Higher Ed Mash Up

Commentary about the advantages when colleges and universities blend the liberal arts and professional training. A musical “mash up” blends two (or more) pieces of music to make a new, synchronized song. A higher ed “mash up” produces students who are career ready and prepared for life.

January 2, 2013 - 3:00am
In the last year or two, many challenges have been made to lower the cost of earning a degree, create differential pricing based on major, or allow individual professors to set the cost of their on-line courses. A high quality blend of liberal arts and professional training will never compete with pressures for new, low-cost options if price alone is considered. When playing the game Let’s Make a Deal, many excellent institutions will lose out to these economic pressures unless they respond with much more than good economic arguments.  
December 13, 2012 - 5:01pm
How might institutions that focus on science and engineering provide a more blended education that provides opportunities for students to study and apply what they have learned outside the sciences?
December 3, 2012 - 3:00am
As institutions examine the challenges to the liberal arts, how do they respond? Are institutions that move in the direction of offering a more career-oriented curriculum abandoning the liberal arts? How might institutions stay true to the liberal arts while acknowledging the genuine needs of students to be career-ready?
November 20, 2012 - 9:49am
What might a water well used traditionally in rural Spain teach us about how to make the most of MOOCs?
November 16, 2012 - 3:00am
As students and families are questioning the value of a college degree and unsure about the accumulating debt in the process, it is critical to make the case for the value of education on our campuses and even to reallocate the savings offered by efficiencies to improve that value.
November 5, 2012 - 7:33pm
Given the critical need for change in American higher education, many schools would gain a strategic advantage if they genuinely provide connections between educating for the liberal arts and the professions.
October 30, 2012 - 4:07pm
In response to the current challenges facing higher education, all types of institutions will need to continually examine how their missions and programs support students both in obtaining their first jobs and preparing them for life.  Colleges and universities should identify the components of their liberal arts and professional training programs and take the strategic actions necessary  to “mash up” the liberal arts and professional training.
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