Around 12 per cent of the entire budget for post-16 education in England is being wasted on the 10 per cent of students who fail to complete their studies – a figure that rises to 25 per cent among apprentices.

The analysis, which was carried out for the Local Government Association (LGA) by the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, found the cost to the public purse is ?814m.

The report shows that 178,100 16- to 18-year-olds failed to complete post-16 qualifications they had embarked upon in 2012-13 – prompting an outcry from local government leaders, academics and teachers’ leaders.

Schools and colleges are funded according to the number of students they recruit, leading the LGA to say that too many institutions are adopting a policy of recruiting as many students as possible to sixth-form or college courses, instead of ensuring each individual can be steered towards a course suitable for them.

“Councils want every young person to achieve their full potential but too many are still dropping out of post-16 education and training or not achieving a pass grade,” said David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board.

“Our analysis lays bare the substantial cost of this but the human cost is even greater, with youngsters left struggling with uncertainty and a sense of failure and facing tough decisions about what to do next.”

The LGA warns that the 178,100 dropouts run the risk of becoming “Neets”  – left marginalised by not being involved in education, employment or training.

The dropout rate from AS-levels, the exams worth half an A-level which have been considered a stepping stone to the full courses, was 10 per cent. The A-level dropout rate was 5 per cent. There were 75,000 withdrawals from individual AS-levels and 22,000 from  A-levels.

The cost of dropout and non-achievement was ?316m from AS- and A-levels, ?302m from further education and ?196m from apprenticeships.

The authors say that in recent years the cost to the Exchequer may have been even more costly as AS-level and A-level dropout rates have improved – but warned that the situation could soon become worse.

The LGA is asking all political parties to give councils more freedom to work closely with local employers to provide local solutions to offering the courses that will most help young people in their neighbourhood – instead of leaving them to try to match nationally imposed programmes to local needs.

“Councils are having success in helping young people that do dropout back into learning but fear a failure to reform the centralised ‘bums on seats’ approach to funding further education could leave too many teenagers at risk of dropping out in the future,” Mr Simmonds added.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment at Buckingham University, added: “It is the fault of successive governments because we don’t have clear pathways for students at that age.

“Schools want to hold on to them – but then they discover that academic work is not for them. If they then opt for further education colleges or apprenticeships, it is a bit of a muddle.  The ladder from school to university is clear but the ladder from school to employment is anything but. This has to be a high priority for an incoming government to tackle.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We have invested ?7.2bn to fund a place for every 16- and 17-year-old in England who wants one. We are reforming academic qualifications and vocational education to ensure young people get the knowledge and skills that they need to move into a job.”

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Dr Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, told a London conference of head teachers that Muslims were happy to sign up to the teaching of values of fairness and tolerance saying that these were the “values of all of us” but said that the climate in which they had been published had led to many Muslims feeling their Britishness was under scrutiny.

Dr Shafi said: “This should not be a set of values achieved by some , the existing British population, which those who are not quite British enough must be civilised by.”

His comments came as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said that tackling the threat of extremism in British schools was to be made a higher priority. In a statement to the House of Commons yesterday Ms Morgan said her department would extend the role of “counter extremism” in schools.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has said that tackling the threat of extremism in British schools is a high priority (Getty Images)
Dr Shafi also defended the schools at the centre of the Trojan Horse scandal in Birmingham saying that they had been high-achieving before they were damaged by the allegations.

“Failures in governance and procedures do no equate to a caliphatic takeover. In getting to the bottom of the Trojan Horse allegations we missed an opportunity for community cohesion. Instead for too many Muslims it was another episode where Muslims are supposed to question where they belong when in fact they are as British as anyone else.

“Children in these schools were achieving highly and had promising futures. The so called Trojan Horse allegations undermined that and effectively destroyed their confidence.”

Dr Shafi was speaking at the 100 Group conference, a meeting of state and private school head teachers organised by the independent Brighton College and Kingsford Community School, a state comprehensive in east London.

 

Richard Cairns, head of Brighton College, told the conference about a state school where Muslim boys turned their backs on girls dancing in a school performance and insisted that they needed to leave their classrooms in the middle of lessons in order to pray at set times.

But Dr Shafi shocked heads when he said that was acceptable as long as the pupils did not show disrespect saying “they need to make their feelings known”, but after repeated questioning conceded that: “they should adopt the rules of the school”.

Joan Deslandes, head of Kingsford Community School, said schools experienced problems when trying to teach about statutory subjects such as gay rights because some parents would either keep their children at home on that day or lodge time-consuming complaints.

She said: “If children are not turning up for lessons it can be very difficult. We are in loco parentis during the school day but then the child goes back to the parents and is being told to ignore what they are being told in the school day. It leads to a breakdown in order and discipline."

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Against the odds, I graduated into adulthood with an enjoyment of cooking. I would even say I’m not a bad chef, but how would my skills match up to the freshly unveiled GCSE in food preparation?

Concern has been raised that the course is too hard for 14 to 16-year-olds. As well as learning about the “scientific principles underlying the preparation and cooking of food”, pupils will be expected to portion a chicken, fillet a fish and conjure up  hollandaise, velout? and b?chamel sauces.

What better way for me to  test my skills than to receive a one-on-one practical lesson from one of London’s top chefs? Michelin star chef Paul Hood, patron at Soho restaurant chain Social Eating House, was not a fan of school cookery classes. “I failed my home economics class so badly that I got a G, not even an F,” says Mr Hood. “I really hated the lessons.”

Mr Hood sets me to work preparing the ingredients for a basic pork pie. He demonstrates a speedy julienning of a shallot before offering me the knife. “Looks pretty easy!” I boldly scoff, but a few seconds later I am nursing a bleeding finger and my sad looking vegetables are all over the place. I am not trusted with the pastry.

Paul Hood, michelin star chef, teaches Rachael Pells some cooking skills in light of new a GCSE food course (Micha Theiner/The Independent)
“There is certainly a lack of capable chefs coming through from school and college at the moment,” says Mr Hood. “If children are taught basic skills from the beginning they will stay for life, whether at home or in the workplace. It’s so important to keep lessons practical and fun.”

He demonstrates how to dice pork and gently suggests I’ve been holding a knife incorrectly all my life. Eventually my mush is put into his lovely pastry and the pie goes in the oven.

Later, I decide to speak to Myles Bremner, director of the School Food Plan.  “The purpose of the GCSE was to provide a balanced course which not only gave good, strong cooking skills but also ensure that children understand the importance of food in all of its different contexts,” he says.

“The course is challenging, but I am confident that this is a really positive way to get children interested in cooking again.”

Mr Hood is also optimistic. “Yes, students might find it hard at first, but if they’re not challenged they won’t learn.”

And did I pass the test,  if only for today? “Absolutely”, he says. The proof is in the pie.

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Just three months after she made the request, the Education Secretary’s department has received 44,000 responses from teachers taking the opportunity to tell her they are working too many hours.

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As well as familiar complaints about bureaucracy, target-setting and too many government initiatives, they also raised some more unusual issues: being required to mark different sections of a pupil’s work with different coloured pens, having to write detailed feedback notes in the books of pupils who were too young to read them, and being told to make recordings of any verbal feedback they had given to pupils in case of complaints.
 
Ms Morgan and the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, responded to the complaints by promising to give a year’s notice in future of any significant changes to the curriculum and qualifications. They also pledged not to make changes mid-course to qualifications.
Education standards watchdog Ofsted – the source of many a grievance over workload – has undertaken to provide a simplified version of the handbook, which sets out what inspectors need to see when they visit a school.
Ofsted also promised to hold a review of teachers’ workload every two years from 2016.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg meets pupils at Clapham Manor Primary School in south west London
“Thousands have told us that they’re simply not able to focus on the job at hand because of the burdensome workloads they’re faced with. It’s about time we changed that,” Mr Clegg said.
But the proposals are not enough, according to teachers’ leaders. “What was the point of asking teachers’ opinions if the Government was going to ignore their views?” said Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. “Brushing the views of thousands of teachers under the carpet will not help.”
It is claimed that only half of teachers who responded filled out the entire form – suggesting they were too busy.

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Allies of the Chief Whip are funnelling copies of the documentation, which also goes to his successor, Nicky Morgan, to Mr Gove through Whitehall back channels in addition to red box papers relating to his day job.

The extraordinary claim, made by a source in No 10, underlines complaints by allies of Mrs Morgan that Mr Gove is continuing to meddle in his former department and block any attempt to water down his legacy as a controversial and reforming education secretary. The discontent reached a peak in December when Mrs Morgan reached out to teachers and said she was not going to wage an ideological war in education – seen as a clear criticism of Mr Gove’s approach.

