MIT's initiative to promote online learning

This article is from The Hindu

Lending a new dimension to online learning, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has launched MITx, under which selection of its courses will be offered through an online interactive learning platform.

And it encourages students worldwide to take part in the initiative.

MITx course materials are meant to foster learning at an individual pace. It features interactivity, online laboratories and student-to-student communication. MIT officials believe this will help to enhance the learning of their on-campus students as well, supplementing their classroom experience.

Cal State's Online Plan

This article is from Inside Higher Ed

The California State University System on Friday released new documents describing its plans for a centralized online learning hub, moving the system closer to its vision of a top-flight virtual campus while drawing skepticism from some faculty.

The portal, called Cal State Online, will serve as a gateway to all virtual courses offered by the system’s 23 campuses. The goal is to increase capacity at California State, where massive budget cuts have coincided with a rising demand for higher ed degrees. System officials hope a centrally administered approach to online education will enable the university to enroll more online students and turn away fewer qualified applicants.

University of Central Florida Chooses AiM(TM) from AssetWorks

This article is from Market Watch The Wall Street Journal
AssetWorks, a leader in Intelligent Workplace Management(SM), today announced that the University of Central Florida (UCF) has turned to AssetWorks to provide a comprehensive Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) to help manage 158 buildings comprising 9.1 million gross square feet on the university's 1,415 acre main campus as well as manage an additional 20 buildings comprising 1.3 million gross square feet on 110 acres at eight satellite campuses. UCF's Facilities and Safety departments selected AiM(TM) from AssetWorks to help fulfill their mission to create, maintain and protect the campus environment for nearly 59,000 students and over 10,000 faculty and staff.

Strickland Appointed to Online Task Force

This article is from Bainbridge
Dr. Tonya Strickland, Bainbridge College’s vice president for Academic Affairs, was one of eight administrators appointed to a new state Board of Regents task force that will look at how the state colleges and universities currently use online learning.

Strickland’s appointment to the new Distance Education Task Force was announced on Thursday, Feb. 16, by University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby.

He said as universities and colleges continue to increase the use of distance education, “There is a lack of consistency in the effort across the state. Our campuses must take advantage of every opportunity to serve their students, faculty and staff. ”

EdR and University of Kentucky Approve Phase I of On-Campus Housing Revitalization and Expansion

This article is from Market Watch The Wall Street Journal

 EdREDR -0.97% , one of the nation's largest developers, owners and managers of collegiate housing, today announced that the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a 50-year ground lease with the company, allowing it to proceed with the first phase of the university's on-campus housing revitalization.

In Phase I, EdR will develop, construct and own a 601-bed, $25.8 million freshman honors housing community at Haggin Field. The living-learning community will include classroom and meeting space, and will be available for occupancy by fall 2013.

Students cleared to return to Rutgers' Newark campus

This article is from Fox News

The FBI determined Wednesday there was no threat to students on the Newark campus of Rutgers University after a student was arrested and his dorm was searched for potentially hazardous substances following a tip from authorities in South Dakota.

Helen Paxton, a school spokeswoman, said the FBI's investigation of the dorm had concluded by late Wednesday afternoon, and students were allowed to re-enter the building -- which had been evacuated twice in two days. Earlier in the day, students had gathered behind police tape in a large cordoned-off area around the dorm building, trading rumors about what was going on.

Outbreak sickens dozens at New Jersey university

This article is from CNN health

About 40 students at a university in New Jersey have been taken to hospitals for treatment after an outbreak of what authorities believe is the norovirus.

The Rider University students, at the school's campus in Lawrenceville, were brought to hospitals late Wednesday night, the school said Thursday.

The suspected outbreak comes a week after an outbreak began at nearby Princeton University, which is still under way, officials said.

"We are coordinating treatment information with that university. We have also informed neighboring institutions," Rider said on its website.

Norovirus is a highly contagious illness that is often called stomach flu or food poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.

US university launches online learning portal

This article is from Virtual College

A university in the US has launched a new online learning portal in a bid to make it easier for students to sign up to courses of this nature in the future.

The University of Missouri (UM) has announced a single entry point for students to gain access to courses delivered online at any UM campus is soon to be available.

System senior associate vice-president of academic affairs Steve Graham stated demand for e-learning courses is increasing all the time, adding the four campuses at UM are meeting this need and the new portal will aid the educational facility in this area.

