Higher Education

We can’t believe another year has flown by as we enter 2017! Looking ahead, there are topics that we believe will be front and center in the coming year. Here are our predictions for higher education in 2017.

Here at UMass we like to hear stories about schools providing children with a path leading them to higher education. It’s essential for children to learn the importance of higher education at an early age to provide them with a head start. The Pitt County Schools of North Carolina will start a new program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). This program was originally geared towards high schoolers, but with the hard work of the school and Sugg-Bundy Elementary School in Farmville, NC will receive $500 to implement this program for all fourth graders in the coming weeks.

There is an ongoing debate about higher education and whether there is value in having a bachelor’s or master’s degree versus additional training geared towards a specific skillset. Some argue that the return on investment for higher education is not worth the price tag. However, at a recent TEDx in El Paso Texas, a prominent local businessman explained just how important it is for individuals to receive an advanced degree to help the local economy.

With the presidential election only two months away, topics such as education continue to be in the forefront of the debate – especially among democrats. Senator Tim Kaine recently wrote an article for Time Magazine on Affordable Higher Education, and in the piece he describes how different the educational landscape is now compared to when he attended college in the 1970s.