The claims are made on the eve of a major speech by David Cameron on education tomorrow, when he will give a personal account of his support for the state system, in which his own children are taught. He will say that, having had an extraordinary education himself, he wants every child to have the same.

The red box row is the latest sign of discontent in Whitehall at Mr Gove’s “back-seat driving” on education, as one source described it. Like all ministers, Mr Gove receives a red box every night. In his role as Chief Whip, he gets to see paperwork that is also seen by the Prime Minister in his red box, including summaries of what is going on across government – something that has alarmed ministers. But, in addition to that, he is also being passed detailed Department for Education (DfE) paperwork, which is extremely unusual.

Nicky Morgan has tried to mend fences with angry teachers (AFP/Getty)

While Mr Gove has steered clear of the DfE building, there is still a network of allies loyal to their old boss who can provide him with a constant supply of important paperwork. What is more, say sources, he feeds back his concerns and responses into the department.

The funnelling of paperwork to Mr Gove has not been sanctioned by Mrs Morgan or her permanent secretary directly, which would breach civil service procedures, but via this back channel. Members of the current Education Secretary’s staff are understood to be exasperated that Mr Gove sees all the documents and comments on most of them.

A source in No 10 said: “Michael is very pleased to still be able to keep such a close eye on education policy, even after he was forced out of the department. He likes to see all substantial documents and comment on them because, in his vanity, he still likes to think of himself as education secretary.

“Nicky is a much more inclusive, consensus-building politician than Michael and that is the Education Secretary she is trying to be. But she is driven to distraction by malign Govite tendencies in the department and the never-ending tensions between her Spads [special advisers] and those over here.”

Mr Gove was sacked as Education Secretary last July and moved to the job of Chief Whip after Lynton Crosby, in charge of Tory election strategy, advised that he had become toxic to the Conservatives’ message on education.

Angry teachers took part in a rally through Westminster in March last year following a one-day walkout (Getty)

The move outraged Mr Gove’s allies, including his wife, the journalist Sarah Vine, who tweeted a story from the Daily Mail with the headline “A shabby day’s work which Cameron will live to regret”. Yet, as soon as Mrs Morgan was at her new desk, allies claimed she was being undermined by the “back-seat driver” Mr Gove.

Mrs Morgan gave an interview in December that hinted at her concern at how her predecessor was still trying to be involved in policy. Asked if it was true that Mr Gove had blocked any of her ideas, Mrs Morgan said: “Well, there is always a discussion about things in the party and with No 10, and I’m not entirely sure where ideas get to and where they come from. So I’m not aware that he has said no – or that, if he has, that it has been acted upon.”

A spokesman for Mr Gove last night denied that Mrs Morgan’s papers were being passed to the Chief Whip, saying: “This is total nonsense as usual. The story is categorically untrue. The only way it could happen would be if Nicky’s private office sent us copies of all her papers every evening. Obviously, she and the DfE permanent secretary would not allow that.” However, the source in No 10 said that this did not exclude officials passing paperwork through a back channel without the knowledge of Mrs Morgan or her private office.

It is understood that Mrs Morgan’s office has no evidence that her paperwork is being copied into Mr Gove’s box.

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The claim comes from Carl Lygo, vice-chancellor of the private BPP university, in a booklet, What Do I Get?, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank.

Professor Lygo, whose university specialises in business, says that – despite universities being able to charge up to ?9,000 per year in tuition fees – “students are unhappy and universities want even more money”.

“I am left asking: ‘Where has all this extra money gone?’,” he adds. “I fear the answer may be that it has gone to boost pension funds, research and vice-chancellors’ pay – anything but enhance the undergraduate student experience and the direct costs of undergraduate provision.”

His comments come after the findings of a report by Parliament’s spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee, were published. The report takes the Treasury to task for being slow in identifying and addressing “seemingly excessive pay awards” in the education sector.

University vice-chancellors and “superheads” have been given large pay increases with little oversight, MPs said in its annual examination of the Government’s accounts.

Some vice-chancellors earn more than ?400,000 per year. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has expressed concern over the “substantial upward drift” of the salaries of some of the top management in universities.

In a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council, the  spending watchdog, he said: “We want to see leaders in the sector exercise much greater restraint as part of continuing to hold down increases in pay generally.”

Professor Lygo said that most universities are investing in infrastructure. Yet “only 11 per cent of students saw this as a priority”.

“One student told me that her course involves only six hours of classroom teaching per week,” he added.

“She told me ‘I just don’t think students are getting value for money’.”

However, Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, has argued that UK vice-chancellors earn “significantly less” than their counterparts in the United States or Australia.

She said: “The salaries of vice-chancellors and other senior staff at our universities reflect their roles leading extremely complex, international organisations with annual turnovers of more than half a billion on average.”

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Sir Michael, chief executive of Ofsted, has come under fire from staff and parents at a handful of predominantly Christian schools  who claim inspectors have asked “inappropriate” questions of pupils to determine whether there was homophobic bullying. These questions allegedly include asking primary aged pupils: “Do you know anybody in the school who is gay?”.

Writing in The Independent today, Sir Michael says his inspectors “absolutely understand the need to behave with sensitivity and integrity when talking to young people”.

“Inspectors had to couch their questions using age-appropriate language that the children would understand to get to the heart of what was happening - and, crucially, to determine what the schools were doing about it,” he adds.

“The idea that this constitutes harassment of unsuspecting ten-year-olds or a sinister attempt to force a particular metro-liberal, politically correct orthodoxy on the nation’s schools is simply wrong.”

In a clear riposte to sections of the media, he says anyone wading through some of “more lurid” press reports “would be forgiven for thinking Ofsted is rampaging through the education system on an aggressively secular mission to tear up the fabric of England’s proud faith school tradition”.

Sir Michael is adamant his investigation has cleared inspectors of asking inappropriate questions and insists any inspector found guilty of doing so would face “serious” consequences.

The two schools at the centre of the row  - Durham Free School and Grindon Hall in Sunderland, both Christian schools - were failed by inspectors for failing to show respect to people of other faiths and instances of homophobic bullying. 

Their Ofsted reports also criticised standards of teaching at the school.

In the Durham case, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has withdrawn its funding so it closes at Easter - a decision which lawyers representing the school claim show she is “tainted with bias” over the school.

It was the allegations of homophobic bullying and religious intolerance, however, that most angered parents at the two schools - and have led to Durham Free School seeking a judicial review of the decision to withdraw funding plus lodging an official complaint with Ofsted about the conduct of the inspection.

The inspectors’ verdicts follow the Government’s decision to order Ofsted to ensure that all schools teach “British values” - which include tolerance for all faiths as a necessity to prepare  pupils for life in modern Britain.

In other cases, though, Muslim schools have been criticised for failing to teach pupils to respect other religions.  Five private schools in Tower Hamlets, east London, were recently all declared “failing” by Ofsted as a result.

In addition, the “Trojan Horse” affair in Birmingham - in which a letter purported to show evidence of a concerted campaign by hard-line Islamists to take over the running of city schools - led to a further five (this time state schools) being failed by Ofsted. 

The new edict urging inspectors to keep an eye out for “British values” being taught in schools is likely to mean there will be further cases where  schools are criticised for failing to teach them. However, Ofsted says the vast majority of faith schools should have nothing to fear from the new edict.

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The number of undergraduates in FE colleges rose 11.8 per cent in the two years up to 2012-13 while traditional universities suffered a drop.

This rise is partly explained by the Government’s relaxation of student recruitment curbs, allowing institutions to recruit as many students as they wanted with an A- and two B-grade passes at  A-level last year, which allowed 3,000 more students into further education colleges.

In all, there are an estimated 115,000 students studying for their degree courses at FE colleges.

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said that the colleges were tapping into two “cold spots” for university applicants.

“The first is geographical – colleges where there is no university in the vicinity,” he said. “There will be a number of students who, for various reasons, wish to study closer to home.” So, in towns up and down the land, such as Truro, Skipton, Blackpool and Grimsby, the local FE college is, in effect, the local university.

“Also, consistently strongly, in terms of student feedback, they like the greater one-on-one contact you have with your lecturer at a FE college,” he said. “There are some students for whom the small classroom is preferable to the lecture theatre.”

Truro and Penwith College in Cornwall fits into that category. It started degree provision about a decade ago with just a handful of students taking degrees, but now caters for around 1,000.

“I think there are many reasons for that,” said David Walrond, the college principal. “Certainly, our location: we’re 80 miles from Penzance and the round trip of 160 miles would put people off from going there. We have a lot of young people who want to stay locally and go to higher education while they’re living at home.”

