As online educators, we have realised that developing belonging is not optional. If we want students to truly engage in the learning process, it is our duty to develop it. We need to communicate the following: “You matter here. I see you.” In online courses, feedback is one of the clearest ways to send this message. When thoughtfully designed, it becomes a bridge between participation and genuine connection. In this article, we share practical ways to cultivate belonging via feedback even in written form. Check your tone: in online environments, written words can easily be misinterpreted. Avoid shame-based language and instead let students know mistakes are a natural and necessary part of growth. This helps students see errors as opportunities rather than failures and feel safe to explore and learn. Shift from commands to questions.
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Friday, October 30, 2026
CMU Introduces 4 New Online Graduate Certificates for Professionals - Alexander Johnson, Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is introducing four online graduate certificates designed to help working professionals build graduate-level expertise in artificial intelligence, robotics, software engineering and product management. Built to fit the busy schedules of working professionals, the certificates offer flexible online learning and opportunities to apply new knowledge and skills immediately in the workplace. The programs also help learners stay current as emerging technologies reshape their industries.
A New Home for Nontraditional Students - Joshua Bay, Inside Higher Ed
More than housing: Eaton is among more than 300 students who can live at 99 Claremont, designed specifically for undergraduates at Columbia’s School of General Studies whose paths to college have included military service, professional careers or time away from school. The facility represents the university’s latest effort to strengthen community among students whose needs may differ from those of traditional undergraduates. Curtis Rodgers, vice dean of the School of General Studies, said fostering a stronger sense of belonging among nontraditional students was central to the university’s investment in the residence. One misconception about these students, he said, is that because they tend to be older and often have responsibilities outside the classroom, they have little interest in participating in campus life.
Thursday, October 29, 2026
Survey: 48% of Employers Say AI Will Make College Degrees More Important - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed
Despite fears that AI will replace many entry-level white collar jobs, new data shows that many employers still want workers with a college degree. According to a survey of 2,500 employers that the Lumina Foundation and Gallup published Tuesday, 48 percent of employers believe artificial intelligence will make college degrees more important over the next five years, compared to just 26 percent who believe they will become less important. “There is a surprising disconnect between the public perception and employer behavior, and what AI might mean for the future value of a college degree,” Courtney Brown, Lumina’s vice president of impact and planning, told Inside Higher Ed. “Employers are hiring for the things that AI can’t do. They’re putting a premium on judgment, critical thinking, communication and adaptability. They value those skills you gain by getting degrees.”
The AI value curve: The economics of applying AI to existing work - McKinsey
AI is being deployed widely across enterprises, but adoption is being measured far more than value. The AI value curve compares the cost of a task as performed today with the full cost of doing it with AI, revealing a roughly $2.5 trillion annual global opportunity in deploying the technology across certain sectors, regions, and occupations. Three patterns stand out: The strongest economics come from augmenting high-skilled, higher-wage work rather than large volumes of lower-wage work; there is substantial potential value in numerous sectors beyond technology and financial services, including healthcare and education; and the same use case can pay off in one market but not another. Capturing the opportunity requires leaders to focus AI investments where the economics are strongest, manage costs alongside adoption, and plan how to redeploy the people AI frees up.
US university offers cut-price UK degree for international students - Andrew Jack, Financial Times
Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, said he aimed to expand to an annual intake of up to 4,000 students in the UK in the coming years. A small cohort has begun pilot business, engineering and computer science degrees this autumn on ASU’s new London campus. “We are making this as affordable as possible,” said Crow, a pioneer of lower-cost and online learning in the US, including with the widespread use of AI. “We are looking at how we can eliminate excessive fees and grow more efficiently by using technology in ways to enhance learning.” The move will allow ASU to expand its offerings to British students and provide a base outside the US for American students who prefer to study elsewhere, as well as students from other countries seeking alternatives to the US following President Donald Trump’s hostility to immigration and attacks on universities.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Assessments in Teaching and Learning in the Age of AI - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
Some faculty members fail to recognize that the world has changed and we must respond to those changes in how and what we do to prepare learners for their careers and personal aspirations. It is frustrating for many to be required to redesign their teaching content and methods in response to the larger worldwide technological changes. Yet, here we are—the world in fact has changed. We are confronted with exciting and sometimes frightening new capabilities in this, the fourth industrial revolution. AI offers us very powerful and efficient tools with which we can enhance and assess teaching and learning in higher education. As evidenced in this study, AI is being implemented effectively by college and university educators worldwide in assessment redesign, which is converging around process, authenticity and dialogue. It is incumbent upon us to introduce these tools and approaches to our learners, who are entering a worldwide workplace that increasingly depends upon AI.
