edBiz Update

A Newsletter for Education Business Leaders

Todd Hand
Managing Director and Education Principal
todd@bsgtv.com

Ralph Protsik
Co-Founder and Managing Director
ralph@bsgtv.com

Mary Axelson
Editor

www.bsgtv.com

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April Feature: M&A ACTIVITY FROM CHERRY TREE

Renaissance Acquires myON
Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital Complete Acquisition of Wall Street English
Health & Safety Institute Acquires Vivid Learning Systems
Agile Investment Group Acquires LightSail Education
Tarena International Agrees to Acquire Wuhan Haoxiaozi Robot Technology Co.
Babilou Acquires Majority Stake in Amelio Early Education
Degreed Raises $42 Million
Skilljar Raises $16.4 Million
Ponddy Education Raises $6 Million
Skyview Capital Acquires SchoolKidz.com from Staples
Stone Point Capital Acquires Grace Hill
SAE International Acquires Online Courses from CALISO
Omnigo Software Acquires 360° Stay Safe
TCV Acquires Controlling Stake in Watermark
17zuoye Raises $250 Million
Kahoot! Raises $17 Million
Tech Will Save Us Raises $4.2 Million


Recent BSG Search Activity:

Access our podcast series: EdTech Leader Interviews with Todd Hand

Active searches
Learning Ally, VP of School Sales and Account Management
KIPP Texas, Chief Operating Officer
Two CEO searches currently underway under a non-disclosure agreement.

Closed 2017-2018 searches
CIG Education Group, Vice President, Global Information and Technology
Walton Family Foundation, Senior Advisor
Edmentum, President and CEO
Rosetta Stone, CEO
Camelot Education, CEO
Sotheby's Institute of Art, Senior Director, Global Admissions and Recruitment
The School of The New York Times, Director, Pre-College Division
Revolution Foods, VP Sales
AltSchool, Chief Impact Officer
KIPP Foundation, Chief of Programs and Impact
American Public University System (APUS), President
Burning Glass, VP Business Development
OnCourse Learning, Chief Technology Officer; Chief Marketing Officer
Turnitin/Insight Venture Partners, SVP Sales
eDynamic Learning, SVP Sales & Marketing
Quad Partners, Chief Financial Officer; Chief Marketing Officer
InsideTrack, SVP Program Development
Voyager Sopris Learning, President
Elsevier, Head of Adaptive Solutions
GEMS Education, Chief Financial Officer
Cambridge Education Group, General Manager
American Honors/Quad Learning, VP Business Development
Catapult Learning, VP Sales
MeTEOR Education, VP Growth Strategies
Illuminate Education, VP Sales
Center for the Collaborative Classroom, Chief Technology Officer
Human Capital Institute, Chief Learning Officer; Chief Marketing Officer
ILSC, Managing Director
DecisionDesk, CEO
Jones & Bartlett Learning, VP Content Production
Penn Foster, EVP Business Solutions; General Counsel
Teachers for Tomorrow, Chief Revenue Officer
Tiber Health (a University Ventures portfolio company), Chief Product Officer




Sources
  • Academic Business Advisors, LLC
  • Associated Press (AP)
  • Academic Business Advisors, LLC
  • The Atlantic
  • Bostinno
  • Brookings Institution
  • Campus Technology
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Digital Education
  • Center on Education and the Workforce
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • The Clayton Christensen Institute
  • CLO Media
  • CNBC
  • CNET smartplanet.com
  • Computer World
  • Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
  • eCampus News
  • eLearning
  • The Economist
  • The Economic Times
  • edSurge
  • Education Dive
  • Education News
  • Education Next
  • Education Sector
  • Education Week
  • Educause Review
  • Edudemic
  • Edutopia
  • EdWeek Market Brief
  • eLearn Magazine
  • Entrepreneur
  • eSchool News
  • Fast Company
  • Forbes
  • Fortune
  • FoxNews.com
  • Geekwire
  • GettingSmart.com
  • Harvard Business Review
  • The Hechinger Report
  • The Heritage Foundation
  • Huffington Post
  • Inside Higher Ed
  • IT World
  • Journal of Applied Research on Children
  • KQEDMind/Shift
  • McKinsey Quarterly
  • MDR EdNet InSight
  • MIT Technology Review
  • Mother Jones
  • National Journal
  • NBCNews.com
  • NewsDay
  • NewsWeek
  • The New Republic
  • The New Yorker
  • The New York Times
  • The Week
  • NPR
  • OnStartups.com
  • Politico
  • Psych Central
  • Rolling Stone
  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • Scientific American
  • The 74 Million
  • SkilledUp
  • Skoll World Forum
  • Slate
  • The Stifel Equity Research Group
  • Social Science Research Network
  • TechCrunch
  • Tech Radar
  • T.H.E. Journal
  • Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • Time
  • University Business
  • University Ventures
  • University World News
  • US News & World Report
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Washington Post
  • Venture Beat