Typical of these is 26-year-old Gem Reader, who is taking a PGCE course with the aim of becoming a lecturer at the college. “I started at the college in 2005 and did my  A-levels, and started a foundation degree here four years ago. When I was here the last time, I was close to my teachers and I didn’t want to give up my flat and move away to go to university.”

David Walrond, the principal of Truro and Penwith, with his students (Apex)

Zoe Tullett, aged 22, tried enrolling at a university first. “I went to a big university and came home for medical reasons,” she said. “I thought maybe a big institution wasn’t for me because you don’t get much one-to-one time and my lecturers weren’t that accessible.”

Ms Tullett, who is studying for a BA in education and training, wants to be a primary school teacher. “I really like it here,” she said. “Definitely, I wasn’t doing as well in the university – I was really struggling.”

Lower fees are another major factor. While most universities charge the maximum ?9,000 a year for all of their courses, many FE colleges are charging between ?4,000 and ?6,000 a year for degree courses. Some do charge more than ?6,000 and even approach the ?9,000 ceiling, but this is likely to be for courses that are more expensive to put on – such as agriculture, engineering and social work.

Mr Doel said the second “cold spot” for universities was the tailor-made degree for specific employment. “In Bristol, there is an excellent university – but there are also aircraft manufacturers based there and you wouldn’t get the university offering HNCs and HNDs in aircraft engineering or similar courses,” he said.

“Some colleges are doing what the old polytechnics used to do,” he said. “You’re seeing increasing interest among colleges in providing that. They’ll see it as moving forwards, whereas the new universities (former polytechnics) will see it as moving backwards and universities don’t want to move backwards.”

Ian Woodland, 35, is attracted by such a “cold spot”. He is studying for a degree in sports performance at Truro and Penwith to enhance the business he is running at the same time, Heart, Body and Soul Solutions. The business helps firms to combat stress among employees and cut absenteeism.

Enrolling helped him to “earn while he learns”, he said, in a way that he could not if he travelled to a traditional university further away.

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A survey of 2,500 parents revealed that more than a third of those with children over the age of 11 have been required to pay for field trips that are compulsory parts of assessed courses.

Many of the trips take place during the school day – meaning state schools are breaching government guidelines by asking parents to cover the cost.

The study by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) also found that 91 per cent of parents had been asked to contribute for any sort of school trip – including outings to museums, theatres or nature reserves.

Almost half of parents paid more than ?50 per child over the past year to enable participation, with one in 20 paying more than ?500 a year. Nearly a quarter of children over 11 years old were unable to participate in educational trips due to the cost.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: “There is no doubt that access to education for an increasing number is based on parents’ ability to pay.

 

“It is scandalous that children’s curriculum choices are now being restricted by whether their parents could afford the books or the educational equipment required by their course.”

The Department for Education warned that it was against the law for state schools to charge pupils for elements of a course required by the curriculum.

Official guidance states that schools “cannot charge for education provided on any visit that takes place during school hours – or education provided on any visit that takes place outside school hours if it is part of the national curriculum or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination.”

Schools are allowed to charge for board and lodging for residential trips, but the charge must not exceed the actual cost.

A DfE spokeswoman added: “We have made clear to schools that no child should be excluded from any activity during school hours or within the curriculum simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay.

School uniforms can cost up to ?500 (Getty)

“While schools can ask for voluntary contributions for trips and extra equipment, they must make clear to parents that there is absolutely no obligation for them to pay.”

The study, entitled The Cost of Education, indicates there is a growing trend for parents to have to pay for what should be a free state education.

Other examples of parents having to pay for state education include:

uniforms which can cost up to ?500. “More and more specifications have been added to the school uniform to include, for instance, trainers solely for school use and jumpers, tops and hats now having to be purchased from the school,” said one parent;40 per cent of parents say they have to pay for access to after-school activities, such as clubs and societies;the cost of transport to school has rocketed – with one in three secondary school pupils having to pay more than ?10 a week.

Ms Keates said: “The charges schools are levying are widening the gap between those children that have and those that have not.”

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A new study suggests that today's college graduates are looking for jobs that have a positive social impact. According to research from Rutgers University's John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, 72 percent of current college students say having a job that makes a difference is either very important or essential. That's in comparison to 59 percent of Millenials and 49 percent of GenXers.

Despite graduating into a tough job market, the survey also suggests that students prioritize a job with a purpose over a hefty paycheck. For example, 58 percent said they would take a 15 percent pay cut to work for an organization with values that they said matched their own, while 45 percent said they would take the same pay cut to work in a position that made a social or environmental impact.

Making a difference in the workplace can happen in ways large and small. Some companies are committed to sustainable business practices or giving back to the community, while other occupations contribute to society by their very nature. Check out our list of careers that can make a difference -- many offer strong growth projections and a paycheck to match (all salary information below is based on bls.gov data).

5 careers that can make a difference

1. Marriage and family therapists

Marriage and family therapists focus on helping individuals and families develop and maintain healthy relationships. These counselors, who typically have a master's degree in counseling, may specialize in issues such as substance abuse, stress or self-esteem. Some counselors focus on helping families work through a difficult event such as a divorce or death in the family, while others may provide long-term counseling for families dealing with a chronic disease, traumatic event or mental illness.

The demand for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists is expected to grow significantly from 2012 to 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 29 percent growth projected during that period. Bls.gov suggests the increase is due to improved insurance coverage for counseling services, population growth and increased awareness about mental health.

MFT Median wage in May 2013: $46,930

2. Environmental science and protection technician

Younger Americans are well aware that responsible use of natural resources and smart environmental policy is key to a sustainable future. Environmental science and protection technicians are on the ground monitoring environmental hazards and protection efforts by inspecting business or outdoor spaces, collecting and testing samples, and reporting on their findings. Typically, an associate degree in biology, chemistry or a science related field is required.

Environmental science and protection technicians may work for state or local governments enforcing existing laws or they may work in the private sector to help businesses meet regulations. Faster-than-average job growth of 19 percent is projected from 2012 to 2022, according to bls.gov.

Median wage in May 2013: $45,470

3. Civil engineer

You may not think of a civil engineering career as one that makes a difference, but these professionals are responsible for designing much of the world around you. From safe and efficient water systems to public housing projects, civil engineers create basic infrastructure for everyday life. Additionally, many schools are now offering courses or entire programs dedicated to the idea of sustainable engineering, which focuses on designs that use resources responsibly.

Job growth is expected to be 20 percent from 2012 to 2022, according to bls.gov projections. Most civil engineers have a bachelor's degree in engineering and licensure may be required. According to bls.gov, about 20 percent of civil engineers go on to earn a master's degree, which is typically required for management roles.

Median wage in May 2013: $85,640

4. Physical therapist

Physical therapists typically work with patients recovering from an injury or illness or suffering from a chronic condition, and they play a major role in helping those patients recover mobility and movement. These highly educated professionals, who typically have a doctoral degree in physical therapy, work with other health care providers such as doctors and physical therapy aides, to develop and implement a plan for patients.

Rapid growth of 36 percent is projected from 2012 to 2024, according to bls.gov, and that growth should be driven by two main developments: an aging population and advancing medical technology.

Median wage in May 2013: $82,180

5. Health educator

As the health care industry focuses more on wellness and disease prevention, trained professionals who can teach Americans how to adopt a healthy lifestyle are seeing increased demand for their services. Most health educators have a bachelor's degree in health education or public health, and some employers may look for candidates with the Certified Health Education Specialist credential.

Demand for these specialists is driven by a desire to cut health care costs, and faster than average growth of 21 percent is projected from 2012 to 2022, according to bls.gov. About 37 percent of health educators work in the health care industry, and another 23 percent work in government. The rest work for various public and private businesses, educational institutions or non-profits.

Health Educator median wage in May 2013: $53,800

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Research online degree and certificate programs in global finance. Get information on requirements, courses, career prospects and salary to make an informed decision about your education.

Online training programs in global finance are available as bachelor's degree programs in financial management with global finance coursework. Online graduate certificate programs, often designed to supplement a Master of Business Administration program, are also available. At the master's degree level, online Master of Science in Finance programs may offer international finance and investing coursework.

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents typically need a bachelor's degree for entry-level positions and a master's degree for more advanced positions. Personal finance advisors and financial analysts typically need a minimum of a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree is often required for advancement.

While online global finance bachelor's degree programs aren't readily available, there are online Bachelor of Science programs in financial management that allow students to specialize their studies through international or global finance coursework. These programs are ideal for those interested in learning how to manage investment decisions. Not surprisingly, students need an aptitude for math as well as strong analytical skills to succeed in these programs.

Curricula for many of these 4-year programs are offered entirely online. Online courses often operate on a weekly assignment deadline, instead of daily. Contributing to a discussion board is typically required. Other types of courses are blended and require students to meet on campus once a week and complete the remaining assignments or project collaborations from home.

