The purpose of the study was to analyze two certificate programs in regard to the impacts on alumni professional career and strengths and weaknesses of certificate programs in the views of their alumni. The sample consisted of 58 participants who completed one of the certificate programs. The results showed that alumni rated self-improvement as…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and other U.S. jurisdictions (see appendix A for a list of other U.S. jurisdictions). This "First Look" presents findings from the preliminary data of the…

Rising up to the challenge of shortage of middle manpower in Nigeria, the University of Lagos established the Correspondence and Open Studies Unit (COSU), now Distance Learning Institute DLI). Accounting, Business Administration and Science-Education were the pilot courses at the B.Sc. level. The Special Entry Preparatory Programme (SEPP) was…

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a two-year senior school certificate available to secondary students in Victoria, Australia, and has been operational for almost a decade. It is delivered by secondary schools and further education providers. In 2010, two programmes from each of these providers were reviewed and considered in…

The Irish Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) is a school-based, pre-vocational alternative to the "high stakes" established Leaving Certificate. Its origins lie in European Union funded "school to work" initiatives and it is currently taken to completion by some 5% of Irish senior cycle students. Since it was designed 20 years…

Drawing on data from a three-year study (2008-2011) of partnerships of schools and colleges delivering the 14-19 Diplomas in England, this article examines how the dynamics of local partnerships were shaped by a contradictory policy landscape in which some policies strongly promoted collaborative working whilst others reinforced competition…

The erosion of the college credit monopoly, the devaluation of the degree and the rise of new forms of credentialing suggest a generation of students and higher education institutions somewhat different than the previous generation. Consider a higher learning environment where students create their own academic portfolios and shape their…

Education and training beyond high school are important for securing opportunities for high-wage jobs in the United States. Academic degrees awarded by institutions of higher education represent a key component of the post-high-school credentials available to the American labor force. Other credentials, such as industry-recognized certifications,…

The number of certificates conferred by U.S. postsecondary institutions increased 64 percent in the last decade, from 572,000 in 2000-2001 to 936,000 in 2009-2010, surpassing the 850,000 associate's degrees conferred in 2009-2010. Certificates are overwhelmingly conferred in vocational fields and are intended to prepare students for the growing…

This paper presents a case study in which the authors attempted to understand the impact, on student choice, of reforms in tertiary education in Australia, namely, a shift towards a demand-driven system and the blurring of the distinction between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. The authors compared the advanced…

This paper considers professional development in a context that is familiar and problematic to teaching teams in tertiary education everywhere, that of delivering online programmes with an ever-decreasing complement of staff. The Teaching Qualification Further Education (TQFE) teaching team at University of Dundee confronted the reality of reduced…

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University--Worldwide serves more than 36,000 online students across the globe, many of whom are military and other non-traditional students, offering 34 undergraduate, graduate, and professional education/workforce certificate programs, presented both online and via blended delivery modes. The centralized model of online…

This article describes the design and development of a professional development program based upon research on the competencies necessary for online teaching success conducted at Penn State University in 2009-2010. The article highlights how the results of this research are being aligned with various professional development courses comprising the…

With the growth of online courses and programs in higher education, considerable concerns emerge about student feelings of isolation and disconnectedness in the online learning environment. A research study was conducted to develop and validate an instrument that can be used to measure perceptions of connectedness of students enrolled in online…

The Houston Community College (HCC) 2011-2012 Fact Book provides statistical information about the college district. It is important for the reader to be aware that data presented in this publication may differ slightly from statistics found in other district reports. Such variances may result from differences methodology including the source of…