While providing technical support for online students is essential, online faculty new to the modality often need a great deal of help as well.

Reported by EdSurge, creating technical support systems for faculty new to online education is essential. From establishing communication lines with instructional designers, to facilitating online pedagogy training sessions and ongoing support, online education is a relatively new endeavor for most of our faculty, and therefore must be learned.

How can faculty encourage interaction between online students?

Reported by EdSurge, while student-to-student engagement is one of the most valued parts of higher education, it can be hard to facilitate these interactions online.

Did NYU’s medical school move to free tuition last fall impact enrollment?

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, the answer is a big whopping yes, with applications increased by 47%, including a 102% increase from underrepresented groups.

Are black schoolteachers the secret to increasing black student college enrollment?

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, a new National Bureau of Economic Research study shows that black students assigned to a black teacher in grades K-3 are 7% more likely to graduate high school and 13% more likely to enroll in college than their peers.

Is “I’m going to play video games for a living, I don’t need to go to college” no longer a valid excuse?

Reported by Encoura, Becker College has led the way as the first institution to offer a B.S. in ESports Management. And many institutions are following suit, including Syracuse University’s partnership with Twitch, the leading social streaming service, to offer an sports course.

How can we nudge students into better study habits?

Reported by EAB, Colorado State University’s Anne Cleary teaches an undergraduate course called “The Science of Learning” to help students understand data-driven strategies to optimize knowledge retention.

And the best college town in 2019 is…

Reported by EAB, Austin, Texas topped Wallethub’s list of best college towns in the country. Factors included wallet-friendliness, academic and economic opportunities, and social environment.

Do institutions need to consider launching a new Internet of Things degree program?

Reported by Campus Technology, with Amazon Echos and other smart devices, electronics and appliances taking over the modern household, curriculum or even a dedicated degree program that focuses on this kind of engineering and computer science may be warranted.

The recent “Freeing the Textbook” survey by the Babson Survey Research Group has some disappointing news for fans of Open Educational Resources (OER).

Reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education, while 60% of faculty believe the high cost of textbooks is a serious student concern, the percentage of faculty who say they will use OER materials in the next three years is actually decreasing. Down to 6% who plan on using them in the next three years, and only 32% who will even consider it.

While the advent of online education served as a disruptive force to traditional education, what now is disrupting the disrupter?

Reported by Inside Higher Ed, “at-scale” learning from highly reputable institutions at low tuition prices is having a seismic impact – with a handful of these institutions growing faster and faster as less affordable private institutions fight to hold on to their market position.