Financial management bachelor's degree programs often include general education curricula and basic business courses in micro and macroeconomics, statistics and accounting. Elective courses and a finance core make up the rest of the program requirements. Sample course descriptions are listed below:

Course topics teach students how to recognize the risks associated with certain types of investments, such as stocks, options and bonds. Students might also be tasked with monitoring current economic conditions in order to evaluate a mock portfolio.

Students explore techniques for assessing the value of an organization and forecasting its performance. Special attention is paid to multinational corporations and markets.

This course examines the political, social and legal factors that come into play when conducting business with corporations overseas. Students also compare domestic and international business practices.

Jobs in financial analysis or personal financial advising are among the employment options available to graduates of financial management bachelor's degree programs. They may also pursue jobs as securities, commodities and financial services sales agents, though registration and licensure through the Financial Industry Regulation Authority is necessary for a career in this field.

As of May 2012, these sales agents earned an average salary of $100,910, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Financial analysts made average salaries of $89,410, while personal financial advisors earned an average of $90,820 per year.

The BLS reported favorable employment prospects for all of these careers. Financial analysts and personal financial advisors could see job opportunities increase 23% and 32%, respectively, over the 2010-2020 decade. A 15% job growth was forecast for securities, commodities and financial services sales agents over the same period.

Students who complete financial management bachelor's degree programs could pursue graduate training in any number of fields. These include certificates and master's degree programs in accounting, business administration and finance, all of which are available online.

Online certificate programs covering topics in global finance are often geared toward working professionals who'd like to learn more about this field, typically to advance their careers or supplement their Master of Business Administration (MBA) coursework. Some programs admit applicants provided they have adequate work experience in the banking, finance or accounting fields. Others offer open enrollment to all interested students.

The time it takes to complete one of these programs is relatively short. Some schools offer courses that can be completed entirely online in as little as 2 months. Assignments and readings are often due on a weekly basis. Students might also be required to periodically submit posts on course discussion boards or pass an assessment when coursework is completed.

Students in global finance certificate programs might take anywhere from 3-5 graduate-level courses. Sample topics of study are listed below:

This introductory course teaches students how to evaluate financial statements and credit analyses as well as estimate cash flows. Other topics of study include techniques for valuing capital projects and performing a working capital analysis.

Students in this course study more advanced topics, including risk management strategies and methods for calculating inflation differentials for foreign currency. The management of debtor and creditor accounts is also discussed.

This course familiarizes students with the markets trading these particular derivative securities. Topics of study include pricing formulas and valuation techniques.

Graduates of global finance certificate programs can also pursue jobs as financial analysts, personal financial advisors or securities, commodities and financial services sales agents. If they have sufficient work experience, they might also find employment as financial managers. While only a 9% employment growth was forecast for these professionals over the 2010-2020 decade, they earned mean salaries of $123,260 as of May 2012, according to the BLS.

Graduates of global finance certificate programs can pursue an MBA. These degrees are readily available online, often at the same schools offering certificate programs.

Global finance master's degree programs typically require students to complete extensive study abroad, whether to work alongside executives in other countries or observe the business negotiations of multinational corporations. As a result, these programs aren't usually offered online. However, there are related online Master of Science in Finance programs offering concentrations or coursework in international finance and investing. These degree programs teach students how to assess the risks associated with international business transactions and foreign markets as well as evaluate investment decisions.

Students entering these programs will need a bachelor's degree. A resume detailing work experience may also be required. Similar programs in business administration or management might also offer finance specializations or coursework.

These graduate programs require roughly 50 credit hours of coursework that can be completed entirely online via course management systems. Many schools offer distance education students some of the same resources available to traditional students, such as library resources, advising and disability services.

Coursework often includes a handful of core courses in accounting, economics and statistics. The remaining curriculum consists of finance courses that range from topics in financial policy and administration to capital markets and budgeting. A few of the more common course offerings are outlined below:

This course focuses on the financing of foreign trade. Methods for evaluating an organization's credit and calculating the associated risks are also discussed. Some courses include an additional focus on financing for multinational corporations.

Financial analysis courses familiarize students with accounting statements and procedures. Topics of study might include methods for using internal audits to evaluate a company's performance.

This course often provides students with a capstone experience. They can study current financial theory or research topics of interest, such as the role taxes play in investment decisions.

Career options for students who complete global finance master's degree programs are the same as for those who earn a bachelor's degree or graduate certificate. However, holding an advanced degree could qualify professionals in this field for advanced positions or help them get a leg up over applicants who only hold a bachelor's degree.

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By: Rob Kelly in Online Education

Careful preparation is essential to the success of an online course “to provide a positive experience for the students and to be able to maximize your time with students so that you’re not spending time on reworking things that weren’t clear up front,” says Ann Millacci, associate professor of education at the University of Cincinnati. In an interview with Online Classroom, she offered the following advice on preparing your course for your learners:

Be clear, concise, and comprehensive. “Everything has to be there. You can’t walk in as an instructor with your yellow pad and ad lib the session like you might in the face-to-face classroom. You have to have everything laid out. It has to be very organized. And the students have to have the material as soon as the course goes online. ”Logical flow of the course is important as well, and Millacci recommends having a colleague check the course for ease of navigation, clear instructions, and accurate placement of content. “You don’t want students to be frustrated because things aren’t where they’re supposed to be.” Provide a manageable amount of content. Because online courses often operate on a compressed schedule, it’s important to consider how much work is reasonable to expect of students while at the same time ensuring you’re covering the necessary content. Provide a variety of learning activities. Consider which types of activities are appropriate for the goals of the course and how you might offer different types of assignments to make the course more interesting and engaging for the students. The educational leadership program in which Millacci prepares educators to become principals includes field interviews, case studies, discussion boards, and collaborative assignments. Avoid making last-minute changes. Making changes in an online course can have unintended consequences such as inconsistent information. This can create confusion for the students. It’s best to make changes when you have time to check that the changes didn’t create any problems in the accuracy or flow of the course. Provide resources to help students succeed in the online classroom. Don’t assume that your students have all the knowledge and expertise to succeed in an online course format. While it’s unrealistic to teach students what they need to know about the learning environment, you can provide them with links to resources that can help. Test the course in different browsers and on different computers. Sometimes what works on one computer doesn’t work on another. Fixing any problems before the course goes live will help avoid student frustration and the need for you to scramble to help them access the course.

Now it’s your turn. What would you add to this list to help new faculty prepare to teach their first online class?

Reprinted from Tips from the Pros: Six Ways to Prepare Your Online Course, Online Classroom, 13.10 (2013): 1,7. ? Magna Publications. All rights reserved.

Tags: online course design, teaching online, tips for online faculty

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Learn about online degrees in music therapy. Get information on master's and doctoral degrees, program requirements and career prospects to make an informed decision about your education.

Online programs in music therapy are typically available only at the graduate levels. Master's programs are fairly common, though they may require a combination of on-campus and distance learning coursework. In addition, applicants to these programs often need to hold a bachelor's degree in music therapy and certification in the field.

Online Ph.D. programs in music therapy are rare. However, a few schools offer related programs with music therapy concentrations; program titles might include expressive therapy or music education. Similar to master's programs, applicants may need to be credentialed music therapists.

Both master's and doctoral programs are research-intensive. Master's-level students often need to complete a thesis or final project in order to graduate, while doctoral programs typically culminate in a dissertation.

While only a bachelor's degree is required to become a music therapist, master's degree programs are typically the lowest degree level offered online. Online master's degree programs in music therapy are often designed for experienced music therapists who wish to further their education. Programs focus on developing advanced research and clinical practice skills. Since music therapists work in healthcare settings and use music to assess and treat patients, coursework is heavily focused on the application of music to clinical settings.

Prospective students looking to study music therapy online should already hold bachelor's degrees in music therapy and should have completed an internship or fieldwork experience as part of their bachelor's degree programs. Alternatively, a degree equivalency program, which includes only music therapy training, may be sufficient for individuals who already hold bachelor's degrees in other fields. Prospective students should also be approved by the Certification Board for Music Therapists, though some programs may accept students who are listed as non-board-certified music therapists on the National Music Therapy Registry.

Online master's degree programs in music therapy typically require around 30 units to complete. Depending on how many courses a student takes each semester, these programs can take 1-3 years to finish. Some programs can be completed fully online, while others require minimal on-campus visits. Students need a computer with Internet access so they can view assignments and course materials through an online software platform.

Programs may offer thesis and non-thesis options. Toward the end of their program, students must either complete an original research project or pass a comprehensive exam. Common coursework requirements include both research and clinical topics.

