 million users.

About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users. These include Chinas number one online gaming portal, 17173.com, and Chinas most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013 as the largest Internet M&A transaction in China.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of managements vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the classroom of the future to every school around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.netdragon.com.

About National Center for Educational Technology (NCET) NCET operates directly under the Ministry of Education and focuses on basic education and vocational education. Its main responsibilities include development of multi-media teaching materials, establishment of research, communication and service work on those materials, and the development and construction of educational and teaching resources. Furthermore, NCET trains personnel in modern distance-education engineering projects in primary and secondary schools, organises R&D and experiments of education technologies in schools, information technology education theory and application, development, transformation and promotion of related research results, and the development of various educational technology training work etc. It provides an important foundation to the construction of basic education informatisation.

For investor enquiries, please contact: NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited Ms. Maggie Zhou Senior Director of Investor Relations Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825 Email: maggie@nd.com.cn Website: ir.netdragon.com

More:
NetDragon's Huayu and National Center for Educational Technology Collaborate on Virtual Experiment Teaching - GlobeNewswire

One of the unanswered questions of the past decade is how and why (and, perhaps, whether) the levels of stress and anxiety experienced by many have grown so significantly.

This is often discussed in the context of students, who can easily find themselves isolated at just the wrong moment for their mental and sometimes physical well-being.

But it has become clear that something is also happening, or more likely a number of things are happening in combination, to supercharge levels of stress and anxiety among university staff.

It is highly likely that some of this is down to changes to our lives and the world that have nothing to do with the inner workings of higher education.

Our 24/7 digital lives, for example, and the impact of social media and instant communication; the effects of a decade of economic turmoil; social and family pressures as more of us care for both children and elderly, ailing parents; concern about a world facing the existential threats of climate change. You will have your own worries to add to a list that could go on and on.

But it would be too convenient to put all this baggage outside campus walls.

In our news pages this week, we have the latest study pointing to a serious deterioration in the well-being of academics in the UK, which is new only in so far as it benchmarks levels of workplace psychological risk against official standards set by the UKs Health and Safety Executive.

The studys conclusion is that universities are failing staff on almost every measure indeed, the only HSE category in which universities do not fall below the acceptable level is the control that scholars feel they have over their work.

However, even in this area, which has been core to academic life and which is often seen as a pressure valve for the profession, academia is found to have deteriorated over time.

This, for the authors of the study, is a particularly worrying finding, since academics have often told themselves that although your job demands are high, your time control and autonomy are also very high and this has acted as a buffer between job demands and psychological distress.

Anyone who reads Times Higher Education regularly will be aware of the anecdotal evidence to be found almost weekly that supports the findings, and demonstrates that it is a monster with many heads.

The breakdown in collegiate relations is one aspect that is documented regularly in these pages (and the HSE study finds evidence of a significant decline in workplace relationships over time).

Our most-read article in 2019 was a bitingly satirical take on how to get ahead in academia, offering 10 rules for upward toxicity. Universities sing the song of meritocracy but dance to a different tune. In reality, they will do everything to reward and protect their most destructive, abusive and uncooperative faculty, wrote Irina Dumitrescu, professor of English medieval studies at the University of Bonn.

Her experience clearly struck a chord with the tens of thousands of people who read and shared it online.

In another recent opinion piece, a contributor described the decline of their mental health as their employer failed to deal with a bullying manager. Our university boasts of being committed to harmonious working practices, but our bullys boss frequently enabled rather than questioned their behaviour, they wrote. We also found our universitys reporting procedures woefully inadequate, [relying] on mediation. We should, in short, meet with our bully to sort things out.

I mention these because they are the tip of the iceberg. Article pitches along similar lines come in to THE with greater frequency than perhaps any other topic and far more than they once did.

Managers may dismiss some of the complaints as unfair some no doubt are and will have their own views about issues of fierce dispute, such as the ongoing question of pay and pensions. It is also undoubtedly the case that universities are not a homogeneous lump, nor are managers or leaders.

But the evidence that all is not well in the state of academia mounts up and is not going to disappear simply by waiting for people to get used to the new normal, or for some notional old guard to move on.

john.gill@timeshighereducation.com

See the article here:
Monster with many heads - Times Higher Education (THE)

Behavioral-biometrics company TypingDNA announces that it raised a $7 million Series A round led by Gradient Ventures, Googles AI-focused venture fund. Other participants include EU-based fund GapMinder, Techstars Ventures and other prior investors.

