Digital Learning in ‘Inside Higher Ed’ This Week

The following developments drew coverage in Inside Higher Ed this week:

• A new survey about the challenges facing community college students finds predictable ones, like affordability and balancing work and academics. But one in five of the respondents also cited online classes as an impediment to their academic success. Fifty-three percent of them reported difficulties with learning online, and 44 percent said the lack of interaction with faculty is a problem. Nearly 40 percent of students said they had problems keeping up because their online courses didn’t have regular class times.
• The online program management companies 2U and Keypath Education announced last week that they will work together to help colleges launch and run online degrees. 2U has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the parent company that owns Keypath Education -- an OPM that specializes in working with small colleges and has offices in the U.S., Canada, Australia and England. Keypath Education currently works with 23 university partners. The partnership will allow 2U to “expand the scope of its services” by working with smaller or lower-tuition degree programs than it typically supports, a 2U announcement said.