K-12
Education Week: What's Keeping Principals Up at Night?
More than half of all principals-52 percent-said that adequate funding was the most important concern for them, according to survey data published this week by MCH Strategic Data. Another 28 percent ranked funding as a very important concern...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: Two 'Hotspots' in Education Procurement Identified for 2018
Procuring digital learning tools and technology to help educate students with special needs are two of 10 "hotspots" in government contracting for 2018, according to an analysis of bids and RFPs conducted by GovWin+Onvia from Deltek...more>>
Edsurge: Still in the K-12 Jungle: Amazon Partners With Edhesive to Bring CS Education to Schools
Despite fits and starts, Amazon is marching forth with its K-12 education efforts. On Monday, just days after the company quietly said it would be shutting down TenMarks' online math and writing tools, it announced a partnership with Edhesive, a company that offers computer science curriculum to schools...more>>
Fast Company: Apple's New Approach To Education Is Humbler, But Stronger
The company doesn't need to crush Chromebooks to be a force in schools-and its new iPad, software, and services show it's been listening to teachers...more>>
Hechinger: "Tired of fighting that fight": School districts' uphill battle to get good deals on ed tech
Would price transparency keep districts from spending more than they have to?...more>>
Hechinger: Laptops, Chromebooks or tablets? Deciding what's best for the nation's schools
Tech directors at districts around the country cite different rationales for their top picks...more>>
EdDive: Study: State pre-K programs should move beyond teaching basic skills
Four-year-olds in state pre-K programs can recognize letters and letter sounds and do simple math calculations, but they're not acquiring the language skills that contribute to "long-term gains in achievement," according to a study released Wednesday by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University in New Jersey...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: $1.1 Billion Federal Block Grant Makes Ed-Tech Training Higher Priority Than Software, Devices
A nearly three-fold increase in appropriations for the Title IV-A block grant in the new federal budget means that many districts across the country can dedicate more funds to helping teachers learn how to use technology for instruction...more>>
Education Week: President Trump Signs Spending Bill That Includes Billions More for Education
President Donald Trump signed into law spending legislation that provides a significant funding increase for the U.S. Department of Education, including more money for educator development, after-school programs, and special education, among other programs...more>>
EdSurge: States Issue Privacy Ultimatums to Education Technology Vendors
Last October Connecticut's leading education groups and associations issued a joint ultimatum to vendors that use or collect student data: Comply with our new data-privacy requirements or take your business elsewhere...more>>
The 74: A 'Lost Decade' for Academic Progress? NAEP Scores Remain Flat Amid Signs of a Widening Gap Between Highest and Lowest Performers
Test scores released Tuesday for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) continued a decade-long trend of stasis, with small improvements measured only for performance in eighth-grade reading...more>>
Edsurge: China's NetDragon to Acquire Edmodo for $137.5 Million
China's NetDragon has gobbled up another education technology company. This time, it's Edmodo, one the largest online social communities of teachers and students in the world...more>>
Hechinger: Schools prove soft targets for hackers
Sometimes Superintendent Steve Bradshaw has to close the schools in Columbia Falls, Montana because of snow. But he never thought he'd have to call off school because of an attack by the Dark Overlords. Then, in September 2017, students and staff across the district started receiving threatening text messages and emails...more>>
EdTech: Digital Surveillance Systems Help Keep K-12 Students, Staff Safe from Harm
School districts around the country are investing in cameras with cloud capabilities...more>>
Venture Beat: Kids expected to drive VR demand as parents try to moderate health risks
A solid majority of parents expect that virtual reality will help educate children but believe the technology also poses health risks, a new report from Common Sense Media said today...more>>
The 74: A Huge For-Profit Charter Network Uses the Same Approaches as High-Performing Nonprofits. The Results Are Impressive
One of the largest for-profit charter school networks in the country, National Heritage Academies, produces substantial gains in student achievement compared to traditional public schools in Michigan, according to a major new study circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research...more>>
EdSurge: Amazon Will Shut Down TenMarks and Its Digital Math and Writing Tools
Amazon will be sunsetting TenMarks and its online instructional tools, which were once at the forefront of the company's K-12 digital education strategy...more>>
Observatory: Forest schools, teaching and learning in natural environments
Forest Schools are educational activities carried out in natural environments that complement traditional programs. According to the Outdoor & Woodland Learning of Scotland, a forest school is a long-term program that takes place in the forest, usually once a week, in which children learn in an environment outdoors surrounded by nature...more>>
EdSurge: 5 Levers That Can Unlock Smarter Demand for Education Technology
When Clayton Christensen and Michael Horn published "Disrupting Class" in 2008, the current wave of education technology was still finding its footing...more>>
Wired: How Apple Lost Its Place in the Classroom