Students familiarize themselves with reviewing literature, designing studies and analyzing research results. The course may also cover developing an area of focus and writing reports on research findings, as well as ethical considerations in research.

This course introduces students to technology used in the music therapy field. Students examine ways that technology can be applied in clinical practice and research.

In this course, students learn how to implement music therapy techniques in a clinical setting. Some programs may deliver this course as a practicum that must be completed in person at an approved location.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of recreational therapists, which includes music therapists, is expected to increase 17% over the 2010-2020 decade. Job prospects are expected to be best for certified therapists and those who work with the elderly. The American Music Therapy Association conducted a salary survey for music therapists in 2011, which revealed that music therapists earned an average salary of about $48,000. As of December 2013, Payscale.com reported a median annual salary of $42,658 for music therapists.

Students interested in furthering their music therapy education beyond the master's degree level may consider pursuing a Ph.D. Some Ph.D. programs are specifically in music therapy, while others offer music therapy study options within a broader discipline, such as expressive therapies. Programs typically require a master's degree and 3-5 years of professional experience as a clinical music therapist. As with the master's degree programs, board certification or eligibility for board certification is a common requirement for admission. Ph.D. programs in music therapy are heavily research-oriented and aim to prepare students to become leaders in the field and make new research contributions.

Depending on whether or not a dissertation is required, Ph.D. programs in music therapy can be completed in as little as three years. It is very difficult to find Ph.D. programs in music therapy that can be completed fully online. However, there are programs that allow a combination of online and on-campus courses. Online courses are delivered through online software, such as Blackboard. Students taking online courses probably won't need anything more than the typical requirements of a computer with Internet access and word processing software. Several intensive residencies or retreats that take place on campus may be required throughout the program.

In addition to coursework requirements, some programs require the completion of a dissertation and an oral defense. A preliminary exam may help a potential student qualify for candidacy before they submit a dissertation proposal and begin dissertation research. Coursework focuses on developing teaching and research skills.

Students are given insight as to the foundational and efficacy research that has contributed to the field of music therapy. Students may examine research in a specific area of music therapy, such as music medicine and/or music psychotherapy.

In this course, students explore different methods of supervision that may be employed when teaching undergraduate students or overseeing a professional practice. The course examines behavioral, humanistic and psychodynamic models for supervision.

Students may participate in a research and/or teaching apprenticeship. A research apprenticeship involves assisting faculty members with designing studies, conducting research, writing reports and submitting results for publication. In a teaching apprenticeship, students assist faculty members with undergraduate teaching and supervision duties, such as hosting seminars and reviewing lesson plans.

Board-certified music therapists must renew their certification every five years. The Certification Board for Music Therapists has two options for renewal: therapists can either take an exam or complete 100 recertification credits. Acceptable types of recertification credits include continuing music therapy education courses, professional development activities and professional service activities.

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Last Sunday, AMC’s "Mad Men," the Emmy-winning drama about New York advertising executives in the 1960s, returned for its sixth season. A whopping 3.4 million viewers tuned into the premiere, making it the second-highest watched episode in the show’s history, according to Variety. It seems America is still enthralled by the scandalous lives of these Madison Avenue ad men and the inner-workings of their agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Aside from all the drinking and philandering, much of the show’s appeal comes from watching these creative professionals tackle new accounts, dreaming up the commercials and print ads that will represent brands like Heinz, Kodak and Lucky Strike to the world.

While its office politics are outdated, the show’s portrayal of the advertising industry can be surprisingly relevant. Today, ad men (and women) are still responsible for creating commercial campaigns and shaping the national identity of products and companies. Their work permeates every facet of modern culture, from billboards and store shelves to magazines, TV commercials, and now nearly every webpage. The thought of reaching so many makes advertising an alluring profession, made all the more enticing by the AMC's sensationalized take on the field. No doubt, after watching Jon Hamm strut about as Don Draper, leveling clients with his campaign pitches, many have thought, “How do I get that job?”

Those interested in entering the world of advertising have many options. Becoming a creative director like Don, or an account executive like Pete Campbell, often takes years of professional experience and successes, but a good place to start is college. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that advertising, promotions and marketing managers, the people who plan campaigns or meet with clients, typically possess at least a bachelor’s degree. Many schools offer programs in marketing and advertising, but journalism is another option that, along with coursework in topics such as market research, accounting, sales, and visual arts, may help prepare graduates to become ad execs themselves.

While Don Draper heads the creative department, most of the bright ideas are generated by Peggy Olson and the rest of Sterling Cooper’s copywriters. Played by Elisabeth Moss, Peggy starts her advertising career as a secretary before impressing Don by brainstorming clever approaches to several key accounts. Copywriters call upon their word wizardry to create memorable lines of text and dialogue, and help concoct the concepts, jingles, themes and slogans that comprise ad campaigns. According to the BLS, professional writing positions like this generally require a bachelor’s degree in English, journalism or communications. Some schools may also offer courses in copywriting, helping students gain the creative and technical skills necessary to succeed in the field. As they gain more experience, prospective copywriters may want to compile a portfolio of their work to show potential employers.

Another prominent fixture on "Mad Men," and every ad agency past and present, is graphic designers. These creative professionals bring ideas to life through art and technology, designing the imagery that populates advertising campaigns. Along with grabbing attention, their creativity communicates the client’s message to the consumer. The BLS states that a bachelor’s degree in graphic design is typically required for entry-level positions in the field. Additionally, to showcase their skills, graphic designers too should keep a professional portfolio of their best work at hand. With enough experience, one might move up the agency ladder and become an art director, who handles the overall layout and visual style of campaigns.

Joan Harris, the compelling redhead portrayed by Christina Hendricks, is perhaps the most recognizable face on "Mad Men." As office manager and head of the secretarial pool, she helped oversee nearly every aspect of the agency for five seasons, until just recently becoming a partner. Office administrators, like Joan, support businesses in a variety of ways, from purchasing supplies to budgeting to supervising personnel. Today, administrative services managers generally need only a high school diploma to start, but some positions may call for a bachelor’s degree in business or faculty management, reports the BLS. Other support occupations often found in an ad agency include secretaries or administrative assistants, who perform duties such as answering phones, filing and typing (or, as we call it today, word processing). Some schools even offer programs specializing in office administration, usually at the certificate or associate degree level.

Obviously, a great deal has changed both culturally and socially since the mid-20th century, when "Mad Men" takes place. A new technological revolution has taken over, changing the way we approach almost everything, including advertising. Today’s audience is constantly bombarded with commercials and banner ads on their televisions, computers and cell phones, forcing agencies to think up new ways to captivate their audience.

“It’s not just art directors and copy writers coming up with a concept. The team is much bigger; often software developers, information architects, user-experience designers and content strategists,” says Michael Caguin, chief creative officer at Colle+McVoy. “Technology is really driving this: The sources of inspiration have always been art, music, literature, [and] film entertainment. But the new one is technology.”

Modern ad agencies rely on a wide range of technical professionals to transmit their messages to the masses. Nowadays, a degree in information technology or software development may be just as likely to get one’s foot in the door. As mobile computing becomes more ingrained in our daily lives, perhaps the future of advertising lies in those designing and implementing mobile apps or games. The BLS projects that demand for software developers as a whole will grow an astonishing 30 percent between 2010 and 2020, much faster than the average of all occupations. So maybe the next Don Draper is hunched over a laptop right now, pounding out the code that will one day epitomize a national brand.

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Most artists can relate to the difficulty of making a living out of art. Luckily, plenty of artists do not abandon their talents for more lucrative paths, to the benefit of their communities. Art grants do more than provide funding to artists for their work: they help to keep the arts alive in our world and encourage artists to stick with the path they have chosen.

