Founder and chief executive of degree management ed-tech Stellic Sabih Bin Wasi used his own student experience of interacting with university systems to improve the student experience.
His platform, adopted by 70 universities, is designed to bring together academic planning, advising and scheduling so his peers can better “work out the complexity of higher education.”
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The admissions centre that handles university applications in NSW and the ACT has said students applying for equity scholarships has surged more than 35 per cent this year.
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The new independent National Student Ombudsman will be led by Sarah Bendall (L), pictured with Jason Clare, in an image posted to social media on November 29, 2024. Picture: Facebook
A highly experienced lawyer has been appointed to lead the anticipated university watchdog and complaints function, after the legislation passed in the last sitting week of parliament.
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Education Minister Jason Clare has been under pressure from the sector to replace the direction. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman
The Albanese government is preparing to replace a controversial ministerial direction that has been criticised for favouring sandstone universities over regional and outer-suburban institutions, as providers warn Labor’s “confused and mismanaged” policy approach is damaging the sector and the economy.
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Title: A 2024 Update of State Investments in Short-Term Credential Pathways
Author: Stephanie M. Murphy
Source: HCM Strategists
The higher education landscape continues to evolve rapidly as more and more students prioritize short-term credentials, also known as micro-credentials and non-degree credentials. There is increased demand for these valuable credentials, which can improve individuals’ career prospects and meet the changing needs of the modern economy and job market.
Despite a massive proliferation in funding for short-term credentials, there has been a lack of systematic cataloging or analysis of state investments in short-term credentials. HCM Strategists, through funding from the Lumina Foundation, conducted an in-depth examination of all 50 states to establish the first comprehensive classification system of state funding for short-term credential programs. The October 2024 report is an update of HCM Strategists’ 2023 typology and policy landscape analysis of short-term credentials.
Key findings are summarized below:
Total state investments in short-term credentials exceed $5.6 billion across 69 initiatives in 31 states.
Since 2023, 10 new short-term credential initiatives have launched in eight states, increasing total investments by roughly $1.8 billion.
Short-term and non-degree credentials are becoming an increasingly central piece of the education landscape in the United States. And while 31 states have invested more than $5.6 billion across 69 initiatives to make workforce training more accessible, research remains limited on the outcomes and long-term labor market value of these credentials. The large financial investments that states and institutions of higher education are making into short-term credential pathways reflect the growing recognition of the value of immediate upskilling in today’s labor market.
To read the full report from HCM Strategists, click here.
—Austin Freeman
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Augmented reality (AR) is part of our daily lives, making everyday tasks easier, safer, and more interactive. However, its greatest potential may lie in education, opening new doors for engaging students through hands-on learning.
Most people use augmented reality every day without realizing it. Features like “See this in your room” at major online retailers let users visualize furniture in their space before buying, while backup cameras in cars overlay guidelines to help drivers reverse and park safely. These applications seamlessly blend the digital with the real, providing extra context to inform decisions and deepen understanding.
Now, imagine a student struggling with ratios — a common challenge because ratios require proportional reasoning and dimensional analysis, abstract skills that can be difficult to visualize.
Like “See this in your room”, what if an augmented reality app presented the student with a virtual kitchen counter on their desk, stocked with ingredients for trail mix? The student must mix the correct proportions of raw nuts, raw seeds, and dried fruit, adjusting quantities as they go. Bonus: No mess and no actual cooking. It only requires a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
This fun, real-world approach helps students learn challenging concepts through play and interaction. It’s one of many activities in McGraw Hill AR, a free app from McGraw Hill, a leading global education company.
President, McGraw Hill School
“Immersive technology has the potential to make previously out-of-reach knowledge accessible for any learner,” said Sean Ryan, president of McGraw Hill’s School Group. “McGraw Hill AR will be a game-changer for teachers, particularly in math and science, where the detailed, interactive learning experiences will spark students’ curiosity and drive them to dive into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of complex, abstract concepts.”
Yes, the app is really free. McGraw Hill builds the app in partnership with Verizon Innovative Learning. This educational initiative seeks to help bridge the digital divide with a goal of providing digital skills training to 10 million students by 2030.
