FAQ: A Look at How PPY Could Affect College Admission Professionals http://ow.ly/XE4fV

Three predictions about the future of higher education – The Washington Post http://ow.ly/XE7wE

“2. The strongest universities are those that depend on more than just students for their revenue. Moody’s gave Northeastern University a “positive outlook” based in part on its “revenue diversification” attributed to the university’s expansion in research buildings and faculty.

There is much discussion these days about whether colleges and universities need to “unbundle” their operations to lower their prices instead of being all things to all people. One argument in favor of unbundling is whether universities should be in the business of teaching undergraduates and conducting research.

But if schools are only in the business of teaching students — which is the case at most small private colleges — they are heavily dependent on student tuition dollars to sustain their operations. Elite liberal-arts colleges, like Williams and Amherst, have big endowments to help their bottom lines, but most institutions are not so lucky. As student and families struggle to pay tuition bills, schools will need other revenue streams beyond undergraduates.

That’s one reason why instead of unbundling research from teaching, many schools might move in the opposite direction, like Northeastern, and double down on their research efforts to attract new dollars.

3. States might be getting out of the business of higher education, but most public institutions still depend on taxpayer dollars. The third ratings action was for the University of Illinois, which received a “negative outlook” for some of its bonds.

While Moody’s noted that the university itself is in strong financial shape and continues to be popular among students, it remains dependent on the state for one-third of its operating budget. And in case you haven’t heard, Illinois still doesn’t have a state budget, dating back to the beginning of its fiscal year in July.

There’s been much debate in recent years about the role of public colleges in an era when students pay for more than half their education in most states. Sure, state funds might make up less than 10 percent of the budget at the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, and Berkeley, but the fact of the matter is that most public colleges couldn’t survive if not for their states.

You only need to look through these few ratings actions by Moody’s to get a sense of the enormous challenges facing higher education. In this election year, one of the things about which candidates on both sides agree is that higher education is in need of change. Now the question is whether their solutions will be tackling the right problems.”

Survey: Gen Z Students Focused on Tech Jobs http://ow.ly/XE4c3

Babson MBA Ranked #1 for Entrepreneurship by Princeton Review/Entrepreneur Magazine – MarketWatch http://ow.ly/6GEZZ

Entrepreneur Bootcamp Receives $1M Boost – http://ow.ly/6GEHQ

Family and Community are the Greatest Motivations for Hispanics in Pursuing the American Dream of Entrepreneurship http://ow.ly/6GECc

Rhett Weiss appointed executive director of Johnson’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute | eCampus News http://ow.ly/6GEAC

Rhode Island jumps 25 spots in entrepreneurship rankings | WPRI.com Blogs http://ow.ly/6GExp

GUEST OPINION: Could entrepreneurship, innovation rescue us? – Fall River, MA – The Herald News http://ow.ly/6GEvd

Your City as a Platform for Entrepreneurship http://ow.ly/6GDlZ

Interesting post suggesting that every college student should be required to take some kind of entrepreneurship course. I tend to agree, but there are always extenuating circumstances for these type of across the board rules.

It would be good for every student to have some idea of how a small business works, since the economy is certainly moving people in that direction.

Seems like many schools are moving towards offering some entrepreneurship courses online for the on-the-go students! This is great news for those who want to build their businesses while taking classes!

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is now offering online entrepreneurship classes.

The school’s College of Business has launched its Practical Entrepreneurship Program, a non-credit track program that includes 21 courses on subjects ranging from market evaluation to raising capital, legal structures for new businesses, writing a business plan and setting up an office.

Each course costs $29, or students can purchase the whole suite of courses for $299.

“This program will further our vision of building successful futures for our stakeholders who are interested in starting their own businesses,” College of Business Dean Venkat Reddy said.

The program was developed in partnership with Business StartUp Institute, Colorado Springs. The curriculum was designed and will be presented by Tom Duening, El Pomar chair of business and entrepreneurship and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship.

“We wanted to make this non-credit program available at a reasonable price so that beginning entrepreneurs could beat the learning curve and succeed with their first startup business,” Duening said. “I share my experiences and what I’ve learned through years of research and teaching.”

Good luck to them!

Three Arizona State University (ASU) student start-ups have made it into the ‘College Entrepreneur of 2011’ contest for their unique innovations that include converting steel shipping containers into medical clinics, the development of an app for vets to diagnose small animals and the development of 3D content and systems to change how people interact.

Interesting new incubator:

Hadasit – the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization has launched Ways, an incubator for joint Jewish-Arab biomed ventures in the Galilee. Ways is a joint venture with a group of investors from the region.

Hadasit has pledged to invest NIS 7.5 million in Ways over the next five years. In addition to joint Jewish-Arab biotechnology ventures, Ways will also foster entrepreneurship among new immigrants and outstanding teenagers in the field

In addition to Hadasit’s investment, several million dollars have been pledged to Ways from social organizations. Ways will invest $500,000 in 12 projects each, which will be matched by the Office of the Chief Scientist.

Growing a startup community the proper way

In Singapore, the investment firms and startup funds are heavily driven by government backing as compared to the US, where there is little or no government funding at all. “I think a very strong government funding creates the feeling of a big safety net. So it discourages risk taking. It discourages the desire to shoot for the moon, to be  a Mark Zuckerberg or a Bill Gates,” said Ashok.

And that is why he does not see a Zuckerberg-scale entrepreneur coming out of Singapore yet. However, he believes that India is capable of producing one. ” So many people have come up in India because they have done it in spite of the government,” he said, adding that he believes that a less supportive government may instill a stronger entrepreneurial drive in the community.

Anil shared similar sentiments. “Entrepreneurship and governments don’t go together,” Anil said, adding that government assistance is essential but only until a point. Although he values the support that the Singaporean government is pouring into the community, Anil cautions against making sure that the method employed is the correct one.

“It [government assistance] can take out a lot of obstacles but don’t be in play of telling entrepreneurs what to do and how to do it. Let entrepreneurs figure out how to be successful,” Anil said.