For the past few weeks, we’ve been rounding up articles of note within the enterprise sector. Today, we’re pulling in some recent content from the world of Higher Education. Whether you’re a Dean, development officer, working in admissions or just curious about trending topics concerning the future of higher education – these quick reads should hit the spot. Click over on the headlines to read the full article! – Meredith

MOOCs, for Credit

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) remain a hot topic and today, it appears, the American Council of Education (ACE) is taking steps to evaluate the possibility of offering credit for successfully completed Coursera and EdX course work. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is also involved, funding research into testing and viability. Check out the full update on Inside Higher Education. If nothing else, the time and money being spent on evaluating these online courses and digital education tools should serve as validation for college and universities looking to align internal priorities.

11/14/12 UPDATE: Georgia Tech is one of the Southeastern schools to receive a $150,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The money will go towards developing three, for-credit MOOCs.

Minerva University is Talking a Big Game

In the past year, Ben Nelson and his forthcoming Minerva University have been generating quite a bit of press and ruffling a few feathers (to say the least). He has a new university model and he has his sights set on a truly elite, global educational experience. The school will be almost exclusively online, with extensive travel and internship requirements for its students. The for-profit entity will be accepting its first class of students in 2014 or 2015 – and tuition will be a third of traditional Ivy Leagues entities. Pie-in-the-sky? Maybe. (But all of the truly innovative and game-changing ideas usually sound that way). Mr. Nelson has $25 million dollars in seed capital backing him up – the largest seed round in history. Check out Inc.com’s recent article for more.

Open Doors Report: International Student Enrollment Way Up

The number of international students at American colleges and universities is up to a record high of ~764,495. The 2012 Open Doors Report is based on data from 2011 – 2012. The Institute of International Education published the report Monday, citing a 6% in foreign students studying here in the United States. Countries that measured a notable dip in enrollment include: India, South Korea and Japan.
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Author: Meredith Singer is Head of Ops & Co-Creative at Verge Pipe Media. Verge Pipe Media assists public institutions, enterprises and the non-profit sector with Imaginative Inbound Marketing strategies + campaigns. We also have a development team chock full of Marvelous Mobile Migrators, poised to help transition our clients into a mobile + social world with custom software, iOS and Android mobile apps.