To help reach those students, the app has a growing library across math, science, and social studies, with plans to add English Language Arts in 2025. It’s available in the App Store and Google Play Store. For students learning on Chromebooks or laptops, there are 3D web-based versions at mharonline.com. All activities are available in Spanish. For educators and homeschoolers, content is standards-aligned with accompanying lesson plans and worksheets at verizon.com/learning.
By combining play with practical learning, McGraw Hill AR offers a new way to connect, engage, and learn.
Click here to download the McGraw Hill AR App
Technology is an essential aspect of teaching and learning, and the integration of technology into early childhood education classrooms is reshaping childcare. And while many of today’s early childhood teachers are comfortable with technology, many are nervous to learn something new or do things differently.
That’s where teacher training can help. Let’s take a look at why your childcare center’s teachers must be trained to take advantage of education technology!
The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month, according to the app company Builtfire. That number is even higher for millennials, the largest group of today’s parents. Almost a quarter of this age group open an app more than 50 times a day!
These parents expect real-time updates about what their child is doing in your daycare. Your teachers must be trained to send photos, videos, and notes throughout the day to keep families happy. Choose an app with family engagement capabilities that is easy to use and part of an all-in-one childcare software solution. Then sharing updates won’t require much training so your teachers can spend their time learning about other ways to use technology.
Plus, this transparency creates a supportive learning environment!
If your teachers are not trained to use education technology, they will miss out on access to educational content from around the world and children will not reap the benefits either.
A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found there is “emerging evidence to suggest that interactive apps may be useful and accessible tools for supporting early academic development.” Your teachers must be trained to take advantage of these apps, while understanding that screen time must be limited.
Online libraries, databases, and educational websites provide information on virtually any topic, allowing teachers to supplement their curriculum with up-to-date materials. This accessibility ensures that both teachers and young learners can expand their knowledge beyond traditional textbooks.
The 2024 Child Care Management Software Industry Trends Report from Procare Solutions found that about 30% of survey respondents said each teacher spends between three and five hours a week doing lesson planning, and a similar percentage noted their centers create their own curriculum.
So, beyond direct instruction, technology can significantly reduce the time teachers spend on these types of tasks, and on assessments and other paperwork. Childcare management software can streamline time-intensive processes, giving teachers more time to focus on what truly matters — the children in their care.
A strong digital curriculum that’s easy to use supports your teachers by handling lesson planning that takes time away from children. When childcare centers equip teachers with state-of-the-art online curriculum at their fingertips, teachers and young learners reap the benefits of education technology.
To maximize the benefits of technology, ongoing professional development is essential. Employee retention rates rise by 30-50% when companies prioritize staff learning!
Workshops, webinars and websites that offer professional development and credentials can help teachers stay abreast of the latest technological advancements.
By investing in continuous training, your childcare center can ensure that teachers are confident and competent in integrating technology into their classrooms.
To learn more, visit www.procaresolutions.com
Content warning – this article discusses suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call, text or chat 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org for more resources.
AI was one of the major themes of 2024.The discussion frequently revolved around its impact on work, but there are innovative ways it can be used to complement human insight to address significant societal challenges.
For example, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 (2022) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This impacts everyone from families to educators. In one small Missouri town, a K-12 Safety Support Specialist was alerted when a student searched, “How much Tylenol does it take to die?” and “What is the best way to kill yourself?” These online searches triggered the school’s student safety tool which uses machine learning to identify harmful content. A specialist was immediately notified and was able to quickly intervene, providing the student with the necessary support to prevent self-harm.
There is an urgent need for effective solutions to protect students from threats like suicide, self-harm, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful content. A combination of machine learning detection to allow for speed and scale, and human review to allow for context and nuance, is required for a comprehensive K-12 student safety tool. This allows schools to act when needed, as guided by their own Safety Plan. According to Talmage Clubbs, Director of Counseling for Neosho District in Missouri, “Our students know about it [student safety K-12 tool]. We have students purposely typing in keywords so they can be pulled in and talked to about their suicidality, their mental health issues, anything like that because they are struggling, and they just don’t know how else to reach anybody.”
Another example where human intervention is essential is when a machine learning-powered solution flags anatomical text as explicit content, but this might be for legitimate science coursework. Human reviewers can verify educational intent by examining context like student age and subject.