Why Hands-On Training Still Matters in a Digital Age - Michael Burke, Occupational Health and Safety
Over the last quarter century, computer-based and online learning have become basic components of many emergency and disaster response training programs. But in recent years, more advanced forms of technology such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), serious games and now artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being explored as immersive tools to integrate into training as well. When applied with care and rigor, these technologies can helpfully supplement learning. But decades of workplace safety research suggest that live, in-person training remains critical for many reasons. Understanding these reasons will help organizations strike a balance between delegating the right amount of training to VR/AR or AI as appropriate and, for other forms of training that will be discussed here, sticking to the tried and true method of hands-on approaches.
Indiana Tech gets national recognition for online learning improvements - Ashley Sloboda, The Journal Gazette
Mary Beth Graham, online learning director, underscored the importance of the initiative, which supports the university’s goal of providing academic programs that prepare students for workforce success. “It is our responsibility to provide our learners with opportunities for success and the support needed to help them succeed,” Graham said in a statement. “This initiative has improved student success and helped more learners achieve their educational and career goals. Simply stated: their success is our success.” The Quality Matters award program also recognizes individuals, non-U.S. based institutions or groups and K-12 organizations or individuals. Eligibility criteria indicated award nominees must have been employed by a Quality Matters-subscribing institution.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
AI in the Business Classroom: Building Better Thinkers in Macroeconomics - University of Dayton
Artificial intelligence is changing how students access information. For Marlon Williams, associate professor of economics, that isn't a challenge. It's an opportunity to help students think more deeply. In ECO 204: Principles of Macroeconomics, Williams uses AI to reinforce learning rather than replace it, reflecting the University of Dayton School of Business Administration's approach to integrating AI as a tool that strengthens the human side of education."Information is ubiquitous," Williams says. "Students can access answers instantly. So the goal isn't just delivering information—it's helping them understand it, evaluate it critically, and use it wisely." That philosophy led Williams to create a customized AI tutor built around his lectures, course materials and teaching style. Rather than discouraging AI use, he teaches students how to use it intentionally.
AI Isn’t the Problem. We Are. - Louis-Francois P. Belanger and Zakiriya H. Gladney, Harvard Crimson
As students, part of our engagement with our education is externally motivated — and reasonably so. Competitive admissions select for students who treat knowledge as capital, something to acquire and exchange for other goods: we pursue grades, summer programs, and extracurriculars to get into selective universities. Once we get to Harvard, these pressures return as the pressures to compete for post-grad opportunities. Many of us are also motivated, at least in part, by curiosity; the burning drive for understanding. Even among the more extrinsically motivated, cultivating curiosity is well worth the while. Curiosity has been shown to increase creativity, enhance memory, foster a sense of meaning in life, and promote engagement with one’s work. When coupled with effort, it even matches intelligence as a predictor of academic performance. Teach a man, and he learns for a day. Teach a man to love learning, and he learns for a lifetime. Suppose we make cultivating curiosity a primary goal of higher education. Then, even in fields one chooses primarily for employment — say, perhaps no longer, computer science — the task of the university is to bestow the love of learning computer science on the student. The development of specific skills and knowledge employed in computer science follows incidentally.
AI is changing work. Now it has to change the organization - Alexis Krivkovich, Brooke Weddle, Holly Price, and Vik Sohoni, McKinsey
Agentic AI changes three fundamental constraints that have shaped the modern organization: human capacity, expertise, and coordination. For more than a century, the familiar building blocks of organizational design, from tasks and jobs to teams, management layers, and hierarchies, have reflected those constraints. AI doesn’t remove them entirely, but it alters them enough that leaders can ask a more consequential question: What can this company do that wasn’t possible before? Most organizations are not yet asking, let alone answering, that question. AI adoption is scaling rapidly, and individuals are already seeing meaningful productivity gains, but enterprise value has not kept pace.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Before HR Automates a Task With AI, Ask What It Used to Teach - Dmitry Zaytsev, SHRM
That question matters because some work that looks inefficient on a process map is also where employees learn judgment, context, and quality. Early drafts, basic analysis, research summaries, first customer responses, and routine problem solving may be slow. They may need manager review. They may not look strategic. But for many employees, especially early career employees, this is how work becomes understandable. AI can now produce many of these first versions in seconds. That can create real value. It can reduce administrative pressure, help employees move faster, and free time for higher value work. But if HR and business leaders remove too much early practice without replacing it with better development, they may solve one productivity problem while creating a future talent problem.
A university-branded boot camp promised tech jobs. It delivered only debt - Sarah Butrymowicz, Hechinger Report
To its critics, including many former students who feel misled by the company, the sudden closure of IronCircle may seem a fitting culmination to its eight years of operation. The company, which had gone through two name changes in that time, regularly charged students as much as $18,900 for classes and then failed to help them get cybersecurity jobs, according to a Hechinger Report investigation that included interviews with more than 35 former students and employees, as well as a review of university records. Students were sold on the hopes of finding a lucrative job — reviewing security alerts, responding to breaches, testing company systems — at a time of economic uncertainty and rapidly rising costs. In the end, though, they reported the company often gave improbable, deceptive or false information about job prospects and oversold its own support services. Still, more than 20 universities, including prestigious public institutions, partnered with IronCircle, offering a de facto seal of approval.
