Education Ticker: Arts BAs to pay more than engineers at Florida U

The best of the web on education from kindergarten to postsecondary, as chosen daily by Globe and Mail education editor Simona Chiose.

Students look to universities for skills training

The American university students of today are contradictory creatures. They are optimists, but not so positive about the future that they are willing to take too many risks in what they study. Instead, they attend college to gain skills that will lead to a job, rather than to develop personal values. Do the high debt levels U.S. student incur play a part in these views? A Canadian comparison would be useful.

Arts majors to pay more than business students?

The University of Florida will offer incentives to students who choose to study fields with immediate practical applications. A task force has recommended that students in "non-strategic majors" pay higher tuition, in effect subsidizing those entering fields rewarded by the labour market. History professors are protesting.

Going online to get closer

A professor explains how 64,000 people fit into his office in this conversation about massive open online courses. "Most of the time what the students see is me writing on a piece of paper. I tried to simulate what it would be like for a student to sit next to me in my office at my desk and just work through problems."

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