Comments on: Dazed and Confused After #CETIS10

By: Software developers uk

Software developers uk — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:45:41 +0000

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By: Thoughts on the Purpose (and Future) of Education « UK Web Focus

Thoughts on the Purpose (and Future) of Education « UK Web Focus — Sat, 07 May 2011 12:02:39 +0000

[...] Anya Kamenatz’ idea of a DIY U (http://www.diyu.com) ” – this echoes my “Dazed and Confused After #CETIS10” post in which I also suggested that the “case for radical innovation” associated [...]

By: Whither Innovation? « Adam’s CETIS Blog

Whither Innovation? « Adam’s CETIS Blog — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:12:17 +0000

[...] It seems to me that innovation always follows adversity, that “necessity is the mother of invention”. At one level, then, just as mammals diversified following the K-T Extinction Event, so innovation will occur. I would, however, rather see innovation without extinction, a future more like horticulture than cataclysm. I want Innovation to be about opportunity not necessity but we are where we are, and an element of necessity is now with us. This is what this post is about and I detect related sentiments in a recent blog post from Brian Kelly following the recent CETIS Conference, which he entitled “Dazed and Confused After #CETIS10“. [...]

By: Bob Banks

Bob Banks — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 11:38:38 +0000

Around the future of higher education – I think your “feelings of discomfort and unease” are essential for us all at the moment. We are at a point where we need to deeply question our old categories, if there is going to be a future in education of justice and equal opportunities. This is bound to be uncomfortable – and we don’t know what the best way forward is – but the reverse side is that we’re at of point of enormously fertile opportunity, if we can seize it. I’d really recommend Anya’s “DIY U” book – full of interesting and challenging examples.
Bob

By: Kevin Shah

Kevin Shah — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:20:59 +0000

great post brian

By: Brian Kelly (UK Web Focus)

Brian Kelly (UK Web Focus) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:15:34 +0000

Hi Mark Thanks for the reply. When I went to University (in the 1970s) there were no fees and I received a grant for the three years at University. As described in a Wikipedia entry on Tuition fees: "Between 1998 and 2006 most British students ... paid a contribution towards their tuition fees (anything from £0-£1,250 a year). The amount they paid was based on their or their parents' income (called means-testing) in the tax year preceding each academic year. The fees were paid up front during each academic year. In addition, students were entitled to a means-tested student loan of up to around £4,000. The loan was separate from the tuition fees and is paid back by the student after they have graduated. It was repaid at the rate of 9% of gross income over £15,000 a year (different limits apply to unearned income and non-residents). The interest rate on loans was changed on 1 September each year and the annual rate was set to the Retail price index increase the previous April (making the loans interest-free in real terms). The new top-up fees operate as follows ... Universities are able to charge students anything from £0 up to a maximum of £3,290 per year." The government has recently announced plans to raise fees to $9,000 per year. As described in a recent article in the Guardian: "The government's plans to raise tuition fees to £6,000 a year will lead to a dramatic fall in the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university, new research suggests today. An Ipsos Mori poll found that raising the cost of a degree to £5,000 a year would deter almost half of those from the most deprived backgrounds who would otherwise have gone on to higher education, while raising fees to £7,000 would cut the number by nearly two-thirds." Note that whilst I agree that students in the US have been expected to pay significant levels of fees, this is not something that many would welcome in the UK (just as we are happy with the funding approaches taken to the provision of health care which you do not have in the US). Whether previous approaches are sustainable may be questioned; however the main concern is that the Government is using the current economic crisis as an excuse to implement radical changes without providing the opportunity to consider the implications of such changes. One implication is that people like myself, who have benefitted from being able to afford to attend university, are likely to miss out on such opportunities, thus introducing class barriers into the British society.

By: Mark Greenfield

Mark Greenfield — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:26:39 +0000

Brian - Great post. I would like to know more about the funding model for higher education in the UK. Based on the little I do know, I think the fiscal challenges in the US are currently more challenging. Charging over $50,000 a year for tuition at private schools is becoming more commonplace, and budget cuts for public schools are dramatic. For example, the budget at my university has been cut by $40 million dollars in the last two years, with more cuts on the way. For anyone not familiar with my thoughts on the future of the higher education web profession, here are my blog posts on the subject dating back to 2007: http://www.markgr.com/category/highedwebflat/ I have also been bookmarking applicable articles on delicious: http://www.delicious.com/markgr/flat I would like to continue to explore this important topic. To help facilitate the conversation, I have created a group on the UWEBD social network called "the future". I would encourage everyone to join this important conversation.