TypingDNA has developed proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms to authenticate users based on how they type. Through a simple training process of watching user keystrokes, TypingDNA can recognize further attempts from a specific user by matching them against their known account.

This technology, known as typing biometrics, will enable existing applications such as authentication, fraud detection, password recovery, and online education assessment to fingerprint users more securely than traditional forms of two-factor authentication.

Advancing the research and distribution of typing biometrics is of global importance. Keyboards are incorporated in almost any device today, making typing behavior the most widely available user biometric. This round of funding will allow us to further our mission to provide user-friendly, non-intrusive biometrics and increased security to people around the world, said Raul Popa, CEO and Co-founder at TypingDNA.

TypingDNAs Authentication API accepts user keystrokes in a standardized and open-sourced format allowing simple and easy integration into any desktop or mobile application.

Developers can implement TypingDNAs API as a passive two-factor authentication option, password recovery method, or simply to ensure inputs are matched to a given user. TypingDNAs mobile developer SDK also currently supports the latest version of iOS and Android applications.

TypingDNA is currently ACE compliant for verifying students online, and European Banking Authority considers typing biometrics to be compliant for SCA regulation (2FA in banking and payments in EU), as a consequence the company is experiencing great demand from the industry.

TypingDNA plans to use this new investment to expand its developer support network and offer more tools to integrate their API with existing website development platforms.

Were excited about TypingDNAs developer-first approach to enable people to authenticate securely based on how they type, said Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient Ventures.

With global regulation impacting face-recognition-based authentication and hackers targeting SMS-based two-factor authentication, typing biometrics is the best form of identifying people without compromising privacy or security.

View post:
TypingDNA raises $7 million to advance the research and distribution of typing biometrics - Help Net Security

BEIJING, China, Jan. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wah Fu Education Group Limited (Wah Fu or the Company) (WAFU), a provider of online training and exam preparation services, as well as related training materials and technology solutions for both institutions and individuals, today announced that, through its majority owned subsidiary, Nanjing Suyun Education Technology Co., Ltd., the Company entered into a 5-year service agreement (the Agreement) to develop a customized online educational platform for Jiuzhou Polytechnic Vocational College (Jiuzhou Polytechnic), featuring cloud-based online courses related to vocational training required by the Ministry of Education of China, administration and student management services.

Established in 1993 with a total investment of over RMB300 million, Jiuzhou Polytechnic is private higher vocational college with over 400 faculties and staff and over 1,000 students and currently offers 3-year programs in 6 departments and 41 majors. More information about Jiuzhou Polytechnic can be found at http://www.jzp.edu.cn.

Jiuzhou Polytechnic adds to our 100+ and growing number of institutional B2B2C clients, including universities and colleges, said Mr. Yang Yu, Chairman of Wah Fu. We are proud to be a trusted partner of our institutional clients including Jiuzhou Polytechnic, through whom we have been able to develop customized online training and educational solutions that benefit tens of thousands of students every year.

About Wah Fu Education Group Limited

Headquartered in Beijing, China, Wah Fu Education Group Limited provides online training and exam preparation services, as well as related training materials and technology solutions for both institutions, such as universities and training institutions, and students. For more information about Wah Fu, please visit http://www.edu-edu.cn.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as may, will, intend, should, believe, expect, anticipate, project, estimate or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements.Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company's goals and strategies; the Company's future business development; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; the growth of the online training industry in China and the other markets the Company serves or plans to serve; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and the other markets the Company serves or plans to serve and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Companys filings with the SEC, which are available for review at http://www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forwardlooking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

For more information, please contact:

At the Company:Email: ashely.ai@horwathcapital.com.cn

Investor Relations:Tony Tian, CFA Weitian Group LLC Email: ttian@weitianco.com Phone: +1-732-910-9692

More:
Wah Fu Education Group Limited to Develop Online Education Platform for Jiuzhou Polytechnic Vocational College - Yahoo Finance

