Comments for GlobalHigherEd

Comment on On Amsterdam’s Plans to Establish a Third University by brownabie

brownabie — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:26:40 +0000

I believe that the establishing of a third university in Amsterdam is actually a good idea, especially because it would be the first industry-academia-government initiative of its kind to exist in the Netherlands that focuses entirely on urbanization and metropolitan research issues. This will provide opportunity for many individuals, especially those who are “dying” to express their views about issues in their area through writing/ talking. This can also generate money for the country, as many students from around the world will be able to travel to Amsterdam to pursue an education at this university. This in turn will also expose all the citizens of Amsterdam to various cultures through socialization.

Comment on Replacing A/P George at Nanyang Technological University? by brownabie

brownabie — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:07:44 +0000

In my view and also based on the knowledge I have about lecturers being made permanent in an institution, I believe Dr. Cherian George should have been given permanency based on the fact that he has been acting in the position for more than a year. If the stakeholders of the institution realizes that he is not capable or he is not their ideal candidate (for whatever reason) they should have informed him long before instead of having him working in the capacity and knowing that they would not have given him permanency at no point in time.

Comment on On the Expanding Global Landscape of MOOC Platforms by plerudulier

plerudulier — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:25:36 +0000

Reblogged this on Things I grab, motley collection .

Comment on Governing Board Structure and the University of Virginia’s Fiasco by A “piece of mind” on university governance revisited | Piece of Mind

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:37:17 +0000

[...] the debacles at the Universities of Oregon, Virginia and Texas were –as already mentioned by Chris Olds– the direct consequence of having Boards of Trustees all consisting of government-appointed [...]

Comment on Globalizing MOOCs by m bloch

m bloch — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:36:24 +0000

thanks for all the resources. However, it’s not easy to find critiques written here–though I’m sure links to critiques are provided, and I will look. But I know you have them aside from not listing Susan Robertson’s affiliation with the University of Bristol.
Given an assault on public higher education (and more), defunding public education at all levels, how should we see MOOCS–as pulling resources away, as innovational possibilities that we should be enthused about as alternatives (inevitable perhaps), as new ways to do ‘education’ in a global knowledge society (but a small piece), … or all of the above, and more, at the same time. No matter how others do see it, what is your take–aside from the fact that you are going to develop one now? And thank you for the resources and links, and ideas that are here.

Comment on On the illogics of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013) by Melissa Harris

Melissa Harris — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:18:55 +0000

I couldn’t agree more to Alex Usher’s statement about “the more important the thing you’re measuring, the less useful it is to measure it on an annual basis”. Establishing a time period other than every year for rankings to be conducted would easily justify movement and justify why the rankings are being conducted in the first place

Comment on The making of a MOOC at the University of Amsterdam by MOOCs in the news | Center for Instructional Technology

MOOCs in the news | Center for Instructional Technology — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:14:02 +0000

[...] The making of a MOOC at the University of Amsterdam (GlobalHigherEd blog, 2/5/2013) A faculty member discusses work on the University of Amsterdam’s first MOOC. [...]

Comment on On the illogics of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013) by Ninth Level Ireland » Blog Archive » On the illogics of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013)

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:33:46 +0000

[...] “Amidst all the hype and media coverage related to the just released Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013), it’s worth reflecting on just how small of a proportion of the world’s universities are captured in this exercise …” (more) [...]

Comment on On the illogics of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013) by Scott Sommers

Scott Sommers — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 02:26:34 +0000

I stopped reading the Times Higher Education Rankings years ago. The most interesting thing for me was always the instability of the rankings. The Top 50 largely remained predictable from year to year, but beyond that, there are wild swings over even short periods of time. Considering the complex methodology and the large number of respondents, it leaves me thinking that the idea of such fine gradations of ‘reputation’ is an invention, as you put it, “to sell advertizing space”. Despite this, I still have friends who boast about the ranking of their school at some randomly picked time in the lifespan of the rankings. I think of them as just one more of those annoying sorts of things that educators have to deal with on the way to their classrooms, like budget cuts or textbook sales staff.

Comment on Replacing A/P George at Nanyang Technological University? by Sam

Sam — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:14:10 +0000

Its called politics and its found everywhere.