Adults Are Flocking to College That Paved Way for Flexibility
There are almost as many routes to a degree as there are students at Thomas Edison, which has offered adults higher-education alternatives since 1972.
- By TAMAR LEWIN - February 25, 2013 - The New York Times
Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey without ever taking aThomas Edison course. She was one of about 300 of last year’s 3,200 graduates who managed to patch together their degree requirements with a mix of credits — from other institutions, standardized exams, online courses, workplace or military training programs and portfolio assessments.
Years ago, fresh out of high school, Ms. Hunt had finished enough advanced work to enter the University of Texas at Austin with sophomore standing. But after a year, homesick, she returned to Virginia. Then she married and eventually moved to Indiana. She had 10 children, whom she home-schools, and worked in her husband’s business.
About a year ago, at 39, she resolved to complete a degree. In a kind of a higher-education sprint, she took a number of college equivalency exams, earning 54 credits in 14 weeks.
“I tried to do an exam a week at the University of Indianapolis test center,” where the exams could be proctored, she said. “Each test cost about $80.”
Ms. Hunt estimated that her degree in business administration, plus a simultaneous associate degree in applied science, had cost her $5,300, including books and fees. There are almost as many routes to a Thomas Edison degree as there are students. In a way, that is the whole point of the college, a fully accredited, largely online public institution in Trenton founded in 1972 to provide a flexible way for adults to further their education.
“We don’t care how or where the student learned, whether it was from spending three years in a monastery,” said George A. Pruitt, the college’s president, “as long as that learning is documented by some reliable assessment technique.”
“Learning takes place continuously throughout our lives,” he said. “If you’re a success in the insurance industry, and you’re in the million-dollar round table, what difference does it make if you learned your skills at Prudential or at Wharton?”
At a time when student debt has passed $1 trillion, such institutions seem to have, at the very least, impeccable timing. Thomas Edison, New Jersey’s second-largest public college, and two like-minded institutions — Charter Oak State College in Connecticut and the private, nonprofit Excelsior College in New York — are all growing. Thomas Edison’s graduating class last fall was a third bigger than the class five years earlier. And the idea of measuring students’ competency, not classroom hours, has become the cornerstone of newer institutions like Western Governors University in Utah.
At Thomas Edison and the other such colleges, almost all students are over 21, many are in the military, and few have taken a direct path to higher education.
Pilar Mercedes Foy, 31, a Thomas Edison graduate whose parents did not go to college, said after she got an entry-level job at PSEG, the New Jersey energy company, she realized that she would need a degree to advance. She earned the bulk of her credits through heavily subsidized evening classes offered at work, supplemented by classes at Union County College and 12 credits from the CLEP Spanish exam. For her, earning a degree without taking on a penny of student debt was enough of a milestone that she invited her husband, parents, siblings, in-laws and nieces to the September graduation ceremony.
Thirty years ago, when Dr. Pruitt became president, the Thomas Edison approach was controversial. Some academics, in particular, were skeptical, he said, almost believing that “if we didn’t teach it to you, you couldn’t have learned it.”
Results have quieted most naysayers, Dr. Pruitt said. For example, Thomas Edison graduates had the highest pass rate on the exam for certified public accountants in New Jersey, in the latest national accounting-boards report. Still, the approach raises real questions about the meaning of a college degree.
“If I’m giving you a degree, I’m vouching for you, testifying to your competence,” said Clifford Adelman, a senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy in Washington. “With these nomad students in higher education, whose students are they? There are questions of ownership and ethical responsibility.”
Most Thomas Edison students arrive with some credits, at times earned many years earlier. Others get credits by submitting a portfolio of their work or passing standardized exams like the College Level Examination Program, administered by the College Board. Many complete online college courses from Thomas Edison or “open courseware” sources like the Saylor Foundation. Many bring transcripts from the American Council on Education’s credit recommendation program, certifying their nontraditional programs.
Arthur C. Brooks, a former economics professor at Syracuse who heads the American Enterprise Institute, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Thomas Edison in 1994, at age 30, after a decade as a musician. He took correspondence courses, he said, “at the cheapest places I could find.”
Mr. Brooks believes he did the same homework, wrote the same papers and took the same tests as on-campus students at other colleges, without meeting a single professor. To get his degree, he had to prove mastery of economics in a two-hour telephone conversation with a professor at Pace University.
“It was like a field exam,” said Mr. Brooks, now 48. “He asked about Adam Smith, John Keynes, supply and demand, macro and micro — everything an economics major at any university would be expected to know.”
