Practical and Inspiring: New Book Gets to the Heart of Affordability and Access in Higher Education

Courageous Learning: Finding a New Path through Higher Education
Provides Wisdom and Guidance for Policymakers, Students and Educators

Albany, N.Y. (Dec. 12, 2011) – President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gathered recently with higher education leaders to tackle the questions of improving graduation rates and curbing the cost of higher education. Among the topics: the millions of adult men and women who have some college but no degree.

A new book, Courageous Learning: Finding a New Path Through Higher Education, by Excelsior College President Dr. John F. Ebersole and award-winning co-author William Patrick, takes on many of the education summit's issues: the financial and academic viability of traditional, campus-based education and the need for a comprehensive look at alternative approaches--many of which have existed for decades, such as earning credit by examination.

The book offers crucial insight for educators and policy makers, as well as practical information for adults who want and need to complete their postsecondary degrees.

President Ebersole, a leading advocate for adult degree completion and post-traditional solutions to higher education challenges, said, "Courageous Learning was written to say, 'Yes, you can finish your degree. Yes, you can do it affordably. Yes, you can do it with schools that have excellent credentials. Yes, you can do it on your schedule. And here's how.' "

This book is aimed squarely at policymakers, at the millions of men and women in the American workforce who haven't completed their college degrees, and at colleges and universities looking for ways to adjust to new economic realities of higher education.

Highlights of Courageous Learning —available as both an e-book and a paperback— include: 

• Inspirational interviews with graduates of adult-serving institutions
• Interviews with eight of the nation's most outspoken proponents for education reform including Martha Kanter, U.S. Undersecretary of Education; Mark Milliron, former deputy director for postsecondary improvement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and James Applegate of Lumina Foundation.
• Easy-to-understand definitions of terms such as online learning, credit by exam, credit by assessment, and transfer credit
• Guidance on taking a non-traditional approach to higher education degree completion.
• Profiles of a of cost-effective, accredited, nonprofit adult-serving institutions

"It's not good enough to get people to higher education… You've got to get them through,” said Mark Milliron, in an interview in the book.

In a recent blog post, Empire State College President Alan Davis wrote that the radical innovations of the schools profiled in Courageous Learning “are making more and more sense in this new world of digital 'open learning.'"

Courageous Learning
Dr. John Ebersole and William Patrick
Hudson Whitman/ Excelsior College Press
$7.99 e-book
$11.99 print
240 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9768813-1-5
Preview or purchase online at www.hudsonwhitman.com.
Also available at your favorite e-bookstore.

PUBLICITY:
Book signing at Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.
Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7:00 PM
For directions and details: bookhouse.indiebound.com

MEDIA CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS WITH DR. JOHN EBERSOLE:
Ellen G. Lahr
Communications Director
Excelsior College
518.608.8280
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Excelsior College Launches Its Own Press

Effort enhances College’s mission of lifelong learning

Albany, N.Y. (November 8, 2011) Lifelong learning is a founding principle behind Excelsior College and now the larger academic community can join in this mission through Hudson Whitman, the Excelsior College Press.

The launch of this press takes place during Excelsior’s celebration of its 40th anniversary. Founded in 1971, the College has become one of the nation’s leading nonprofit, accredited distance learning institutions. The press will publish high-quality nonfiction books and multi-media projects that celebrate human endeavors.

“Hudson Whitman is a very natural extension of our focus on lifelong learning and expanding access to higher education,” said Dr. John F. Ebersole, president of Excelsior College. “We don’t have a physical press but will instead use a variety of new and emerging technologies to publish works in print and as e-books. In this manner, we will offer an efficient and affordable environment for our faculty, students, alumni and others to publish serious projects that will be engaging and appealing to both the Excelsior community and to the interested general reader”

Among its current titles is Courageous Learning: Finding a New Path through Higher Education. It assesses the current state of education in America, profiles a number of adult-serving institutions, and offers practical information for adults who want to earn higher education degrees. It features stories of adult learners who have shown uncommon persistence in pursuit of their degrees by overcoming the challenges they faced in achieving personal and professional success.

The book also features interviews with many higher education leaders, including Martha Kanter, current U.S. Under Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, former Secretary of Education for George W. Bush, and Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. In line with Excelsior College’s mission, Courageous Learning underscores the urgent need for American adults to embrace a culture of lifelong learning.

Soon to come is an updated edition of Killer Cure, which reveals terrifying yet true statistics about health care in America and outlines how individuals can take charge of their own medical future.

Promoting “books that make a difference,” the press will feature works on topics such as the military and health care, as well as offering titles in education, business & technology, and American culture & society. Susan Petrie, director of the press, will manage the day-to-day operations along with founder and editor William Patrick, an award-winning novelist and author of Saving Troy.

About Excelsior

Excelsior College http://www.excelsior.edu is a regionally accredited, nonprofit distance learning institution that focuses on removing obstacles to the educational goals of adult learners. Founded in 1971 and located in Albany, NY, Excelsior is a proven leader in the assessment and validation of student knowledge. It offers more efficient and affordable access to degree completion through multiple avenues: its own online courses and college-level proficiency examinations, and the acceptance in transfer of credit from other colleges and universities as well as recognized corporate and military training programs. Excelsior College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ever Upward! Excelsior College Launches a Book Publishing Company

Albany, New York - October, 2011 - Excelsior College, a successful institution that has served adult learners since 1971, is launching a book publishing program: Hudson Whitman/ Excelsior College Press.

Although some might consider the current publishing climate too volatile for new ventures, John Ebersole, president of Excelsior, believes that, “Now is absolutely the right time."

"Excelsior was one of the country’s first online, adult-serving institutions, and has enjoyed a leadership role for decades. In an online-learning landscape that has now become remarkably crowded, Hudson Whitman signals prospective students that Excelsior College remains serious about academics," says Ebersole

Excelsior is the only non-profit, accredited, online institution to have an affiliated book publishing program.

Hudson Whitman/ Excelsior College Press will publish both print and e-books in hot-button areas like military and health care, as well as offering titles in education, business & technology, and American culture & society.

“Our tagline is ‘Books That Make a Difference,’ and we will acquire projects--both print and multimedia--that support the academic mission of Excelsior College and also act as a positive force in peoples’ lives,” said Susan Petrie, director of the press.

Petrie will run Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College Press with founder and editor William Patrick, an award-winning novelist and author of Saving Troy.

Hudson Whitman’s first title--currently available--is Courageous Learning: Finding a New Path through Higher Education ($11.99 print/ 7.99 e-book). It assesses the current state of education in America, profiles a number of adult-serving institutions, and offers practical information for adults who want to earn higher education degrees.

The book also features interviews with many higher education leaders, including Martha Kanter, current Under Secretary of Education,  Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education for George W. Bush, and Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

In line with Excelsior College’s mission, Courageous Learning underscores the urgent need for American adults to embrace a culture of lifelong learning.