In Chicago Yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook stepped into the auditorium at Lane Technical College Prep High School and told an audience about the future of education...more>>
WSJ: Why Apple Got Schooled by Google
Apple's business model makes it hard to compete with Google in budget-conscious education market...more>>
EdSurge: One Day Before Apple's Big Education Event, Google Unveils Tablet News of Its Own
Today, just one day before Apple's big education-related event, Google is jumping ahead with a small announcement of its own: the first education tablet made for Chrome OS...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: Big 'Open' Educational Resources Provider Joins Forces With Microsoft
A leading provider of "open" educational resources has secured a potentially huge platform for reaching K-12 schools by striking a partnership with Microsoft to deliver its curriculum through the tech giant's classroom products...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: 'Personalized Learning' Plays Role in Many States' ESSA Plans, Report Finds
Personalized learning, or some of its components, appears in most state accountability plans submitted under the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to a study released by the nonprofit KnowledgeWorks...more>>
Education Week: Privacy Experts Assess Potential K-12 Fallout From Facebook's Crisis of Trust
Student data privacy advocates say the storm clouds around Facebook from the evolving Cambridge Analytica scandal are a reminder that schools, educators, and students should be asking tough questions about how their data is being protected or used...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: Renaissance Acquires myON to Create Merged Lineup of Reading, Assessment Products
The major provider of assessment and classroom products Renaissance announced today that it will acquire myON, in a move aimed at creating a broad, complementary array of literacy products for schools...more>>
EdSource: Don't swap state tests like Smarter Balanced for SAT or ACT, report cautions
States should not abandon their high school math and reading assessments in favor of the college readiness tests SAT or ACT, a prominent national education nonprofit advised in a new report...more>>
ACT: STEM Education in the U.S.
ACT's annual Condition of STEM reports provide essential national data on student interest and achievement in STEM subjects...more>>
EdSurge: No Kidding: This Pre-Revenue Edtech Startup Just Raised $15M in Series B Funding
The days of raising tens of millions in venture capital before making a cent in revenue are not over for the education technology industry. Kiddom, the developer behind a K-12 content management and collaborative learning platform, has raised $15 million in a Series B round led by Owl Ventures...more>>
Edsurge: What School Could Be-and What Education Investors Get Wrong
Does this sound familiar? A philanthropist, who studied at elite universities and built his wealth from a career in technology, decides to champion education as his next cause-under the belief that today's schools are not adequately preparing the next generation for the future...more>>
Hechinger: Universal preschool is most cost-effective, study finds
Because preschool programs that include all kids boost low-income 4-year-olds' reading scores, they could be a better way to spend tax dollars, according to a Dartmouth economist...more>>
EdDive: Key takeaways from one of the longest-running studies on the impact of early-childhood education
Low-income black and Hispanic individuals who received four to six years of early intervention services were almost 50% more likely to earn a college degree by age 35 than those who weren't part of the program, according to the latest results of a longitudinal study of the Chicago Parent Centers (CPC)...more>>
Venture Beat: Tencent partners with Age of Learning for English learning apps in China
Tencent, the biggest gaming company in the world, and educational games startup Age of Learning have teamed up to bring English learning apps to China...more>>
EdSurge: Chinese K-12 Online Company, 'Homework Together' Raises $200 Million
17zuoye, a Beijing-based K-12 online education company, has raised $200 million in a Series E round led by Toutiao, a Chinese developer behind a mobile news and content platform...more>>
NPR: Dept. Of Education Fail: Teachers Lose Grants, Forced To Repay Thousands In Loans
America needs teachers committed to working with children who have the fewest advantages in life. So for a decade the federal government has offered grants - worth up to $4,000 a year - to standout college students who agree to teach subjects like math or science at lower-income schools...more>>
EdSurge: The Data Tells All: Teacher Salaries Have Been Declining For Years
Economists following the teacher protests in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona say they saw this coming. As the costs of living, higher education, healthcare and retirement are rising, researchers studying salary trends note that the average pay for teachers has dipped...more>>
Getting Smart: Education Systems Should Be Based on How Students Develop
Turnaround for Children, an organization focused on "creating evidence-based tools that work in high-risk settings," recently released a report that examines a growing body of research on student development and growth: Key Findings and Implications of the Science of Learning and Development...more>>
EdSurge: Sir Ken Robinson's Next Act: You Are the System and You Can Change Education
In a wide-ranging interview, Robinson recently spoke with us about collaboration versus competition, the all-important parent-teacher relationship and what every parent and educator can do to improve education...more>>
WSJ: Gun-Violence Protests Drew an Estimated 1 Million Students
In a wave across the country Wednesday morning, students voted with their feet to protest government inaction on gun control. Nearly 1 million students took part in protests, which included kindergartners through high-school seniors...more>>