David Esterson, 45, of Whittier, Calif., started taking college classes while in high school, attended the University of Washington for a year, was a photographer in Los Angeles, then started a music business. About three years ago, when his nephews began talking about college, Mr. Esterson decided he should complete his degree.
He took online courses at the University of Minnesota and the University of Phoenix before trying a couple of California community colleges and an acupuncture school. He finally earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Thomas Edison in September.
“It sounded like a scam, but the fact that it was a state school, and accredited, made it more real,” Mr. Esterson said.
And it has been real, he said: “Nobody I contacted about graduate programs seemed to look down on the Edison degree, and I got into every grad school I applied to.”
Now enrolled in two graduate programs - an online master’s in leadership at Northeastern and a dual-degree executive M.B.A. program from Cornell University and Queen’s University in Canada - Mr. Esterson is a booster for his alma mater. “I’ve never been there, but I did buy a sweatshirt,” he said.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Australian Politician Ann Bressington Exposes Agenda 21 & Club of Rome
— “Agenda 21″ —
Based on an actual program created by the United Nations by the very same name — “Agenda 21″ — which, according to the UN’s own website, is a “comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations system, nation-less corporations, governments and other major groups, in every area in which human impacts on the environment.
ZERO-POINT ENERGY: The John Searl Story
Published on Jul 16, 2013
Does John Searl have the answer to the global energy crisis? Searl says that he's had it for over 60 years. Regarded by many as 'The Godfather' of free energy or zero point energy science, Professor John Searl believes his magnetic generator, the Searl Effect Generator (SEG), can save our planet from economic and environmental disaster.
"In the laws of nature, there is NOTHING impossible except that the state of your mind makes it so. Cleaning up this planet is going to be a big job. If we are going to get the climate back to what we want a lot of work aught be done but one thing is certain, you need energy. That's important." -- John Searl
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident (obvious)." -- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
The John Searl Story is a documentary that chronicles the life of John Roy Robert Searl and his extraordinary scientific claims that could solve our world's energy crisis.
Born in England on May 2, 1932, John Searl experienced recurring childhood dreams that led him to design a revolutionary electrical generator fueled only by rotating magnets, and large discs that emulated the flight characteristics displayed by many UFOs. It is said that the first Sunday of every month between 1968 and 1972, Searl demonstrated his generators and flying discs to the general public. Television cameramen and news reporters were supposedly present for the events, and Searl claims he also demonstrated his flying disc to US military personnel.
Not surprisingly, opposition to a fuel-less device was fierce. Multi-billion dollar industries, governments and mainstream scientists were quick to label John Searl a crackpot. He was subjected to ridicule and torment, fell victim to arson and theft, was imprisoned and left destitute. His research and devices were destroyed. But, John Searl is still alive today, and continues his mission to prove himself by rebuilding his amazing generator.
WEBSITES: * http://JohnSearlStory.com
Magnetic Levitation Electricity Generator
The future of clean, unlimited alternative new energy is approaching. - Here is a video of professor John R. R. Searl, founder of the Searl Effect Technology and the inventor of the Searl Effect Generator (SEG). - A unique and amazing device designed to generate clean, never-ending and highly affordable electric power for homes and vehicles. - However, due to the political power of the energy conglomerates pushing fossil fuels, coal and nuclear energy, the only way this will reach the masses is if we demand it. - Please see the petition link below and sign it. - Then do all you can to spread the message and make this petition go viral. - The sooner we act, the sooner this can become a reality!
Professor John R. R. Searl is the founder of the Searl Effect Technology and the inventor of the Searl Effect Generator (SEG).
With our World in the midst of an emerging energy crisis along with massive and constant environmental damage from forest destruction to ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions of epic and catastrophic proportions,
Prof. John Searl offers a global solution that can harness economically clean, sustainable and unlimited renewable energy.
NOTE:
The SEG concept is an open system energy converter in complete accordance with the laws of thermodynamics. The SEG's working sophistication is evidently beyond basic academic and mainstream comprehension; patience in learning with an open mind will reveal a better way of harnessing clean energy. We do welcome constructive inquires that can contribute to the science and engineering of the Searl Technology, also anything that promotes public awareness of the SEG and its potential benefits to all societies.
The Complete Archive of Nikola Tesla’s Patents
http://venusproject.org/new-energy/the-complete-archive-of-nikola-tesla-s-patents.html
The SEG project needs to proceed in certain stages which each need their own levels of funding.For the 1st stage, we need to prove / reprove every facet of the SEG every step of the way and document it. This means verifying the theory of operation in a number of ways.
