technology and innovation

Traditionally, college students earn credit for how many hours they spend in a classroom. But a different approach gives credit based on how much you know -- and know how to do. As the cost of college soars, proponents say competency-based education could save students and employers thousands.

The demand for computer science majors is booming. Even at traditionally liberal arts institutions, students who want to learn how to code are flocking to colleges and universities. It's almost hard to believe that the field wasn't even considered a real major back in the 1960s. 

In Cambridge this week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is celebrating 50 years of computing and the birth of a new field.

Despite ongoing tense relations between Iran and the United States, the Obama administration is encouraging a unique partnership between the two countries. A new policy is meant to promote educational exchanges and, for the first time, will allow Iranian students to access U.S. courses online. 

One of the world's most prestigious business schools is going digital. After much anticipation, Harvard Business School is launching its first online learning initiative.

You might be one of millions of people around the world who have signed up for a massive open online course, or MOOC, the question is: did you walk away before it was over? Study after study shows only a small percentage of students, or participants, complete these courses. Despite low completion rates researchers at MIT and Harvard insist that MOOCs still have value.

Hackers have stolen the personal information of  students, faculty, staff and alumni from the University of Maryland. The university says hackers seized Social Security numbers of 309,079 people, and the cause of the security breach is under investigation. This comes as security experts worry future cyber attacks are increasingly likely to come through college and university networks.

First there was Target. Then high-end retailer Neiman Marcus. Now, security experts say future cyber attacks are likely to come through college and university networks — networks that tend to have big, broad Internet pipes, with less protection.

A new survey shows the number of college students taking at least one online course has surpassed 7.1 million. But the report conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group finds the rate of growth in online enrollment has actually slowed in recent years.

It's not very often the Queen of Jordan comes to Boston, but she was here last month to announce a new education partnership with Harvard and MIT's non-profit online learning initiative, edX.

The goal is develop a new platform called Edraak, which is designed to bring online courses to Arabic-speaking students.

America’s universities are still held in high regard, but doubts persist about the system’s ability to prepare students for success in today’s fast-changing, knowledge-based economy.

The number of college graduates is climbing but too slowly to meet the country's economic needs, according to economists. That's why some innovators want to fundamentally change the way institutes of higher learning award college credit.