We've listed 10 cool art grants that provide resources and reassurance to artists and that help keep communities vibrant and beautiful. Listed in alphabetical order, these art grants support many types of art, including visual, performance, film, literature, dance and theatre. We discovered awards ranging from $1,000 to hundreds of thousands. The information here on deadlines, award amounts and requirements may change with time. Find out about an array of art grants, and pass the news along to inspire the creative people in your life:

Awesome Foundation Grant: Although this foundation began in Boston, it funds creative projects from all over the world. The Awesome Foundation provides no-strings-attached $1,000 grants. The only prerequisite is that the project is awesome. The foundation has provided funding for school outdoor recess equipment, hip hop music production for kids, rooftop waltz performances across Chicago, and a mural in the town of Woodburn, Oregon. The monthly awards are described as "micro-genius grants for flashes of micro-brilliance."Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Grants: With over $350,000 a year in funding, BAC grants are reserved for individuals and organizations with a Brooklyn residency. It is also required that projects take place in Brooklyn and engage a Brooklyn audience. Awards range between $1,000 and $5,000 and projects are judged on criteria such as benefit to the community as well as the feasibility, clarity and artistic merit of the proposal. Would-be participants can check out seminars on how to apply, held across the borough.California's Center for Cultural Innovation's Investing in Artists Grant Program: The CCI created this grant to provide funding for professional artists in California who spend at least 10 hours a week on their art. Eligible applicants need to be trained in performing, visual, literary, media, design, crafts or cross-disciplinary fields of the arts. Amounts vary; awards could reach $6,000 for a tools and equipment grant, or $10,000 for an innovation grant. CCI grants are open to both emerging and established artists, and deadlines vary, depending on the medium of art.College Art Association Professional-Development Fellowships: The CAA -- a group dedicated to promoting the visual arts -- offers grants to support aspiring artists and art historians who are enrolled in MFA and PhD programs across the U.S. The purpose of the $5,000 grants is to help with the transition from student to professional. Grantees can use the funding as needed: for job searches, the purchasing of materials or other endeavors that could help graduates begin their professional careers. Winners of the awards -- or an honorable mention -- walk away with a complimentary one-year membership to the CAA and a free pass to the annual convention.Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund: Since its launch in 1961, GFTA has awarded over $320 million to hundreds of San Francisco non-profit cultural organizations. Supported by a portion of the city's hotel room tax, GFTA has backed projects related to civic activities, dance, literary arts, media, music, theater, parades and visual arts. The goal of the fund is to support both existing and emerging art, in traditional and experimental forms. Literary arts honorees for 2012-2013 include the Center for the Art of Translation, Playwrights Foundation, Poetry Center and more.Guggenheim Fellowships: The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to encourage research and artistic creation, to provide a block of free time dedicated to art. Intended for advanced professionals, Guggenheim Fellowships are granted to those who already have made significant contributions in their fields, whether that means a writer's publications, the performances of a composer's work or exhibitions of an artist's pieces. Amounts are determined by the proposed project and the deadline is generally in September; about 200 grants are given a year.National Endowment for the Arts - Our Town Grants: Through these "creative place-making projects," the NEA helps neighborhoods to fill their streets with art. With grant amounts ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, the NEA funds projects to rejuvenate public and private spaces. Proposals may include designs for bridges, plazas, structures and streetscapes or even written words used as art. Prior initiatives include school-based writing projects, public art installations, live-work spaces for artists and cultural centers for towns. Projects involve public or private partners, including non-profits and arts groups, and applications are submitted through Grants.gov.Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Artist Fellowships: The NACF strives to encourage creativity in Indigenous artists from six disciplines: visual arts, filmmaking, music, dance, literature and traditional arts. Traditional arts include pottery, basket making, textile weaving, jewelry making, beadwork and regalia making. Grants of $20,000 provide opportunities to study, reflect, experiment and discover. Grantees must be members of American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian communities to qualify, and the artists' work should be "evolving and current." The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants: These grants are reserved for visual artists who are painters, sculptors and artists who work on paper, including printmakers. The foundation does not fund grants for other artists, such as commercial artists, photographers or filmmakers. Artists must be exhibiting their current work in settings like galleries or museums, and they should have a significant amount of experience as professional artists. Grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit and financial need, and the amounts of grants are determined individually. Terra Foundation for American Art: Based in Chicago, the Terra Foundation supports projects across that world that focus on American art dating from circa 1500 to 1980. The goal is to create a deeper understanding of historical American art through exhibitions and academic programs in various locations as well as Chicago programs for the public and K-12 education. Award amounts range from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands. Subjects for prior grants encompassed the history and practice of American printmaking, surrealism throughout the Americas, and diverse projects related to the Chicago Humanities Festival.

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By: Rob Kelly in Educational Assessment, Online Education

Tests and quizzes are often the primary means of assessing online learner performance; however, as Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt, online instructors and coauthors of numerous online learning books, including Lessons from the Virtual Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching (2013), point out, there are more effective and less problematic alternatives.

They cite three significant drawbacks of test and quizzes:

1. Test and quizzes typically assess low-level learning. “They address only some of the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, often sticking to the knowledge level. [Tests and quizzes] measure how much information students have memorized and then can spit back out on an exam. Most test questions are not designed to allow students to engage in really critical thinking or analysis or synthesis of materials,” Palloff says.

2. Tests and quizzes often are not aligned with the learning objectives or pedagogies of the course. “When you’re having students do more authentic activities or application activities, you’re working at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy—synthesis or evaluation—but then you’re measuring the lowest level—the knowledge level—by using a test or quiz,” Palloff and Pratt say.

This misalignment issue arose in an online course Palloff and Pratt taught together. The course was primarily discussion based. They had students do things such as discuss news articles that illustrated concepts in the course. “The discussion activities were really robust, very practical, very applied, and authentic. And then they were given a final exam out of the blue that we did not write, and all the students failed. It was a picky final exam with true-false and multiple-choice questions. Every student failed because that was not the way the course was taught. They were taught to think at much higher levels, and they went into this final exam that was all about rote memorization of stuff from the textbook. … It wasn’t a good way to measure how they were actually doing in the course,” Palloff and Pratt say.

3. Overuse of test and quizzes can promote cheating. Several studies have shown that when tests and quizzes are the primary means of assessment, students cheat more than they would if they engaged in a more authentic activity, Palloff says.

Alternative assessment methods such as writing assignments, collaborative assignments, case studies, and debates can avoid the problems often associated with tests and quizzes. “There are many ways to approach assessment. It depends on the context of the course. When we teach faculty how to teach online, we try to give them a taste of a majority of those methods. I don’t know that we can cover all of them in one course, but there are multiple ways to get at the issues and make this a real-life situation for the students so they can actually learn from the process,” Pratt says.

Palloff and Pratt recommend selecting assessment methods that are learner-centered and authentic.

Learner-centered assessment methods address whether the learner has met the learning outcomes of the course as well as how the learner got there. “A learner-centered assessment is an assessment that links what the student is learning in the course to the assessment process,” Palloff says.

Authentic assessment methods can reduce cheating. One way to make assignments more authentic and less susceptible to cheating is to have students embed their own experiences in their assignments. “For example, if they are writing about human development, you can have them write about their own development. They’re writing about themselves, and that is very difficult to buy through a paper mill or to plagiarize,” Palloff says.

Mobile technology is one way to incorporate authentic assessment into a course. For example, one of Pratt’s doctoral students uses mobile phones in a 12th-grade calculus course he teaches. Students record themselves working on problems. “This allows them to move around. They can get creative. It challenges them to do a multitude of things on different levels and they’re learning calculus in the process,” Pratt says.

Palloff also uses mobile technology for authentic assignments. As part of a final project in a community health care course, she has students prepare a brief proposal to their communities about the development of a particular health service. Students then go out and interview community members and record the interviews using cell phones. “There are lots of ways to use the technologies that are available to us to enhance those kinds of products. Students can then post those online so that other students can see them and give them feedback in addition to the instructor’s evaluation,” Palloff says.

When students do collaborative assignments, they should be assessed collaboratively, Palloff and Pratt say. Collaborative assessment is a combination of students assessing themselves and one another and the instructor taking that input and doing the final assessment. In addition to providing a basis for a grade, these collaborative assessments provide useful insights on what worked and what didn’t work on an assignment, which Palloff and Pratt debrief with students so that they can reflect on what they might do differently the next time.

When used sparingly and properly designed, tests and quizzes can be useful assessment methods, Palloff and Pratt say.

Rather than relying on anti-cheating technologies or proctors, they recommend using open-book tests and quizzes “because students are going to have their text material available, and if they are working online they can look things up on Google,” Palloff says. “There are all kinds of ways that they can gather information, and, the truth is, in the real world if the student comes up against a problem or an issue that they don’t have the answer to, they’re going to look it up or ask someone. So if you construct your tests and quizzes that way you’re actually teaching students some skills that they’re going to use when they get out of school.”

The questions in an open-book test or quiz need to be complex and require students to know the material and know where to look if they are uncertain about something. When open-book tests or quizzes are well designed, students who don’t do the work will not be able to do well on them even with an open book.

Reprinted from Online Classroom, 13.7 (2013): 1,8. ? Magna Publications. All Rights Reserved.

Tags: alternative assessments, assessing online learning, assessment alternatives

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The entrepreneur life can be pretty sweet. You get to make your own schedule, be your own boss, hire whoever you want and run things your way. In many cases, you even get to live where you want. But it's not always simple, which is why studying the subject in college may help you learn how to become an entrepreneur.

