Distance EDU on Demand: Ebersole on higher education and the first National Republican debates

In response to last night’s National Republican debates, Excelsior College President John Ebersole offered the following response.
“In last night’s Republican debates, little was said about either K-12 or higher education. While the Common Core curriculum received passing criticism, slightly more attention was given to the role of the Federal government in quality setting as opposed to those of the states.
Senator Rubio of Florida, who has been an instructor at Florida International University and is a frequent critic of higher education, described how the U.S. government frequently uses Federal funding to pursue interests that may be at odds with those of the State or educational systems.
He also mentions that like many college graduates, he had amassed considerable student loan debt. However, he says this in the context of pulling himself up from humble beginnings and seem to suggest that education may have played an important role in his success.
In the earlier debate between the candidates, especially those who are still languishing in the polls, I had thought that Governor Jindal, a former president in the University of Louisiana system, might make a connection between the critical need for more education and training in cybersecurity. Here, the government is reporting shortages running in the thousands (of workers) and there is a clear connection between more education and our nation’s security.
Additionally, a similar connection exists between the workforce of the future and our economic prosperity. Labor workforce researchers are now reporting that 60 percent of future jobs will require more than a secondary education. The need for greater emphasis on education and degree completion is now intertwined with that of economic growth and future prosperity.
Hopefully in the weeks and months to come, the candidates on both sides of the aisle will be spending more time talking about education and the role that it plays in making for a better life and a better society for all.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”