PUNE, India, Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The private tutoring market is expected to gain significant lift with the evolution of online platform offered by the companies for tutoring services. These platform enhances the educational experience and offers with value added services, including exposure to industry, along with career counselling and development of soft skills. With the introduction of digital platform for private tutoring, innovative and customized solution are being offered to the students with varying needs. The integration of artificial intelligence in the online platform is further driving the growth of global private tutoring market. For instance,TAL Education Group, an education company provides AI teaching system, customized for students, helping preschool and primary school teachers to address issues encountered in learning.In addition, Cognii, offers with AI-powered real-time tutoring for K-12 & higher education allowing students to access anytime, anywhere. As the market evolves in modern AI-age, Cognii brings its innovation to benefit the Higher Ed market from enrollment, retention, student support, course design, assessment & credentialing, to scalability.

Request for Sample Copy of This Report@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=311

The rapid penetration of smart devices such as mobile phones and tablets and the growing demand for customized learning has led to an increase in emphasis on the digitization of educational services. The companies operating in the global private tutoring market are increasingly offering online tutoring services that can be accessed by students through smartphone devices. Online private tutoring programs involves low cost for the service providers, offering more flexibility as compared to in-person tutoring services. Therefore, the cost benefits and flexibility associated with online private tutoring services is expected to aid in the growth of global private tutoring market over the forecast period.

The detailed research study provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the global private tutoring market. The market has been analyzed from demand as well as the supply side. The demand side analysis covers market revenue across regions and further across all the major countries. The supply-side analysis covers the major market players and their regional and global presence and strategies. The geographical analysis done emphasizes each of the major countries across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.

Enquiry before Buying @ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=311

Key Findings of the Report:

Request for Customization@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_for_customization.php?id=311

GlobalPrivate Tutoring Market:

For More Information Visit@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/reports/Private-tutoring-market-2019-2027-311

About Us:

Absolute Markets Insights assists in providing accurate and latest trends related to consumer demand, consumer behavior, sales, and growth opportunities, for the better understanding of the market, thus helping in product designing, featuring, and demanding forecasts. Our experts provide you the end-products that can provide transparency, actionable data, cross-channel deployment program, performance, accurate testing capabilities and the ability to promote ongoing optimization.

From the in-depth analysis and segregation, we serve our clients to fulfill their immediate as well as ongoing research requirements. Minute analysis impact large decisions and thereby the source of business intelligence (BI) plays an important role, which keeps us upgraded with current and upcoming market scenarios.

Contact Us:

Company:Absolute Markets Insights Email id:sales@absolutemarketsinsights.com Phone:+91-740-024-2424 Contact Name:Shreyas Tanna The Work Lab, Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Pune, MH, 411016 Website:https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/

SOURCE Absolute Markets Insights

More:
Global Private Tutoring Market was Estimated to Grow at a CAGR of More Than 7.1% Over the Forecast Period Owing to Growing Prevalence of Online...

BEIJING, Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced its participation in the 22nd Annual Needham Growth Conference on January 14-15, 2020 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City, with a management presentation at 8:40 a.m. Eastern time on January 15th. The presentation will be webcast live and a replay will be available for 90 days. To listen to the webcast, please click on the link: http://wsw.com/webcast/needham94/dl/ or visit the News & Events section of our website at http://ir.cdeledu.com.

Management will meet with institutional investors throughout the event. For additional information, please contact your Needham institutional sales representative.

About China Distance Education Holdings Limited

China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China. The courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to help professionals seeking to obtain and maintain professional licenses and to enhance their job skills through our professional development courses in China in the areas of accounting, healthcare, engineering & construction, legal and other industries. The Company also offers professional education courses for participants in the national judicial examination, online test preparation courses for self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees, test preparation courses for university students intending to take the nationwide graduate school entrance exam, practical accounting training courses for college students and working professionals, as well as online language courses and third-party developed online courses. In addition, the Company provides business services to corporate clients, including but not limited to tax advisory and accounting outsourcing services. For further information, please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.

