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Friday, 11 December 2009 |
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| CED President Charles Kolb |
CED hosted a Washington, D.C. luncheon forum for the release of a new report, Harnessing Openness to Improve Research, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. The report was produced by CED's Digital Connections Council (DCC). Elliot Maxwell, the project director for CED's digital ‘openness' project, presented the findings and recommendations in the report. Maxwell has held several advisory roles in Federal government and is Fellow of the Communications Program at Johns Hopkins University. Marshall "Mike" Smith, Senior Counselor at the Department of Education & Director of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, delivered remarks on the Administrations goals relating to ‘openness.' A panel led by Patrick Gross, CED Trustee & Chairman of the Lovell Group, discussed the implications for greater ‘openness' in higher education. William "Brit" Kirwan, Chancellor at the University System of Maryland agreed that ‘openness' has provided expanded opportunities for students and teachers. Heather Joseph, Executive Director at the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) provided information on the increased access to federally-funded research through new policies in major research institutes. The forum was held at the National Press Club.
The Digital Connections Council (DCC) is a CED advisory board that has developed the concept of openness in electronic commerce and in information and communications technology in a series of reports. The Internet and the digitization of information are increasing the potential for information, processes and organizations to become more "open." Information (or a process or an organization) is more open when there are fewer restrictions on access, use, and responsiveness. The new report focuses on higher education through the lens of openness. The goal is to understand the potential impact of greater openness on colleges and universities. For example, greater openness would encourage closer relationships between community colleges, students seeking training or retraining, and local employers.
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