GATES GRANTS: The Gates Foundation announced on Tuesday a series of grants totaling over $9 million to specific organizations working on "breakthrough learning models" in the postsecondary space. These efforts aim to let students "earn a credential with value in the labor market without incurring significant debt." Awards include:
- $3.3 million to EDUCAUSE, earmarked for the four winners of the Next Generation Learning Challenges' latest RFP
- $3 million to MyCollege Foundation to establish a non-profit college with "adaptive online learning solutions" to enable students to get affordable degrees
- $1 million to MIT to develop a free comp sci online course through edX
- $1 million to the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (CUNY) to create the first new CUNY college in four decades
- $500k to the University of the People, a tuition-free, non-profit, online institution using OER and open-source technology to deliver access to higher education
- $450k to the League for Innovation in the Community College to develop and pilot a national consortium of leading community colleges and online universities that help adults attain postsecondary credentials