Contacts:

In China:China Distance Education Holdings Limited Jiao Jiao Tel: +86-10-8231-9999 ext.1826 Email: IR@cdeledu.com

The Piacente Group, Inc. Xi Zhang Tel: +86-10-6508-0677 E-mail: dl@tpg-ir.com

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc. Brandi Piacente Tel: +1 212-481-2050 Email: dl@tpg-ir.com

SOURCE China Distance Education Holdings Ltd.

http://ir.cdeledu.com

The rest is here:
China Distance Education Holdings to Participate in the 22nd Annual Needham Growth Conference - PRNewswire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--edX.org, the trusted platform for learning, today announced MicroBachelors Programs, the first credit-backed stackable credential, marking a significant milestone in online learning. Created by edX in an innovative partnership with top universities and Fortune 1000 corporations, MicroBachelors programs deliver immediately transferable skills to meet the real-world needs of employers, while providing a pathway to a full Bachelors degree.

MicroBachelors programs are designed for adults without a college degree who believe they need additional education to advance in their careers. This group, like the majority of Americans, cannot afford a traditional Bachelors degree and cannot take the time away from work to pursue one. Additionally, the rate at which technological change is affecting the global workforce means that adults need immediately transferable skills that can be delivered in months, not years.

Breaking down the barriers of time and money, MicroBachelors programs are affordable, priced between $500 and $1,500 (roughly $166 per credit), and can be completed fully online, allowing working adults to complete the coursework on their own schedule. The programs are independently valuable as the rigorous content is created by academic institutions with input from industry leaders to deliver immediately transferable skills for the workplace. In addition, since the programs are backed by credit, once earned, learners can elect to apply credit from one of edXs university credit partners toward a full Bachelors degree. MicroBachelors programs fit into edXs vision to transform the delivery of education in a modular, stackable way.

edX was founded on the mission to increase access to high-quality education for everyone, everywhere and MicroBachelors programs are the next step forward in fulfilling that mission, said edX Founder and CEO Anant Agarwal. These programs are a significant step towards making a key academic milestone the Bachelors degree accessible and doing so in a way that positively impacts the members of our workforce most at risk to be displaced by automation and other changes in the workplace. We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with our academic and industry partners to offer these programs that enable continuous, lifelong learning and promise immediately applicable skills and knowledge with a valuable credit-backed credential.

The first MicroBachelors programs are IT Career Framework from Western Governors University (WGU), which is recognized for credit by WGU and Computer Science Fundamentals from New York University (NYU), which is pending recognition for credit by Thomas Edison State University (TESU). This is WGUs first offering as a new edX partner and marks an important milestone as the non-profit universitys first globally-available undergraduate modular online credential. Additionally, Arizona State University will be offering Professional Writing, with further offerings to be announced.

Corporations like IBM see value in new kinds of programs such as these to meet workplace upskilling and employability needs.

Technologies such as AI are increasingly changing the workforce, so the nature of education will have to evolve accordingly," said Guillermo Miranda, vice president and head of IBM Corporate Social Responsibility. "To give people the right skills and credentials for in-demand positions, and to meet employees where they are, stakeholders now need to offer a spectrum of resources for online and in-person instruction, as well as immersive, experiential learning. MicroBachelors programs are innovative as they can play a valuable role in these offerings.

Development of MicroBachelors programs is funded by Boeing, Lumina Foundation, SunTrust Foundation now Truist Foundation, Walmart, Jeremy M. and Joyce E. Wertheimer Foundation and Yidan Prize Foundation. This diverse group of supporters recognize the importance of addressing the global workforce education challenges that companies and workers face.

edX is also launching the MicroBachelors Program Skills Advisory Council a groundbreaking group of select foundations, corporations and academic institutions that will work to identify the core skills and learning pathways that MicroBachelors programs should deliver on.

Were pleased to support the MicroBachelors programs, as we believe its important for higher education institutions and businesses to partner together to transform, strengthen, and improve learning to help prepare people to enter the workforce and be successful, said Lynette Bell, president, Truist Foundation. Our participation in the MicroBachelors Program Skills Advisory Council, a group bringing together the key stakeholders in this arena, is a fundamental part of creating these conversations.

edX will be announcing additional MicroBachelors programs and new credit pathways that stack into full degree options with our university partners in the future. To learn more about MicroBachelors programs on edX, visit http://www.edx.org/microbachelors.

