Good Morning and Happy Monday! Sometimes, change can be a good thing. And in other places people believe a change still needs to happen. For this week we look at reforms and changes in U.S. Federal Aid for students in higher ed., the needs for: international accrediting offices, reform in certain U.S. states, and the U.S. copyright laws. Lastly, librarians have claimed victory in the U.S. Supreme Court.

We begin today with a reform in the land of student aid for the U.S. new instructions have been given on how to award aid for competency-based learning programs. Some institutions are ready to accept these new regulations with open arms. But many are still uneasy, wondering if employers will accept and have confidence in this change.

Student Aid Can Be Awarded for ‘Competencies,’ Not Just Credit Hours, U.S. Says (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Why Higher-Education Accreditors Need International Offices (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Quality assurance across borders is the subject of this call to reform. The advocates believe that the presence of such an agency would eliminate the troubles of programs “slipping through the cracks” and “avoiding rigorous evaluation” processes.

Digital Learning Now! Grades States on Ed-Tech Policies  (Ed. Week)
Well the report card is in-and now is the time to improve and reform! Only 6 states received either an A or B on their report card of how well they have expanded K-12, opened up course choices at various levels, and removed barriers to online learning. See how the states match-up!

Pallante’s Push for U.S. Copyright Reform (Creative Commons)
Copyright Reform is happening all over the world. From WIPO to domestic reviews, advocates are asking for a change in how give credit to ideas over the internet. Maria Pallante, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, wishes for the reforms to “expand and protect the public domain.”

In Win for Libraries Over Publishers, Supreme Court Upholds Reselling of Foreign Books (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
Finally, libraries and other re-sellers cheered with cries of ‘total victory’ as the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it is legal to resell or give away a book, even if it was made overseas. U.S. publishers, however, are quite disappointed with this decision, as this might be signs of ignoring “broader issues critical to America’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.”

Well? Are these reforms helpful? What else is in need of a change? Please feel free to let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Have a great week! In other news…
Top 5 Ways the British Are Winning the Edtech Export War  (Ed. Surge)
SUNY Signals Major Push Toward MOOCs and Other New Educational Models  (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
edX MOOC Software Goes Open Source (Information Week)

Photo Credit: Wesley Fryer via photopin by SA 2.0 CC