Six HBCUs Join Forces To Expand Access To Online Education - RTM Newsroom, Michigan Chronicle
Six historically Black colleges and universities are working together to make earning a degree or professional credential more accessible through a shared online education platform. The initiative, called eHBCU, allows prospective students to explore and apply for online degree programs, certificates and career preparation opportunities offered by six participating institutions through one centralized application. Launched in summer 2025, the platform is designed for working adults, parents, career changers and students who want to continue their education without relocating. The participating institutions are Delaware State University, Alabama State University, Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University at New Orleans, and Southern University at Shreveport.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Rice launches transformational AI initiative with faculty hiring, new programs and facilities - Jeff Falk, Rice News
Rice University has launched a transformational universitywide AI initiative to recruit 75 faculty members working across disciplines, invest in a new, state-of-the-art facility that advances research and industry collaboration, and expand AI-related courses and degrees, accelerating the institution’s emergence as a global leader in advanced computing and responsible AI. Rice has already recruited 35 faculty members in recent years whose work centers on AI across several schools, marking the halfway point in the faculty hiring effort. An additional 40 faculty will bring the total number of AI-focused faculty hired this decade to 75. These new researchers build upon Rice’s historical strengths in AI and computing.
How Artificial Intelligence Can Help With Critical Thinking - Monideepa Tarafdar, Greater Good Berkley.edu
Ironically, perhaps, recent research shows that people who interact with generative AI for work tasks can end up not thinking critically. They can surrender to AI’s quick and confident answers, which can lead to speedy but low-quality solutions. Scholars refer to this increasingly prevalent problem as cognitive offloading. And they are showing that it can erode the very skills that make knowledge workers valuable. My research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and knowledge work provides a different view, however. In one study, my colleagues and I interviewed 45 knowledge workers at a U.S. public university. They all were using generative AI applications in their core tasks: generating new ideas, solving complex problems, and designing novel solutions. We also analyzed the prompts and outputs from their iterative AI chats.
You Still Should Go To College In The Age Of AI. Here’s Why. - Jamie Merisotis, Forbes
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have raised uncertainty about jobs and the value of college. According to the Pew Research Center, young adults increasingly worry about AI taking jobs. No job is entirely AI-proof, creating a need for education and training that emphasizes human skills and adaptability. For college to remain valuable, it must become more affordable and quickly pivot to prepare people for technology-integrated jobs. Higher education must cultivate durable skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal communication, alongside specific subject skills to help workers succeed alongside machines.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
From feed to access: Official digital media channels, information quality and student engagement orientation in higher education - Reymond C. Dalupang, E-Learning and Digital Media (Sage Journals)
Students in higher education increasingly receive academic and co-curricular information through official online pages, groups, and messaging channels. Although these channels are common, less is known about whether students experience them as complete, accurate, and retrievable digital media spaces that support participation in the wider higher education environment. This cross-sectional quantitative study examined 400 students who followed or regularly checked official digital channels in a higher education setting. The analysis measured digital channel use, perceived update quality and completeness, retrievability of prior announcements and reports, engagement behavior, and future participation intention. Results showed favorable ratings for digital media information quality.
Rush is on to patch a software vulnerability that could impact 70% of websites worldwide - DAVID MCHUGH and EMMA BURROWS, AP
Governments and corporations worked throughout the night on urgent security updates after the AI-assisted discovery of vulnerabilities in a programming language vital to 70% of websites globally. Many government sites appeared to be functioning normally Thursday, but outages or limited service continued while security work was under way. The FBI’s cyber division warned on Wednesday that the vulnerabilities could allow malicious actors to remotely execute code in the programming language, PHP, which powers websites and web applications. That raised the risk of sensitive data and networks being compromised, said the agency, which recommended that operators take websites offline if they can’t update them immediately.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Tutoring and Adaptive Learning Market Is Projected to Hit $20.6 Billion by 2030 - National Law Review
The rise of artificial intelligence in education is transforming how learners engage with content and receive personalized support. AI-powered tutoring and adaptive learning technologies are becoming central to this shift, enabling customized educational experiences across various settings. Let’s explore the current market landscape, growth drivers, regional trends, and key factors shaping this rapidly evolving sector. Market Growth Prospects in AI-Powered Tutoring and Adaptive Learning
The market for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tutoring and adaptive learning has experienced rapid expansion recently. It is projected to grow from $8.09 billion in 2025 to $9.79 billion in 2026, representing a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.9%. This increase during the historic period reflects a rising adoption of digital learning platforms, broader internet availability, heightened demand for personalized education, growth in online certification programs, and increasing investments in education technology.
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