Higher Ed
Chronicle: A Sector in Flux: How For-Profit Higher Ed Has Shifted
Bridgepoint Education's decision on Tuesday to spin off its Ashford University brand has already rankled critics of the company specifically, and of the for-profit sector in general...more>>
WSJ: Should College Education Be Free?
Supporters of tuition-free higher education say it is an investment that benefits all Americans. But opponents say expecting taxpayers to shoulder the cost is unfair...more>>
TechCrunch: EdTech is having a renaissance, powered by the emerging world
So-called 'EdTech' has seen many false dawns over the years. After being lauded as the teaching platforms of the future, most MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course platforms) have not quite lived up to the superlatives made for them, and the sector has had trouble coming up with more innovative ideas for a while...more>>
NYT: With Changing Students and Times, Colleges Are Going Back to School
Many colleges and universities are facing a gloomy picture, painted by polls, politics and population shifts that are forcing an overhaul of campuses across the country...more>>
The EvoLLLution: The Essential Employability Qualities Certification: Assuring Graduates Are Prepared for the 21st Century Workforce
The Quality Assurance Commons for Higher & Postsecondary Education, in partnership with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) and with funding from Lumina Foundation, set out to better understand these gaps and to develop a new approach to quality assurance focusing on workforce readiness...more>>
Forbes: For-Profit Colleges' Teachable Moment: 'Terrible Outcomes Are Very Profitable'
Today, American college graduates collectively owe a staggering $1.3 trillion in student debt - the second highest debt category in the country, following mortgage debt and outpacing automobile loans and credit card debt. Over a tenth of graduates ultimately default on their loans...more>>
Observatory: First blockchain university promises to be the Uber for Students and AirBnB for teachers
Woolf University will not have lecture halls or studying facilities. Students and professors will meet through an app to arrange one-to-one or one-to-two tutorial sessions...more>>
EdSurge: Are You Still There? How a 'Netflix' Model For Advising Lost Its Luster
The "Netflix for education" analogy has become somewhat of a cliché for edtech companies using student data to recommend anything from courses to textbooks...more>>
Future U Podcast
Co-hosts Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn discuss what's next for #highered and talk with the newsmakers in the academy and the Ed Tech industry you want to hear from most. If you're curious about the future of colleges, learning, and human capital this is a podcast you won't want to miss...more>>
EdSurge: Leif Gives $10M to Cover Thinkful's Future Income-Share Agreements
Leif, a fintech investment group, is giving $10 million to support future students at the online coding bootcamp Thinkful. Leif offers a platform for schools and companies to create and manage income-share agreements (ISA), tuition models where students pay back a portion of their salary after completing a program and landing a job rather than paying upfront or throughout the program...more>>
Forbes: 5 Reasons Generation Z Will Be 'Generation Smart' About College
You might think members of the do-it-yourself, YouTube-obsessed Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) would be less likely to rely on a traditional college education than previous generations. But 89% think a college education is valuable, according to Barnes & Noble College research...more>>
EdTech: For Higher Ed, Biometrics Promises One-of-a-Kind Security
Institutions explore identity authentication tactics involving fingerprints, irises and even hearts...more>>
Education Next: An Elite Grad-School Degree Goes Online
...The Georgia Tech program confirms that, when done well, online coursework can substantially increase overall educational attainment and expand access to students who would not otherwise enroll...more>>
NPR: Reinventing Community College To Reach Millions Of Workers - Online
The workforce is changing dramatically, and there's a widespread recognition that new skills - and new ways of teaching adults those skills - are needed and needed fast. In California, the state's 114 community colleges are facing the challenge of offering the credentials, classes and training that will help workers choose a career or adapt to a new one...more>>
