A regional accreditor has just approved a new competency-based Masters program at the University of Michigan. This is one of the first programs of its kind at a public institution, and more than 300 schools will soon be experimenting with similar degrees.

Community colleges in Michigan are venturing into forbidden territory: outsourcing the hiring of non-tenure professors. While faculty critics condemn the move as one that will undermine educational goals, this is a trend that might take off.

A university in New Hampshire is leading the way in online ed by hiring adjuncts to teach their online courses. Everybody wins, especially the adjuncts, who get a huge boost in pay (and a degree of job security to boot) by working for the school.

Corporations like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have started investing in workers early: They are partnering with university systems to create undergraduate programs. We approve: Students can expect better job prospects after acquiring skills the market wants.

Britain may be jumping on the higher-ed reform bandwagon, thanks to a new plan proposed by Labour Party MP John Denham. Rather than give students loans to attend college that prove difficult to pay back, the government would partner with businesses to jointly pay for the education of young employees in relevant fields. This is an interesting proposal with some merit, but can reforms like this coexist with liberal education?

It’s been a roller coaster year for MOOCs, but despite some major setbacks over the past few months, the technology is still one of the hottest things going in higher-ed at the moment. In honor of MOOCs’ big year, EdSurge is taking a look at a number of statistics from the past few years which illustrate just how quickly MOOCs have grown.