He said: "By having a single portal, new and current students can see the array of online course offerings from any one of our four campuses and then have the tools at their fingertips to enrol in those classes if they choose."

University’s Ban on Bottled Water Stirs Controversy

This article is from Fox Business
By Kathryn Tuggle

If you become thirsty while on the University of Vermont campus, don’t bother looking for bottled water. This year, the school will become the first campus in the U.S. to completely restrict the sale of bottled water in vending machines and any food establishments. The university will spend the next year installing “filling stations” for reusable water bottles around campus, and by January 2013, the school will be completely single-use water bottle free.

The move comes as part of a healthy campus initiative that also mandates one-third of all drinks sold on campus be “healthy options,” like juice and tea, and no beverage offering can contain high fructose corn syrup. The university has been in contract with Coca-Cola of Northern New England for the last 10 years, which provided more than 1.1 million bottles of soda and water to the campus’ 57 vending machines, retail outlets and dining halls every year. That contract expires in May 2012, and the university will not renew it.

University of Missouri Links Four Campuses Online Learning Through Single Portal

This article  is from Kansas City infoZine

The University of Missouri System has created and will soon be launching a single entry point for students to gain access to courses delivered online at any UM campus.

  

Columbia, MO - infoZine - The new e-portal allows new and existing students to search for online courses and programs at any campus and apply, register and gain access to all their courses and support services from one location.

“We know the demand for online course delivery is increasing, and the four campuses of the University of Missouri System are meeting that challenge,” said University of Missouri System Senior Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Steve Graham. “By having a single portal, new and current students can see the array of online course offerings from any one of our four campuses and then have the tools at their fingertips to enroll in those classes if they choose.”

The branding of the portal, including the colors and logos, will vary by campus depending on how a current or prospective student enters the site. The portal also provides the flexibility for each campus to address its unique elearning efforts while still using the same back-end software. The portal will be used by students who register for summer and fall 2012 online courses beginning in March.

“With a system as large as ours and four campuses that each have their own unique identities and strong brands, creating a unified entry point that provides students the breadth of online options available at all campuses is an important step in meeting the needs of online learners,” said UM Director of Distance Education and e-Learning Zac March. “We think students will benefit tremendously from the ease and convenience of this portal.”

March said the university’s elearning initiative was necessitated by students’ expectations as they increasingly turn to online offerings to supplement their on-campus classes to meet their educational needs. More than 12,000 UM students are taking at least one fully online class—an increase of 13 percent in just the past year. In addition, there has been a 72 percent increase in the number of UM students taking online courses only, and a nearly 200 percent increase in the number of courses that offer some online component.

The UM campuses have responded to this national growth trend in online learning and have been supported in part by the UM System, March said. The UM System has already provided resources to the campuses, which has resulted in the development of 120 new online courses that will be completed by the end of the 2012 calendar year. This includes eight online degree programs, seven online certificate programs and seven online course clusters, and involves 110 faculty members. The system will assist the campuses in developing fully online programs during the next two years.

“As a long-time faculty member, I have seen and come to appreciate the shift from traditional lecture-type teaching and learning to learning that is facilitated in some way by online learning tools,” said Wayne Vaught, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Philosophy, Medicine and Bioethics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “Thanks in part to the additional support of the UM System, we are now better meeting the needs of today’s students through the growth in online courses available and the development of this single portal. I also firmly believe that we are helping to increase the quality of the education we provide by continuing to expand the world of online learning tools and options available to help students learn through techniques that are best suited to them. As the state’s largest public university with a mission to provide top-notch education, I can’t think of a better way to spend our resources.”

Proposed reconfiguring of N.J. universities to be discussed by state Senate committee

This article is from the New Jersey Real-Time News  

New Jersey lawmakers are trying to join the conversation about whether to reconfigure some state universities.

The state Senate's Higher Education Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today about a plan endorsed by Gov. Chris Christie that would fold Rutgers University's Camden campus into Rowan University.

Rutgers' main campus in New Brunswick and Piscataway would absorb three units of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The remaining parts of the medical university would be renamed the New Jersey Health Sciences University.

There's been protest from Rutgers-Camden officials, students, faculty and alumni who object to a name change for their campus.

Christie has not laid out a process for making the changes.