Brookings: Evidence-based reforms in college remediation are gaining steam - and so far living up to the hype
Colleges, particularly community colleges, have long relied upon remedial coursework to help academically underprepared students get ready for college-level work...more>>
The Atlantic: Donald Trump Doesn't Understand Community Colleges
In a speech on Thursday, he revealed he doesn't appreciate the vital role they play in the country's education system and economy...more>>
Chronicle: DeVos Gives Controversial Accreditor a New Chance and More Time
The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday evening that a controversial accreditor, which had lost its federal recognition in 2016, would again be eligible to serve as a gatekeeper of financial aid...more>>
Politico: What's next on DeVos' regulatory chopping block
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has moved swiftly over the last year to undo many of the Obama administration's signature higher education policies...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Congress's Budget for Higher Ed, by the Numbers
Most student aid programs would see increases approaching 15 percent, science agencies more modest but still significant boosts...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: The Perils of Presidential Job-Hopping
Akron president is stepping down after he applied for job in Florida. Is the system good for anyone?...more>>
Campus Technology: Prospective Students Want to Know About Academic Programs More than Cost, Reputation
When searching for information on colleges, prospective students are most interested in information about specific majors and minors, according to a new survey from research company EAB...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Tuition Grows in Importance
Annual report on public higher education finance shows more states relying more heavily on tuition, even in a year when appropriations rose nationally...more>>
Bloomberg: Chinese Companies Are Buying Up Cash-Strapped U.S. Colleges
Chinese companies are taking advantage of America's financially strapped higher-education system to buy schools, and the latest deal for a classical music conservatory in Princeton, New Jersey, is striking chords of dissonance on campus...more>>
The EvoLLLution: Education Or Revenue Generation? Revisiting Business Practices in Higher Education
In 2010, Mark Kretovics published Business Practices in Higher Education: A Guide for Today's Administrators, a breakthrough guide offering higher education and student affairs professionals an understanding of the fundamental business nature of colleges and universities...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Marketing the Why in Higher Education
In a sea of sameness, higher ed marketers need to turn attention to why their institutions do what they do...more>>
University Ventures: Planned Obsolescence
Some things just aren't made to last, like high-tech blimps. But what about programs of study at colleges and universities? They're intended to last forever, and most do...more>>
EdDive: Could Interstate Passport Network disrupt the transfer system?
North Idaho College is the latest institution to join the Interstate Passport Network, a coalition of two- and four-year institutions which allow for block-transfer of credits between other member schools...more>>
Chronicle: With Its Model Under the Gun, an Online-Education Leader Makes the Case for Mentors
An audit last year by an independent arm of the U.S. Education Department questioned whether the teaching model of Western Governors University, built around competency-based learning, ran afoul of a federal law. Western Governors begged to differ...more>>
The Atlantic: The Third Education Revolution
Schools are moving toward a model of continuous, lifelong learning in order to meet the needs of today's economy
When the giant Indian technology-services firm Infosys announced last November that it would open a design and innovation hub in Providence, the company's president said one of the key reasons he chose Rhode Island was its strong network of higher-education institutions: Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Community College of Rhode Island...more>>
EdDive: Is the idea of higher ed as a private good holding back public support?
No one would disagree, at this juncture, that higher ed is facing a perception problem...more>>