Babson College: It's no wonder Babson College ranks as the second best entrepreneur college in Bloomberg Businessweek's 2013 list of "The Best Undergraduate Business Schools." Babson's entrepreneurship program teaches students skills that are vital to any business or organization, while still allowing them to specialize in technology, global, family, general retail or service, social/nonprofit or corporate settings. Babson College offers a 10 week-long summer program where students form teams that receive housing, mentors, work space, speakers and a number of other resources to help them build their businesses. At the end of the program, they get to showcase their work to investors.

Baylor University: Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business offers students the opportunity to complete an entrepreneurship major at both the undergraduate (BBA) and graduate (MBA) level. U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor's undergrad entrepreneurship program #13 on its list of best undergraduate programs in 2013. The school offers over 20 scholarships for entrepreneur students, sets students up with mentors, and puts on a two-day competition where students pitch their business ideas for an opportunity to receive expert feedback and win prizes.

Brigham Young University: Part of the renowned Marriott School, BYU's entrepreneurship program sets itself apart from many programs by placing an emphasis on an entrepreneurial career and perspective instead of just individual ventures. The school connects students with mentors and local startups, has several entrepreneur-related competitions, hosts lectures and features many entrepreneur/startup student clubs. Besides, anyone who attends a school that prides itself on developing students into good leaders who are "capable of dealing with change in a competitive global environment" should be in good hands.

Case Western Reserve University: Case Western Reserve University has a great perspective on business, which can be summed up in a quote by their Weatherhead School of Management Dean Robert Widing: "We develop leaders who innovate to create sustainable value and are good global citizens." Students who enter this highly ranked entrepreneurship program often do so while studying accounting, economics or management, granting them a comprehensive business education. In addition to the undergraduate offerings for entrepreneurs, Case Western has award-winning entrepreneur-related master's degree programs in entrepreneurial biotechnology, chemistry entrepreneurship and physics entrepreneurship.

Lehigh University: Not many entrepreneur colleges have as many offerings as Lehigh University: a minor in entrepreneurship, a master's in technical entrepreneurship, an MBA in corporate entrepreneurship, a graduate certificate in corporate entrepreneurship, LehighSiliconValley (where you go to Silicon Valley to learn from and connect with top entrepreneurs) and much more. If that's not enough to convince you, then courses titled "how to save the world" and "gender issues in entrepreneurship" perhaps will. Entrepreneur students at Lehigh truly get a unique college experience.

Southern Methodist University: The Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University has a long history, starting around 100 years ago. So, of course the school has excellent offerings for aspiring entrepreneurs, from a master's degree in entrepreneurship that accommodates a working adult's schedule to the Starting a Business Certificate program, which features lectures from distinguished entrepreneurs and has renowned graduates. SMU has a bi-monthly breakfast meeting where students can meet venture investors and local professionals, as well as an active undergraduate entrepreneurship club.

Syracuse University: Once you hear of the Whitman School of Management offerings at Syracuse University, it won't surprise you at all that the business school is highly ranked. At the undergraduate level, students can major in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, which teaches students both entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management. The school also offers an MBA in entrepreneurship and an MS in entrepreneurship, which requires students to create a business plan for an original business during the program. Syracuse even offers a PhD in entrepreneurship, to produce scholars and teachers in the field of entrepreneurship. This school doesn't mess around when it comes to helping students start a business or non-profit.

Texas Christian University: Texas Christian University's Neeley School of Business keeps entrepreneurs in mind throughout its undergraduate business administration program and MBA programs. Throughout the year, business students at TCU have many opportunities to showcase their work, from elevator pitch events to boot camps to several free lectures from renowned entrepreneurs. TCU has a few scholars programs as well, where students can get involved with startups or work directly with angel investors for a few months. There's no shortage of offerings for the striving entrepreneur at TCU.

University of Florida: On the University of Florida website for the Warrington College of Business Administration, the school makes it clear with the words: Warrington is entrepreneurial. No one can deny it, either. In addition to offering a minor in entrepreneurship, an MBA in entrepreneurship, a certificate in new venture creation and an MS in entrepreneurship, the school also offers:

Gatornest, where students work with startups.Lean Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, where students launch businesses through startup grants.Global Entrepreneurship Study Program, where students go and learn from entrepreneurs in Europe.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Ranked the number one entrepreneur school by Bloomberg Businessweek, Worcester Polytechnic Institute teaches entrepreneurial thinking to not only its entrepreneur students but to all its business students. In addition to numerous courses in launching new ventures and entrepreneurship, Worcester hosts five competitions (for inventing and planning), regular workshops and lectures, and several monthly programs and networking events.

Business and entrepreneurship students at WPI come across many investors and business leaders during their studies, making it rise above so many business schools. The WPI slogan "where business isn't business as usual" rings true, since it's not typical indeed for a school to integrate an entrepreneurial spirit and a bent toward technology in all of its business programs.

Sources:

“The Best Undergraduate Business Schools by Specialty 2013,” businessweek.com, 24 June 2013, Geoff Gloeckler. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-24/the-best-undergraduate-business-schools-by-specialty-2013

"Facts and stats: Baylor Business," baylor.edu, 2013. http://www.baylor.edu/business/index.php?id=82869

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Oregon's environmentally friendly reputation precedes it, so it should be no surprise that among the top 15 field trip spots in Portland, there are quite a few natural wonders in addition to cultural and historical sites. They are just the thing to bring out your or your child's inner-student. Group tours and activities usually must be arranged in advance. You can link to these websites for more details.

Audubon Society of Portland (5151 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR 97210) -- Enjoy a six- to eight-hour, nature-study tour, fully escorted by a naturalist from the Audubon Society of Portland. Choose from a coastal itinerary featuring birds like cormorants and puffins and exploration of the shore; an educational spelunking adventure in Ape Cave, Mt. St. Helens, where you'll have a chance to study about molten rock in a world below ground; a trip through Columbia Gorge to learn how it was formed; or a day at the Beacon Rock monolith and surrounding natural landmarks, where you'll hear about the geological events that formed these natural attractions.

Zenger Farm (11741 SE Foster Rd., Portland, OR 97266) -- This urban, non-profit, working farm instructs groups from pre-school through adult in the ways of environmental stewardship and sustainable food systems, as well as promoting community development and access to locally grown food. Summer field trips run either 1? or 3? hours and include a choice of programs: farm tours or service learning (hands-on seasonal farm work) for pre-school through adult; plant studies or wetland ecology appreciation for elementary school children; and a kindergarten-through-third-grade exploration of which insect "crop critters" are helpful and which are harmful.

Oregon Humane Society (1067 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, OR 97211) -- These one- to two-hour educational tours put the "human" in the Oregon Humane Society. School kids to seniors have an opportunity to visit the dog kennels, cattery, small animal room -- and even witness surgery in progress, when possible. Over one hundred years old, the OHS boasts the oldest animal cemetery west of the Mississippi, which you can see during the outdoor portion of the tour, weather permitting. Bringing appropriate treats to feed the animals is encouraged: You're sure to make some new friends.

OMSI (1945 SE Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214) -- The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, better-known as OMSI, is an outstanding resource for science education and exploration. Located just south of downtown Portland, the museum campus caters to all ages and includes a planetarium, an IMAX theater, a U.S. submarine and eight science labs for students' hands-on use. In addition to indoor field trips, camp experiences, submarine tours and classes are available. Or you can arrange six-hour, OMSI instructor-escorted trips to Mt. St. Helens, the coastal tide pools or Columbia Gorge.

Oregon Historical Society (1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205) -- History buffs will have a "field day." Age-appropriate programs from 45 minutes to 1? hours are designed for preschool- through high school- students and introduce not only state and local history topics but also interrelated subjects like geography, government, Native American culture and economics. From simple crafts to complex controversial issues -- there's something for every student.

Oregon Ballet Theatre (818 SE Sixth Ave., Portland, OR 97214) -- Kindergartners through high school seniors can attend live ballet programs during the school day and gain a better appreciation of the creative process of dance and music. OBT supplies materials to teachers prior to the day of the performance that help them prepare their classes to get the most out of the experience. One-hour, behind-the-scene tours of the theater introduce students to dance by letting them observe the company in rehearsals and visit the costume and production departments.

Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205) -- What better place to learn about art than a museum where you can see the real thing? Pre-arranged, docent-guided tours for student groups are available during the school year and are free for students K-12; $2.50 for college students. Museum tours are geared to the age, interests and studies of each class and can be planned around existing collections and/or special exhibits. Show me the Monet!

Oregon Zoo (4001 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, OR 97221) -- Bring the class to the zoo for a close encounter with all sorts of creatures. The "Zoo School" has programs for every grade level that include touchable species for a true hands-on experience. Youngest students are introduced to the basics -- from birds to bugs, and from backyard bunny rabbits to tiny jungle predators. Older students have an opportunity to help train animals as well as gain awareness and insight into conservation issues.