If you were to sit a regular magnet next to a uniquely magnetized Searl Magnet, there would be no way to tell the difference with your naked eye.There are subtle differences between the SEG MOCK UP verses the PROTOTYPE, and there are obvious differences between the two.Everything people see in the videos on YouTube is the MOCK UP.The MOCK UP is NOT a motor. NOT a generator.
NOT a free energy device. NOT a perpetual motion machine. The Mock Up demonstrator is a tool to verify the SEG’s theory of operation, to display basic magnetic interactions, spin forces and thermotorability of what the SEG PROTOTYPE Would look like if rebuilt according to Professor Searl's specifications.The MOCK UP is fed DC power FROM the coils.1.5 volts @ .06 amps turns 8 pounds of weight 200 orbital RPM. At the same time the rollers orbit, they spin on their Centripetal axis at 14,500RPM
For more information visit:http://www.scribd.com/doc/75278338/SEG-Mock-Up-Verses-SEG-Prototype-Stages-of-R-D
Children in Need. Children Ignored. | John DeGarmo, Ed.D.
Published: July 03, 2019
Dr. John DeGarmo is a leading international foster care expert and consultant. He is the director of The Foster Care Institute, and acts as a consultant to foster care agencies and legal agencies across the USA. His talk is about the foster care crisis in America, and how more children are being placed into foster care, yet there are not enough homes. Dr. John DeGarmo is a leading international foster care expert and consultant. Dr. DeGarmo has a B.A. in History, a Masters in Media Technology, a Masters in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Walden University. He is the author of several foster care books, including the new book The Foster Care Survival Guide, the best selling book Faith and Foster Care, as well as the foster care children's book A Different Home: A New Foster Child's Story. He is the director of The Foster Care Institute, and acts as a consultant to foster care agencies and legal agencies across the USA.
Dr. DeGarmo is married to Dr. Kelly DeGarmo, who hails from Australia, and the two of them have six children, both biological and adoptive. Dr. DeGarmo and his wife are also currently foster parents to three siblings, bringing their household to nine children. Dr. DeGarmo has been a foster parent for dozens of children for over a decade now. He has a passion for foster children, and is driven to bring education and insight into general society about all things foster care. Dr. DeGarmo and his wife are the recipients of the Good Morning America Ultimate Hero Award, and the Up With People Every Day Hero Award. The two also were honored with their city's Citizens of the Year Award.
Adoption as a solution for children without parents
Both Ends Burning promotes adoption as a solution for children without parents. We exist to create a culture of adoption and to help facilitate changes in the current system. Adoption can serve as a champion for human potential, and as a responsible society we should be encouraging and promoting the practice of adoption.
Cross-cultural studies of children have found that the length of time spent in conditions of social deprivation, like orphanages, correlates with a wide array of psychological and developmental challenges. Children living in institutional settings are at significantly higher risk for developing learning problems, behavioral issues and language disorders. There are ample amounts of studies that validate a child’s development is dependent on a healthy and stimulating environment however, the current international adoption trends show an almost 60% decline in the number of children adopted since 2004. The average international adoption takes 3-5 years to complete leaving innocent children to spend their most formative years languishing in institutional settings. We believe that this is in direct violation of human rights and one of the greatest social injustices of the decade.
Growing up in a family is a child’s most basic human right. Today that basic human right is denied, in many cases, simply due to a dysfunctional adoption system. Both Ends Burning works to protect and advocate for the rights of orphaned children in an effort to minimize the devastating effects of institutionalization, while stressing the importance of protecting birth parents and ensuring that proper safeguards are in place for the children.
The Both Ends Burning Campaign is uniquely positioned to be the central umbrella organization to promote a culture of adoption and to implement policy change. One division of the campaign is The Culture of Adoption Movement, which exists to create awareness, promote adoption as an option, and make every child’s right to a family an important, relevant, social issue. The other division of the Both Ends Burning Campaign is the Adopt advisory/policy services, which is the advocacy division designed to work with stakeholders to produce policy and process reform.
We are also producing a feature length documentary film that will serve as a catalyst in educating the world about the importance of international adoption, and the current crisis it is in. The film will reveal the full scope and complexity of international adoption today, showcasing the successes as well as the struggles in the modern-day efforts to find permanent families for parent-less children. Filming has taken place on four continents and features child development experts, policymakers, families, and the biggest stakeholders of all: children. The purpose of the film is to help the average person understand the issues and ultimately put pressure on leaders to produce change.
Both Ends Burning has assembled a very distinguished Board of Directors and partnerships with many child welfare experts and organizations. This collective leadership has positioned Both Ends Burning as a responsible force to produce positive social and systematic changes so that more children in the years ahead will have the opportunity to grow up in a family.
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