Jack Welch, former General Electric Co. Chief Executive, has put his stamp of approval on the MBA program at Chancellor University. Of course, Chancellor University has only recently donned this name. Myers University, the formerly bankrupt, is now Chancellor University System LLC, and Jack Welch owns 12 percent of it. Not a bad deal–he got an MBA program named after him (The Jack Welch Institute) and a 12 percent stake in the school for only $2 million.

Great News for Online Education
Of the roughly 18.5 million college students in the U.S., 11 percent took most of their classes online in 2008, shows the study by EduVentures, Inc. Compare that to the 1 percent in 1998, and it’s pretty clear that popular opinions about online education are shifting. This big-name backing is fantastic for online education as a whole.

Mr. Welch had two extremely encouraging things to say about the program:

“I think it’s a real education,” and “I’m now a believer.”

This kind of support will echo throughout the halls (or servers, as the case may be) of online universities everywhere. It’s about time.

This new program isn’t the only good news for business-minded individuals, either. Hiring is up in financial institutions. It’s not skyrocketing, but progress is progress–and it’s better than more layoffs. So, go get yourself a shiny new Welch Institute MBA, and hop on the finance hiring train. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the beginning of the end… of the recession. (Not to worry, I’m knocking on my wooden desk vigorously.)

Yes, the Times Are Changing
A new adult education class in Connecticut is teaching social networking. For most students today, social networking is a way to lose credits (by Twittering, Facebooking, et cetera-ing instead of doing homework), but not for these folks, who are actually earning credits while learning how the younger generations communicate with each other. The question is: do you get extra credit for Twittering during a lecture? Or is my phone going in the June box again?