Aspire A blog about the present and future of higher education

Depending on who you talk to, online education is either the big man on campus (BMOC, for the acronym-minded) or the elephant in the classroom. Colleges and universities are launching new or expanded online programs for a multitude of worthwhile—and sometimes hotly debated—reasons, but the basics come down to these: to attract new students, boost enrollments, diversify student populations and ... Read More »

Several recent reports have been alarming those of us in higher education who care deeply about the future of community colleges and those who attend them. One is Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream, a new report from the Century Foundation task force on “preventing community colleges from becoming separate and unequal.” Some ... Read More »

Are you thinking of heading back to school? If so, it wouldn’t just be you and Rodney Dangerfield there. The latest research shows that adults are heading back to college in higher numbers than ever. And with grim projections of employability shortfalls looming in the not-very-distant future, adding some academic feathers to your cap makes more and more sense with every hotly sought-after ... Read More »

Last week, we published a post that covered some current activity regarding the channels of food production. On one end of the spectrum, there were large, industry-wide changes (new, national FDA laws); on the other end were smaller, more personal goings-on (local grassroots initiatives by Maine farmers). Now, somewhere in the middle of it all, lands a new report from ... Read More »

Minority students face a number of challenges as they enter higher education (including entering it, as this recent New York Times item highlights)—not the least of which are the economic hurdles. Two recent articles focus on the uphill battle faced by minority students as they engage with higher education—from weighing the decision to apply, to enrolling and matriculating, to successfully ... Read More »

In a previous post, we linked to this item from the Boston Globe, which noted that a number of high-profile higher ed institutions were hopping on board the edX bandwagon. And now the story’s getting bigger; not only moving from local to national (hi, HuffPo), but looping in the online education company, Coursera. This Huffington Post piece points out that 10 large public university systems, including the ... Read More »

While debates over the merits and deficits over online education continue, an intriguing middle ground is taking shape. A recent Boston Globe article presents the stories of a handful of students whose paths toward their degrees incorporate contemporary and traditional components, combining online and in-person elements for a multi-faceted learning experience that seems likely to become more and more part of the ... Read More »

This Sunday’s Boston Globe featured an article by Jay Fitzgerald about expanding areas of business in the local job market and the channels of education that are emerging. Fitzgerald’s piece touched on a range of dynamic growth industries, such as health care, cyber security, gaming development, regulatory issues and project management—many of which are represented at CPS; for example, he points ... Read More »

It’s that time of year again—the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and people are dressing up to sit outside and watch their friends and family receive hard-won and well-earned diplomas. For this year’s CPS commencement ceremonies, the keynote speaker was Karen Kaplan, CEO of the Hill Holliday advertising agency. Ms. Kaplan’s speech posed the question, “What makes a ... Read More »