The GSV Big 10: Don't Say I Didn't Warn You
Here's your weekly coverage corner for the top 10 stories, insights, and major plays in learning and skilling.
#1 VIDEO: Frederick M. Hess and Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan Discuss School Reformâs Way Forward
Frederick Hess and Arne Duncan donât agree on everything, but theyâre both dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions to getting our kids and our country to a better place. We need clear goals and clear strategies to solve this crisis. Letâs get to work!
#2 Walmart Plans To Remove College Degree Requirements From Hundreds Of Corporate Job Descriptions
Itâs what you know, not where you go. Walmart is the latest Fortune 500 company to swap out degrees for skills-based hiring. At best, degrees are weak proxies for skillsâŠat worst, theyâre barring millions from pursuing opportunities for which theyâre qualified.
#3 Biden cancels $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 borrowers
As Reason Magazine editor Emma Camp reminded us on X last month, half of student loan borrowers owe less than $20K (and a third owe less than $10K). With $20K in student loans, the monthly payment will likely be <$250. Activists with <7th percentile loan balances have skewed the debate to make it seem as though the average borrower is drowning. In reality, they are not.
#4 Shopping for Colleges Just Got a Little Easier for Some Students | American Enterprise InstituteÂ
Would you apply for an apartment lease without knowing how much youâd be on the hook to pay? Would you pick a car from the dealership lot without knowing the price tag? Thatâs how selecting your college education works in the United States today â hardly anyone pays the prices listed on college websites. Worse, it can be nearly impossible to interpret the language in a financial aid award letter without a law degree. More government intervention is rarely the answer for policy improvements, but free and fair markets require transparent pricing and well-informed consumers.
#5 Many in Gen Z hope to be influencers. There's now a degree for it.
Gen Z is most definitely under the influence. When we have 11-year old children earning $35 million in a year doing toy-review vlogs, itâs no real surprise that Gen Zers would rather be YouTubers than astronauts. Of course Degrees in things like âContent Creation & Social Mediaâ are cropping up â the creator economy is charging full steam ahead.Â
#6 Rowan University brings power of cinematic storytelling and advanced virtual reality to higher education
Rowan University is committed to becoming the University of the Future â and Dreamscape Learn is the perfect partner to help them reimagine traditional instruction. The company is quickly becoming the platform to power the next-generation curriculum, with colleges like Arizona State and Rowan University leading the pack.
#7 The Enemy Within: Former College Presidents Offer Warnings
âThe faculty can no longer live in a world that no longer exists... institutional change will happen at a speed to which they are unaccustomed and potentially unwilling to accept." Stern enough for you? The university leaders seeking to preserve the status quo think transformational change is not worth itâŠthey shouldnât be surprised when more and more people decide their degrees arenât worth it either.
#8 Centaurs & Cyborgs : The Jagged Frontier of AIÂ
AI has a rising-tide effect in the workplace and in education â a new Harvard study showed how it dramatically boosted performance of lower-quartile consultants by 43% and 17% for top performers. However, AI diminished performance on certain complex tasks, revealing limitations and the necessity of knowing when and how to match AI tools to specific tasks.
#9 Californiaâs Math Misadventure Is About to Go National
California's misguided framework reduces academic rigor and opportunities for students by delaying algebra instruction and substituting watered-down "data science" courses. While claiming equity benefits without evidence, these reckless changes limit disadvantaged students' prospects for careers in STEM and other quantitative fields that require strong math foundations. Stop the spread before itâs too late.
#10Â Humata AI Secures $3.5M in Funding
Cyrus Khajvandi launched Humata AI to help professionals efficiently analyze files by letting users ask questions across documents and generating answers using AI. With $3.5 million in funding from Googleâs Gradient Ventures, Cathie Woodâs ARK Invest and M13, the startup aims to improve its natural language processing capabilities to provide accurate summaries and insights from users' files...eliminating everyoneâs least-favorite types of grunt work in the process.
