Friday, June 18, 2010

Is this the biggest news in higher education for 2010?

Did everyone sleep through this announcement?  Did we fail to notice this landmark agreement that has the potential to reshape higher education?  And oh yeah, it's distance education related.  Implications: public private partnerships in a new way; education the 'Walmart way'; reaching an unserved population; expanding educational opportunities; exploring the value of higher education for firms and their workers. 

Some will decry the potential for a 'Walmartization' of education, but hello - what's wrong with a major employer understanding the needs of their workforce and building something that supports it.  Not one thing wrong. 

Watch this one.  Let's see where it goes. It's not a slam dunk but it sure has potential to shake things up for all of us.

Wal-Mart’s Partner in Education Earns High Profile - NYTimes.com
What promises to be a lucrative arrangement between the country’s largest retailer and an education company based in West Virginia started with an unsolicited e-mail message in October.

The retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, was looking for a partner to offer online college courses to its work force in the United States. Might American Public Education — which runs two Web-based universities — be interested?

By January, American Public put together a team devoted to landing the Wal-Mart contract, and last week, the two companies announced an agreement. Wal-Mart committed to spending $50 million over the next three years in tuition and other assistance for employees who enroll.

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