In the 2022-2023 school year, 94% of public schools report providing digital devices, such as laptops or tablets, to students according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This is a 28% growth from the number of devices provided pre-pandemic in middle schools and a 52% growth for elementary school students. As students spend more time online for school, they also use these devices for extracurricular learning and making social connections. However, they also have easier access to inappropriate content online. The challenges of ensuring online safety have become increasingly complex, as more students may seek harmful information or engage in distressing or inappropriate behaviors.
To truly support all students — regardless of their socioeconomic background or technological literacy — in the digital age, solutions must be user-friendly and adaptable to the diverse needs of schools and districts. By collaborating — educators, technology providers like GoGuardian, and policymakers can create a future where AI enhances educational experiences for students, fosters healthy human connection and empathy, and ensures privacy.
This also supports educators in today’s digital world who require innovative safety and security solutions to enable students to thrive physically, mentally, and academically while ensuring their well-being and academic progress. “You can rest well at night, knowing you are changing districts and saving lives,” says Dr. Jim Cummins, Superintendent of Neosho District.
To learn more, visit GoGuardian.com
Welcome back to The Fifteen, your source for the newest and emerging stories from around the world of higher education. Last week, we looked at cuts coming to universities at home and abroad. This week, however, we’re looking at emerging markets around the world, from India, China and even Uzbekistan. Enjoy this week’s articles.
And, as it is December 6th, we ask our readers take a moment to remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
By Kenn Rodriguez
For NMEducation.com
Halloween 2024 is a holiday that won’t be soon forgotten by Bernalillo High School teacher Lorilei Chavez. You see, October 31 was the day she was honored as the first Indigenous teacher named New Mexico Teacher of the Year.
Sixth period was going as usual for Lorilei and her social studies class. The group was in the middle of a lesson when BHS principal, Alyssa Sanchez-Padilla, and her secretary came to the door with an urgent request: Bring your students to the school’s black box theater to bump up attendance for a guest speaker.
“And so, you know, as a teacher, I’m like, ‘Oh no, we’re in the middle of a lesson,’” she related. “You know, I don’t want to lose valuable teaching time. But if the principal is asking you to take your students somewhere, you know, you get going.”
As she walked with her students to the theater and the seventh-period bell rang, her principal asked to detour to sign some tutoring paperwork. While walking, Chavez noticed a few extra student resource officers.
“Like I was getting kind of like an inclination that something was going on, you know?” she said, noting she was dressed in 1980s style for Halloween, with a side ponytail and an off-the-shoulder shirt.
Still thinking there was a guest speaker, Lorelei came to the theater and saw the “shimmer of cheerleading pompoms” and a huge cheer erupted as she entered the room. Assuming the cheer was for the “guest,” she got a bit spooked and started to back out of the room, she said.
“My principal was behind me and she just put her hands on my shoulders and softly nudged me forward,” she recalled. “I saw my mom and rushed over to her. Then she points up at the ceiling and there was this huge banner that says ‘Lorelei Chavez, Teacher of the Year.’”
“And that’s when it all just hit and took me over. And then it went from joy, like surprise to joy to like pure happy tears,” she said.
“It’s a life moment I’ll never forget.”
Lorilei describes herself as a “very proud product of Bernalillo Public Schools.” Beginning with kindergarten near home on the Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo Pueblo), she spent all but one year of her young life in the BPS system, beginning with Santo Domingo School and ending with graduation from Bernalillo High in 2008.
“It’s funny because I remember being in high school thinking, ‘Oh, I want to go as far as I can. Like, I want to go to school in California. I want to go to college in Washington, D.C. And I don’t want to come back to Bernalillo,’” she recalled with a chuckle. “And then six years later, I ended up (substitute teaching) while going to college. I’ve been there ever since.”
Beginning her college career at Central New Mexico Community College, Lorilei got her basics taken care of before transferring to the University of New Mexico. She graduated in 2018 with a degree in Native American Studies and a minor in History. Though she started as an education major and shifted away, her experiences as a substitute convinced her to go through CNM’s Alternative Licensure program, which she finished in 2020.
“When I started subbing as I was going to (UNM), I realized that I had a really deep ability to connect with students on a level that maybe some of my colleagues weren’t able to,” she said. “Because our district is 48% Indigenous, a lot of the students that I worked with didn’t really have Indigenous teachers or teacher aides or even substitutes that looked like them.”