Gallup: From College to Life: Relevance and the Value of Higher Education
This report is the first in a three-part series examining how college courses affect consumer perceptions of the value and quality of their education as well as their general well-being...more>>
Bloomberg: Student Debt Is a Harsh Math Lesson for U.S. Graduates
Since 2003, borrowing for education advanced faster, in percentage terms, than all other types of consumer debt that includes mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show. As of the fourth quarter, student loans represented 10.5 percent of a record $13.1 trillion in household debt, up from 3.3 percent at the start of 2003...more>>
The Conversation: New federal program tackles spiraling costs of college textbooks
The Conversation: College students will keep more money in their pockets thanks to a new US$5 million pilot program approved as part of the $1.3 trillion appropriations bill that President Donald J. Trump signed on March 23...more>>
CNBC: American women hold two-thirds of all student debt-here's why
Americans collectively hold almost 1.5 trillion in student debt, but some students are shouldering more of the burden than others. According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), women hold roughly two-thirds of all student debt in the nation...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Tuition Hikes Hurt Diversity
New study examines impact of tuition increases. Nonselective institutions see the greatest decline in diversity...more>>
EdDive: Study offers insight into the adult learner profile
The Chronicle of Higher Education has produced a new report profiling the growth of adult learners as a critical part of the American college student profile...more>>
EdDive: Is US on verge of a higher education trade deficit?
A recent article in the Register-Guard examines the looming trade deficit facing the United States in one of its most successful areas of export: higher education...more>>
EdSurge: The Forgotten Students
...What's striking is that, in almost every single story I listened to where the student dropped out, almost never did the college they were attending reach out to see how they might help them re-enroll...more>>
The EvoLLLution: Declining College Enrollment from Traditional-Age Students Will Hit Hard: Are Adult Students the Answer?
In a new book by Nathan Grawe entitled Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education, the author develops a higher education demand index (HEDI) that looks at the slowing growth in the number of traditional-age students graduating from high school...more>>
PBS News Hour: Despite DeVos help, for-profit colleges yet to see a rebound
The for-profit college industry is struggling under the weight of declining enrollment, stiff competition from traditional universities and an image battered by past misdeeds, even as the Trump administration tries to offer a helping hand...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: N.Y. For-Profits Get Piece of Scholarship Pie
For-profit colleges in New York can now participate in the tuition-free scholarship program that typically benefits nonprofit institutions alone...more>>
NYT: It Oversaw For-Profit Colleges That Imploded. Now It Seeks a Comeback.
The organization at the center of one of the largest fraud scandals in the history of for-profit colleges is planning a comeback...more>>
Zacks: 5 Stocks to Buy in DeVos' For-Profit Education Regime
For-profit education stocks have received a strong lift from the Trump wave that has boosted the broader market. Sector leaders Adtalem Global Education Inc. formerly known as DeVry, Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and Strayer Education, Inc. have each outperformed the S&P 500 since Trump's election...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Bucking the Trend
Strayer restarts its campus expansion amid growing enrollment, federal deregulation and increased demand for skilled workers...more>>
Diverse Education: Report: New York For-Profit Colleges Falling Short
New York's for-profit colleges leave students with huge debt and have little impact on earning potential, according to a new report published by The Century Foundation...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Ashford Seeks to Become a Nonprofit
Ashford University is the latest big for-profit bidding to become nonprofit. The university's owner, Bridgepoint Education, will seek to become an online program management company...more>>

