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Distance Learning 2.0: It Will Take a Village

Jay A. Halfond
January 17, 2011

Last month, I suggested we separate hype from reality—not so much to criticize distance learning, but to seek an even higher ideal. Much of what is thrust under the umbrella of distance learning isn’t conducted at much distance, isn’t well supported and limits opportunities for institution-wide collaboration and innovation. ...
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Tags: Boston University, distance, distance learning, Jay A. Halfond, learning | 2 Comments

Distance Learning: Untried and Untrue

Jay A. Halfond
November 12, 2010

G. K. Chesterton famously once said: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” This, I believe, applies to distance learning as well. There is far too much self-congratulatory hyperbole about the growth and pervasiveness of online learning – which exaggerates reality and overlooks the true revolution ...
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Tags: distance learning, Halfond, Jay A. Halfond, learning | 2 Comments

The Profit Prophets in Higher Education

Jay A. Halfond
September 30, 2010

The nation seems to have suddenly awoken to the reality that for-profit academic institutions are a force to be reckoned with. For so long, they have been ignored as inconsequential, second-rate competition, and vilified for their greed and lack of quality. Two events seemed to have changed their image into something far more formidable: the ...
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Tags: academia, College, distance learning, for-profit, for-profit education, Frontline, Jay A. Halfond, nonprofit, universities, University of Phoenix | No Comments

Recession Amnesia and the Prospects for New England’s Institutions

Jay A. Halfond
August 31, 2010

Among the little truly predictable—or at least those rare things I’ve been able to successfully predict—I would suggest these three truths.

First is the inevitability of recessions. Whether the result of human folly or business cycles, the economy will contract—probably about once every decade, give or take, and probably in direct proportion to the degree ...
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Tags: Carmen M. Reinhart, Jay A. Halfond, Kenneth S. Rogoff, recession amnesia, This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly | No Comments

Weird Science: Further Thoughts on the STEM Educational Challenge

Jay A. Halfond
August 9, 2010

He was bored and restless by age 42. He had vertically integrated a major media business, insofar as he owned his own publishing company, newspaper and book series, and even aspects of the postal system. He was an acclaimed author and civic leader. He decided to retire early to pursue his true passion and curiosity: ...
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Tags: Ben Franklin, Father Guido Sarducci, Jay A. Halfond, STEM | No Comments

A Very Fragile STEM: Why We Are Stifled in the Sciences

Jay A. Halfond
July 12, 2010

This is my first experience writing about something I understood far better in high school than throughout college and career. Not only do I suspect I am not alone, but I believe this is symptomatic of the very point I plan to make. Unlike so many other fields, the sciences tend to sort us early ...
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Tags: Engineering, Franklin Institute, Jay A. Half, Mathematics, Science, STEM, Technology | No Comments

Buying Access to Ivy—A Way to Revive Harvard

Jay A. Halfond
June 4, 2010

Of the many, many articles written on Harvard University’s endowment woes, I have yet to read one actually sympathetic with Harvard. Perhaps this reflects our gleeful voyeurism when the high-and-mighty fall, or sense of justice that the reckless should pay for their recklessness, or belief that no university truly needs or deserves such a large ...
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Tags: Admissions, Boston University, endowment, Harvard University, Jay A. Halfond, Metropolitan College and Extended Education | No Comments