Since the Bernalillo school system works with seven different tribes, Lorilei said she feels it’s important that Native students have Indigenous role models in the school setting. She used simple examples, like seeing her dressed in Native regalia or “big Native earrings” and beaded medallions to honor Native heritage.
“I think that’s what allowed me to see that I would be a good educator,” she said. “I would have an impact on students if I did a shift and got my teacher certification.
“And so that I think is my main drive even to today, is my ability to connect with students, uplift them, hear their voices, allow them to feel seen in the classroom, which I think creates the motivation to continue their goals and succeed in whatever they’re trying to accomplish.”
Lorilei said being named the first Indigenous teacher to win the statewide Teacher of the Year award was obviously an honor. But because “a core value of Pueblo people is the idea of service,” she said she feels that she is representing more than herself in accepting the award.
“As I serve my community, I wake up every day knowing that I’m going to serve my students, my future generations as I represent Santo Domingo Pueblo,” she said. “I wake up every day thinking, ‘What impact am I going to make on my community and what impact am I able to make today on the future generation?’ So, winning an award like this has been really hard for me to accept and value the honor. Because I feel it doesn’t just belong to me. It comes from a community of educators that has raised me and taught me.”
With her Native American Studies background, she said she strives to balance Indigenous culture and Western education in a school setting.
“The people, the past EAs, the language teachers, the teachers who’ve taught me that have poured into my education, I think is what brought me to today,” Lorilei said. “With this title and this beautiful award, I’m able to bring home not only Santo Domingo but to the Bernalillo Public Schools. I think the pressure of being the first Indigenous Teacher of the Year is making sure I’m honoring not only my school but my students and the community that I come from.”
Lorilei said that as Teacher of the Year, she will emphasize “Indigenizing” education in New Mexico, as well as supporting teachers’ mental health. The desire to bring more Native experiences, stories, and perspectives into public education is something that grew from her time in the UNM Native Studies program.
“Going to (UNM’s) Native American studies program as a college student really opened my mind to this understanding of needing to know your culture, your history, the laws and the narrative that existed in Native community,” she said. “Things that weren’t necessarily told in the history books that I studied or in the papers that I wrote. Things not in the curriculum that I was offered as a public school student.”
“So graduating from UNM NAS instilled this understanding that going back into the public schools that I work at… I had no choice but an obligation to encourage our district and hold our district accountable when adopting curriculums and encouraging Native history in the core curriculum,” she concluded.
Lorilei said she and her fellow educators in the Bernalillo Public Schools “are blessed” to have a district leadership that understands the equity and value of bringing in Native languages and history as a core content.
She also said she feels very fortunate for the opportunity to work in a district that allows her the opportunity to build a curriculum that includes Indigenous history – subjects like the Pueblo Revolt, boarding schools, Native removal, sovereignty and decolonization, in a “school building that was not necessarily built for Indigenous education but built for Western education.”
“As the first Indigenous teacher of the year, I feel like that also is my obligation and duty, is to work to continue to advocate, to educate, so that we can uplift Native narrative, history, stories in curriculum,” she said. “Not just in high student of color populations, but in districts across the state.
“It is a passion of mine to Indigenize education and bring Indigenous perspective in Western curriculum. And so that’s something that I’m going to really push toward and be passionate about and continue to advocate for moving forward,” she related.
Lorilei also said she is “super passionate” about state leadership and school districts starting a movement around prioritizing teacher mental health. She said she plans to “really pour some energy in as Teacher of the Year.” As a teacher working at the high school level, she said implementing teaching materials and testing guides, and “doing all the things that I need to do as a teacher to be the best teacher” leaves her drained at times.
“Balancing all of that with my life and my culture and everything that I am as a human being, an auntie, a sister, a cousin, is very difficult,” she said. “I really think as a state and as a nation, we really need to take a deeper look into how we are healing our teachers. How are we showing up for them in capacities that include mental wellness? And that includes body health and that includes spiritual strength in whatever capacity that they connect to.”
She concluded: “My goal and my hope is to really work with school districts, including mine, to have wellness days, wellness fairs, professional development days where teachers are paid to take time to take care of their mental health… because we’re so spread thin from the many, many things we have to do as educators.
“I’d really like to see us looking at an innovative way to address teacher wellness in ways that maybe the state and the nation haven’t before.”
The New Mexico Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. The award of $ 10,000 will go to Lorilei to help with professional development opportunities and support her travel needs.