Et Alia
EdDive: SXSWedu 2018: Our recap of Austin's ed innovation extravaganza
We've rounded up all of our coverage of last week's show in one location for your convenience...more>>
HR Dive: Employers' top training priority for 2018? Soft skills
The 2018 Workplace Learning Report by LinkedIn details how employers are feeling the crush of skill gaps across all industries, and how they're responding by creating learning opportunities to guide staff and their organizations to thrive in tomorrow's labor market...more>>
Observatory: Workplace top priorities: soft skills training and career support
LinkedIn released the results of a survey conducted on the social network that asked 4,000 professionals -1,200 talent developers, 400 managers, 200 executives, and 2,200 employees- for their insights in the trends of education in the labor market...more>>
Stanford Business: "The Workplace Is Killing People and Nobody Cares"
A new book examines the massive health care toll today's work culture exacts on employees...more>>
NPR: As Views Of Tech Turn Negative, Remorse Comes To Silicon Valley
There are a lot of regrets coming out of Silicon Valley these days as the dark side of the tech revolution becomes increasingly apparent. From smartphone addiction to the big scandal involving the misuse of personal information from some 87 million Facebook users...more>>
McKinsey: Top Ten Articles first quarter 2018
1. Why digital strategies fail. 2. An executive's guide to AI. 3. What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages. 4. The five trademarks of agile organizations...more>>
HBR: Harvard's President on Leading During a Time of Change
Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard University, talks about leading the institution through a decade of change, from the financial crisis to the Trump era. Faust discusses how communicating as a leader is different from communicating as an expert, the surprising ways her study of U.S. Civil War history prepared her for the top job, and what it's like to be the first female president in the University's four-century history...more>>
Venture Beat: The rise of 'massively personal online role-playing' games is nigh
Computer science doesn't just solve technical issues when it comes to making games. This is one of the many takeaways from the discussion between Improbable chief creative officer Bill Roper and StoryPHORCE CEO and founder Steve Peterson on the future of game design...more>>
Fast Company: Snapchat's redesign: 3 reasons why middle schoolers hate it
Over the last few months, Snap has faced widespread online complaints about the redesign of its Snapchat app. Now analyst firm MoffettNathanson has made it official: Most people hate the new Snapchat-even the young'uns...more>>
Edsurge: Education Administration and Payment Company, Connexeo Raises $110 Million
Connexeo, a Minneapolis-based company that provides administrative and payment software used in schools and community organizations, has raised $110 million in a growth equity investment round from Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. In the press release, the company claims to serves "tens of thousands of global clients in the US, Australia and New Zealand," including K-12 and higher-ed institutions...more>>
EdWeek Market Brief: First Ed-Tech Trade Mission by U.S. Government Will Travel to Latin America
Colombia and Peru will be the first two countries on a U.S. government-sponsored trade mission for educational technology and other services for schools and universities...more>>
EdSurge: The 8 Education Technology Startups From Y Combinator's Latest Batch
There were all the usual trappings of a startup demo day. Caffeinated founders paced the lobby in colorful T-shirts splattered with their company logos, polishing their pitches for their on-stage presentation and meetings with potential investors...more>>
EdSurge: Global Investors Launch New Edtech Funds: Exceed Capital and HighGrade Ventures
The global education technology industry is no stranger to dedicated investment funds, and now there are a couple more names to add to the list...more>>
EdDive: Can video games help students learn complicated concepts?
Texas A&M will use a $100,000 grant to commercialize 3-D video games in art history and calculus to supplement regular classwork...more>>
Observatory: Edu Trends Report, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
The concepts of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are becoming increasingly common in the field of education...more>>
EdDive: Institutional Innovation: The classroom of the future for all types of students
When it comes to how higher education leaders can get more students to their institutions, the same advice comes up over and over again - build partnerships with local K-12 districts...more>>
BlendEd: Edtech Exits on the Rise
...I've confirmed that a common misconception about edtech is that there are few and only small exits in the market. In reality, the private (M&A) and public markets for edtech stocks are really heating up...more>>
New America: The Department of Deregulation
DeVos' New Regulatory Agenda to Roll Back Protections for Students...more>>
NYT: Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys
Black boys raised in America, even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighborhoods, still earn less in adulthood than white boys with similar backgrounds, according to a sweeping new study that traced the lives of millions of children...more>>
Observatory: OECD predicts that automation will eliminate 14 percent of jobs