About edX edX is the trusted platform for education and learning. Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX is home to more than 24 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies. As a global nonprofit, edX is transforming traditional education, removing the barriers of cost, location and access. Fulfilling the demand for people to learn on their own terms, edX is reimagining the possibilities of education, providing the highest-quality, stackable learning experiences including the groundbreaking MicroMasters programs. Supporting learners at every stage, whether entering the job market, changing fields, seeking a promotion or exploring new interests, edX delivers courses for curious minds on topics ranging from data and computer science to leadership and communications. edX is where you go to learn.

View post:
edX Launches MicroBachelors Programs, an Innovative Undergraduate-Level Credential That Will Transform the Future of Work and Higher Education -...

Until a few years ago, the online medium in India was used only for the consumption of entertainment content. Today, with rapid penetration of the Internet and smartphones, it is fast gaining popularity as a preferred medium for learning and higher education. According to a report titled 'Online Education in India: 2021' by KPMG India and Google, the Indian online education market is set for a quantum growth of eight times in the next three years.

Let us examine the trends that will dominate the specialized education space in India in the year 2020. These trends also explain why there has been a distinct surge in online education in the country-a trend that will continue to dominate throughout the year 2020.

Online courses will be more job-oriented

Online courses are a quicker route for churning out employable professionals. In this context, we are seeing industries collaborating with colleges as well as educational start-ups to prepare courses in tune with the current market demands, making online course students readily employable.

Moreover, data-rich online learning models go a long way in solving hiring woes by making study materials more accurate, efficient and up to date.

Closing down of engineering and technical colleges

The number of students opting for engineering and technical education colleges has been on a decline in the recent past. This has been the case because the courses these colleges offer are not regularly updated, even as these institutes face a shortage of funds and qualified teachers.

Emergence of online courses by reputed institutes

Several prestigious universities and colleges in India have started offering online learning. These include government-backed organizations like the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) and private ones like the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). This trend will continue in 2020.

Easier enrolment and access

Online learning programs are much easier to enroll for and to access, compared to the traditional model of education. Students can participate in the course as well as carry out the study formalities like fees payment from the comfort of their homes. Also, the fees are much lower than what one has to pay for traditional education.

Newly introduced Income Share agreements from online ed-tech start-ups are also picking up steam.

Scope for pre-empting and predicting outcomes

There is a big focus on the analytics of online data related to students.

This data is used by institutions and educators as a model of predictive surveillance for projecting student expectations and future behaviors to optimize the learning experience.

Transparent processes and improved student self-monitoring

Digital data utilized by the online medium, results in improved proficiency and transparency in educational processes. The granular data flow makes the education process a lot more transparent for all those involved - be it the students, parents, teachers or the industry. It also helps students self-diagnose as well as self-monitor their learning procedures.

Student assessment at a granular level

The online learning concept makes available appropriate software tools for helping teachers assess students on a broad gamut of parameters. Such technical strengths will continue to boost the prospects of online education next year.

Flexible, scalable and facilitating personalized experience

The online learning medium gives flexibility to frequently add, remove or even entirely modify the course content. It also offers a personalized experience to students, who can not only access course content as per their requirements but also, access teachers and mentors relevant to the course.

For example, if a student who requires additional help on a subject can make use of the available software modules and Apps that are designed for improving the individual learning experience. Also, online learning models are scalable, and students can opt for more course modules to suit their requirements and preferences.

Government support for online learning

The Indian government is taking several strong measures to boost digital reforms and online learning is no exception. According to the Government of India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology website, it has been financially helping R&D projects in the field of eLearning at many educational institutes.

With the twin objectives of encouraging skill-based learning and creating employable resources, it supports programs for course content development, R&D technology initiatives, human resource development, and faculty training.

Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) model

Lastly, nowadays, several colleges, institutes, and even niche education programs, have started experimenting with a novel, Income sharing Agreement (ISA) model. In this, the educational institute/company agrees to bear the expenditure of learning of the students and the student, in turn, agrees to share her/ his income once (s)he gets hired after the course is completed to pay for the course fee.

While making institutes accountable, ISA also signals the definite emergence of high-quality outcome-oriented courses.

Authored by Mr. Divyam Goel - CEO & Co-founder, AttainU

Read: JEE Main 2020: Last-minute tips and tricks to score high

Also Read: Emotional intelligence for working professionals: Why is it important?

View post:
10 education trends to watch in 2020 - India Today