Tillamook Cheese Factory (4175 Highway 101 North, Tillamook, OR 97141) -- If you live in Oregon, you don't have to go all the way to Europe or even Wisconsin to oversee cheese in the making. Tillamook has been producing cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt and sour cream for over 100 years. Take a self-guided tour any day of the week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from mid-June to Labor Day and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. the rest of the year.

Portland Children's Museum (4015 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, OR 97221) -- Did you ever wish you could be a child again? The Portland Children's Museum is not just for kids, although it's an amazing place uniquely designed for them. Field trips encourage adults and children to get down-and-dirty exploring the interactive exhibits and participating in play activities together. "Arts in Focus," an optional add-on for field trip attendees, provides a studio and materials for artistic expression.

Lan Su Chinese Garden (239 NW Everett, Portland, OR 97209) -- Opened in 2000, the Garden was conceived as a place to learn about Chinese culture, history, art and philosophy. The garden itself is a microcosm of native Chinese plants and flowers in the space of one square city block. Guided tours for school classes are 30 to 45 minutes long.

Oaks Park (7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland, OR 97202) -- Amusement park rides, a roller rink, dance pavilion, miniature golf course and picnic grounds all at one destination; Oaks Park has something for everyone and has entertained Portlanders for almost one hundred years. Plan a class outing for a round of mini golf, a picnic or a skate event.

World Forestry Center (4033 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, OR 97221) -- Portland is home to the Discovery Museum, two working tree farms and the World Forest Institute that comprise the World Forestry Center, a non-profit educational institution. The museum space in Washington Park offers hands-on interactive exhibits that promote forest sustainability worldwide. Indoor field trips can be scheduled at the museum, or outdoor educational hikes can be arranged at Magness Memorial Tree Farm near Wilsonville, Ore.

Portland's Rose Gardens (850 SW Rose Garden Way, Portland, OR 97205) -- Operated by Portland Parks and Recreation, the 4.5 acres of gardens, now with over 10,000 rose plants, have been delighting Portlanders for nearly 100 years. Admission is free. The gift shop carries local, cottage-industry products and crafts. Guided tours for groups of more than 10 can be arranged for a small fee.

Powell's City of Books (1005 W Burnside, Portland, OR 97209) -- Electronic books might be convenient, but nothing beats the wonder and joy of browsing a good old-fashioned bookstore. Powell's, one of the few remaining independent booksellers, boasts over one million titles in this one city-block-square store. (They recently expanded, and you literally need a map to find your way around the store.) If you don't instill in kids the thrill of hunting down that perfect read, the next generation might be taking a field trip to a book museum!

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By: Rob Kelly in Online Education

Teddi Fishman, director of the International Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University, advocates an instructional design/community-building approach to academic integrity rather than an adversarial approach. Her stint as a police officer informs this stance. As radar gun companies introduced improved speed enforcement tools, the latest radar detectors (often produced by the same companies) rendered such improvements ineffective. “I learned that you can’t out-tech people, and you don’t want to get into that situation. You don’t want to have that arms race. Certainly some security measures are going to be necessary, but don’t get into the habit of relying on technology to establish a climate of integrity, because it can have adverse effects. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being watched all the time,” she says.

Here are Fishman’s recommendations for promoting academic integrity in the online classroom:

Let your students know you care about academic integrity. If your institution has an honor code, refer to it throughout the course. “If you don’t have conversations that reference the honor code, if students don’t buy into the honor code, it’s going to be a lot less effective,” Fishman says.

In addition, remind students of the importance of academic integrity to you personally. For example, Fishman mentions her role in the International Center for Academic Integrity and talks about academic integrity throughout the course. “You want to mention before the major assignments that integrity is important. You want to mention [academic integrity] while they’re working on their papers. That can make a difference, but I think it’s much less effective without interaction to reinforce that that is one of the mores of the community,” she says.

When students have a relationship with their instructor, they are less likely to cheat. This is why Fishman recommends making a strong effort to get to know students. She recommends entering the learning space early to chat with students during synchronous sessions, asking questions such as “How are you doing?” and “What did you do this weekend?” She also recommends using gestures. “I type into the online classroom ‘smiles’ and ‘waves’ and ‘say hello to so-and-so’ so that they understand it as a place that is like their face-to-face classroom, and I think that can help establish that rapport.”

By having these social conversations students might be less inclined to cheat for fear of disappointing someone—the instructor—with whom they have established a relationship. “You want the teacher and the student to feel responsible to each other. You want them to feel that they are engaged in the mutual process of understanding—the teacher and students are helping the student learn, and if things go really well, the teacher learns too,” Fishman says.

For instructors who do not have the option to use synchronous communication, Fishman recommends establishing relatively informal spaces to interact “so that students know that not everything is going to be a graded assignment.” She asks students to include a photo, picture, or symbol that appears alongside their name in discussions and blog posts. This helps establish relationships even if students don’t use photos of themselves. “You get familiar with that person. You might not ever know the person’s real name, but you know his or her Internet moniker and picture, and you feel over time that you know that person,” Fishman says.

Some online learners struggle with understanding appropriate behavior in the online classroom and mistakenly transfer to the online classroom the norms from other online venues, such as gaming spaces and Facebook, rather than behave according to the norms of the face-to-face classroom. To address this issue, Fishman recommends using analogues of the face-to-face learning environment in the online classroom.

For example, using a tool that is analogous to a chalkboard helps establish familiar norms in a new setting. Similarly, having students respond to questions synchronously helps establish a classroom environment. “It feels like the kind of discussion they might have in a classroom. If you do everything in an asynchronous environment, then it doesn’t feel like a classroom. I want them to see what happens in the online classroom as an interactive exchange, just like a face-to-face classroom would be. It’s not like everything should be the same [as the face-to-face classroom], but I do think there should be special attention paid to making sure that students have that feeling of interactivity by talking with each other and not just getting assignments out of nowhere and submitting them into a black hole. There have to be people attached to those actions, personalities, and interactions in order for you to establish that kind of rapport.”

One of the obstacles to promoting academic integrity is class size. If students don’t have the opportunity to establish relationships with classmates and the instructor, they may be more inclined to cheat. “In small classes where the teacher and the students have lots of interaction, there’s a sense of responsibility to one another,” Fishman says.

Financial necessity often dictates large online classes. In order to build rapport, Fishman recommends subdividing large classes into discussion groups of five to 10. “If you’re able to schedule it so that those groups aren’t all meeting at the same time, then it’s possible to still take advantage of the way you teach best,” Fishman says. For example, an instructor might do part of a lecture synchronously and have students do an assignment and then view a prerecorded lecture.
Use frequent and varied assignments. Scaffolded assignments with interim deadlines and pieces that can be assessed throughout the course can make cheating less likely. However, having many assignments can create extra work for the instructor. Fishman recommends providing simple feedback on some of these assignments, such as a checkmark for those who complete an assignment correctly and more substantive feedback for those who need it.

In addition to reducing the likelihood of cheating, having a series of assignments that builds toward a larger project tends to means that the final project is usually higher quality and requires less feedback than had the students submitted just the final project, Fishman says. Although having assignments like this can reduce cheating, it won’t eliminate it, because students can pay others to create all the pieces of the assignment.

Fishman is not opposed to the use of technology to detect academic dishonesty, and the International Center for Academic Integrity works with companies that provide these tools, “but I do think than an overreliance [on technology] can be detrimental to the relationship between the teacher and the students. You want to be able to detect plagiarism. … What you don’t want to do is feel like it’s an arms race, where you’re trying to put in so many mechanisms [so] that students can’t possibly cheat, and they’re trying to find ways of getting around all the mechanisms you have in place,” Fishman says.

When students are supported, are engaged, and have opportunities to explore their interests, they are less likely to cheat. “The trick is to design the course so that everything essential is there, and yet when somebody gets excited about a topic and wants to explore, there’s room for students to pursue that,” Fishman says.

Unlike in the face-to-face classroom, there can be technical barriers in the online classroom. “You don’t want [students] to barely master the technology so that they can barely get the assignments done. You want there to be room for them to expand, grow, play. If you get the students [to] where they’re playing with the technology, the technology is no longer a barrier. …

“If all students were engaged and actually excited about learning, then my job would be over because there would be no reason to cheat. … There’s no reason for students to cheat in an environment where they feel safe, competent, and excited about what they’re doing.” Reprinted from Promoting Academic Integrity in the Online Classroom, Online Classroom, 13.6 (2013): 5,8. ? Magna Publications. All Rights Reserved.

Tags: academic dishonesty, academic integrity, academic integrity in online education, cheating in online classes

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