Once again, we are facing a study that predicts the impact that automation will have on jobs. As we have read in recent months, there is confusion and distrust in the face of the technological revolution that many specialists predict...more>>
Fast Company: Why Practical Skills Will Matter More Than Your Degree In The New Economy
But the transition away from traditional credentials faces strong headwinds for now...more>>
The Economist: AI-spy, The workplace of the future
As artificial intelligence pushes beyond the tech industry, work could become fairer-or more oppressive...more>>
MIT Sloan Management: How Leaders Face the Future of Work
We are living through a grand transition in the way people work. Constant and extraordinary innovation in machine learning and robotics has and will continue to reshape work. Some tasks will be replaced. Others will be augmented. No one - whether highly skilled or less skilled - will be untouched...more>>
Observatory: AT&T bets $1 billion dollars in employee education
Transnational telecommunications company AT&T is undergoing massive training, after discovering that half of its 250,000 employees lack the skills needed to keep the company competitive the medium and long-term...more>>
EdSurge: Utah's Edtech Unicorn, Pluralsight Files for Initial Public Offering
The long-awaited filing finally happened. This morning, Pluralsight announced it had confidentially submitted paperwork for an initial public offering...more>>
HR Dive: Gamification in learning: A boon for engagement and team building
Gamification is catching on in the learning marketplace, and for good reason...more>>
CNBC: Amazon's cloud is looking at building a corporate training service
Amazon's cloud business is considering a service for companies to show training content to their employees, according to two people familiar with the plans and job listings...more>>
Globe Newswire: Holberton School for Software Engineering Closes $8 million in A Round Funding
With funding led by daphni and Trinity Ventures, joined by new investor Omidyar Network, the college alternative aims to graduate more software engineers than Stanford and Harvard combined...more>>
EdSurge: Coding Bootcamps Cross the Chasm
Back in September 2016, I applied Gartner's Hype Cycle theory to predict the coming year in the coding bootcamp industry...more>>
Venture Beat: Udacity announces School of AI with 4 new nanodegrees and 3D simulator
Online learning platform Udacity today announced plans to launch Universe, a 3D simulator for the makers of autonomous vehicles, as well as the opening of its first-ever School of AI to supply educational courses necessary for people to find jobs that require artificial intelligence knowledge...more>>
Inside Higher Ed: Udacity U-Turns on Money-Back Guarantee
Online education provider Udacity quietly drops money-back pledge for those who can't find a job after finishing their studies...more>>
Wired: Tech Companies Try to Retrain the Workers They're Displacing
ON January 16, a new course launched on the online learning platform Coursera with an unassuming name: The Google IT Support Professional Certificate. It promised to prepare beginners for entry-level jobs in IT in eight to 12 months...more>>
WSJ: One Year of 'College' With No Degree, But No Debt And a Job at the End
New schools tout themselves as alternatives to college in the digital age, but they lack the traditional benefits of a postsecondary education...more>>
HR Dive: Home Depot puts $50M toward training skilled workers
In a move to meet increased consumer demand, The Home Depot joins competitor Lowe's in taking a step toward developing training opportunities with apprenticeships and skilled trades programming...more>>
PR Web: Nexford University Closes $4 Million Seed Round to Establish Next-Generation University
Nexford has closed a seed round of $4 million in its quest to build a next-generation learning experience, designed to bridge the gap between higher education and global workplace needs...more>>
HR Dive: With Android developer program, Google will again train non-employees
A new partnership between LinkedIn Learning and Google aims to train professionals interested in pursuing a career in Android development and coding...more>>
HR Dive: Inside the perfect storm of problems that created the skills gap
How do you match the right talent with the right job? Employers are scrambling to answer that question...more>>
WSJ: More Companies Teach Workers What Colleges Don't
At Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, Wash., workers take classes in algebra, physics and writing in the factory complex and can check out books from a company library...more>>
HRDive: Taco Bell to expand employee education pilot that upped retention by 34%
Taco Bell has announced a program to offer educational support to its 210,000 team members nationwide. Provided through Guild Education, the offering came in response to employee demand, the company says; educational support was identified as one of the top three benefits employees requested...more>>
Burning Glass: Different Skills, Different Gaps
The term "skills gap" conjures up the image of one giant chasm, a sort of Grand Canyon between what employers need and what workers can provide. But that suggests that the skills gap has a single cause and a single solution. In fact, different industries and occupations experience the problem in different ways...In this report for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Burning Glass Technologies approached the problem using an innovative new model to map both supply (using federal workforce statistics) and demand (based on job postings)...more>>