Straight Talk: May 25, 2011

Straight Talk:  The StraighterLine e-Newsletter Issue #11, May 25, 2011
Edited by Jeffrey Lee Simons

In this issue…

Win an iPad2: Announcing the StraighterLine Summer Slam Contest

Did you know you could take college courses at StraighterLine this summer? Of course you did. But did you also know that two smart, talented StraighterLine students who sign up for online college courses using the special Summer Slam code will win an iPad2 this summer? iPads will be awarded for Best GPA and most courses started and completed during the contest. Get the code and contest details here.

StraighterLine Reports: Famous Distance Learners

Steven Spielberg was a distance learner. So was Shaquille O’Neal. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, who completed his BA in Business and International Economics via distance learning. Find out who else got their college degrees the non-traditional way in this latest StraighterLine Report: Famous Distance Learners.

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Get a Perfect Fit with Our No-Risk Free Trial

Would you ever buy a new pair of jeans or sneakers without trying them on first? At StraighterLine, we want you to be sure we’re a perfect fit, too. That’s why we offer a risk-free trial of 6 StraighterLine courses. Try us on… you’ve got nothing to lose, and thousands of dollars to save.

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Best of The StraighterLine Blog

Graduation season is on everyone’s minds this month, but whether you’re graduating college this month or high school next month, your education shouldn’t end when the last bell rings. Here are 3 posts from The StraighterLine Blog that can help you decide your next move.

Three Reasons to Take Online College Courses After You Graduate College
Thought you were done with learning, huh? Barry Lenson offers up 3 compelling reasons why you may want to take online college courses before (or even after) you start your first job. Read Full Post

Alarming: 265 American Colleges Still Accepting Applications for Next Year
If you didn’t get into a school you applied to and you thought it was all over for 2011, there may still be hope. According to The National Association for College Admissions Counseling, there are hundreds of schools still accepting applications to fill open spaces for incoming freshman and for transfer students. There’s even still financial aid and housing left. Read Full Post 

Busted Myth of the Week: It’s Too Late to Start College in September
If the previous post isn’t enough to get your hopes up, then we suggest reading Barry Lenson’s post on why it’s not too late to start college in September. Think outside of the box, people, because the conventional wisdom about college isn’t so wise anymore. Read Full Post

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There’s still time to apply for The StraighterLine Scholarship for Working Moms

Have you submitted your essay yet? The June 1st deadline is fast approaching, but there’s still time to apply. Just to remind you, to apply you must submit an essay of at least 200 words telling us what going back to school will mean for you and your family. If your essay is selected, you will receive FOR FREE our “Freshman Year for $999” program, consisting of up to 10 StraighterLine courses. 3 runners up will get free enrollment for 1 month plus 1 free course. Details here.
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Online Education in The News

Four of our partner colleges made the news this past week, so they’re the subjects of this issue’s “Online Education in The News.”

Beyond the Region: Excelsior College
TimesUnion.com, Larry Rulison, 5/22/11

Excelsior College, one of the largest distance learning schools in the US (and a StraighterLine partner school) is lobbying members of Congress to get them to understand the impact new regulations are having on distance learning. The new laws, which go into effect July 1, require distance learning schools to register courses in states where there students live. The new laws will cost Excelsior $300,000 according to college president John Ebersole. Read Full Article

WGU Washington Gets a Chancellor:
“Bellevue College chief takes job at online school”
The Seattle Times, Katherine Long, 5/23/11

StraighterLine partner school Western Governors University is expanding by adding WGU Washington to its roster of state-focused online branches. (WGU Indiana was the first.) The school just announced that they were hiring longtime Bellevue College President Jean Floten as their chancellor. Floten has spent years fighting to increase offerings on the community college level to accommodate more students, but is moving to WGU because "To make progress in the private sector, there are not a lot of barriers," Floten said. "If you can think it, you can begin to put it into play." According to The Seattle Times, Floten called WGU “the best of the breed among online universities.” Read Full Article

Kaplan University Online Nursing Programs Granted Accreditation by Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
SunHerald.com, 5/23/11

Great news for our partner school, Kaplan University! Their online Master of Science in Nursing has just been accredited, and their online Bachelor of Science in Nursing was just re-accredited by the CCNE. The CCNE is an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education that ensures the quality and integrity of bachelor- and graduate-level nursing education programs. Read Full Article

College 2.0: Transforming Higher Education through Greater Innovation and Smarter Regulation
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for a Competitive Workforce, 5/16/11

Two of our partner schools, DeVry University and Western Governors University, are featured in a new report by the U.S Chamber of Commerce along with other educational disrupters like The Khan Academy and us, StraighterLine. According to this new report, higher education has yet to “tap the potential of digital technology and embrace private sector-led innovation to transform learning, dramatically lower costs, or improve overall institutional productivity.” Read Full Article and download PDF

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Need cash on campus?

Then spread the word about StraighterLine! Tell your fellow students how with StraighterLine, they can graduate sooner with less debt – and you can earn commission money for yourself at the same time. Join the StraighterLine Campus rep program today!

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Burck’s Blast: "Flat-Fees punish students and cost taxpayers money"

Opinion from StraighterLine's founder, Burck Smith 

Excerpt from “Price Competition and Course-Level Choice in K-12 Education: Lessons from Higher Ed”, prepared for the American Enterprise Institute Conference, “More Than Just Schools: Rethinking the Demand for Educational Entrepreneurship”, Burck Smith, 12/09

Every effective new technology, from the pencil to the wheel to the Internet, increases productivity. An increase in productivity means that more of the same should be able to be accomplished at the same cost, the same should be able to be accomplished at a reduced cost, or both. Computers and the Internet have become commonplace in all walks of life. Industry after industry has evolved and been disrupted by these new technologies, except education. In education, despite tremendous investments in technology at the post-secondary and K-12 level, the price has gone up and quality seems to have gone down. Why? Because the market mechanism necessary to sift the good products from the bad at the course and service level barely exists in higher education and does not exist in K-12 education.

Historically, such choice has not been possible because the range of choices has been relatively limited. Now, things are different. The explosion of online education and services brings options and competition. If embraced, this competition can drive tremendous cost reductions and product improvements. Further, it could more appropriately value the multitude of varied inputs that are part of a child’s education. With a more accurate system of valuation, scarce resources can be allocated more efficiently across the entire educational enterprise – academics, services, extra-curriculars, and formative experiences.

K-12 administrators and policymakers can look to post-secondary education’s response to course level competition to draw lessons about how it should respond. On the one hand, the state standards prevalent across the country makes K-12 more “interoperable” than post-secondary education, therefore, with the right choice structure, cost savings and product improvements could accrue very rapidly. On the other hand, K-12 education is lacking the kind of consumer choice mechanism found in post-secondary education. Accordingly, K-12 administrators and policymakers will have to make a deliberate choice to open their borders to embrace course and service level competition or to close their borders to protect existing teaching and educational methods. Which will be chosen?

 StraighterLine Welcomes New Partner Schools