Viewpoint

Most discussions on the rise of for-profit colleges begin and end with an arbitrary moral judgment that there's something inherently wrong with for-profit colleges, or an unfounded assertion that these institutions offer inferior academic programs.

The anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist strikes will always be a sad and bitter one. Yet in the years since, that tragedy has given rise to some serious introspective thought about the roles we play as individuals, communities, businesses, and institutions of higher education during emergency situations.

In April 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seized the high ground in the debates about the ownership of intellectual property associated with the teaching and learning process. MIT's president, Charles Vest, announced the OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative, with the support of $11 million in funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

You arrive at work armed with a strong commitment, good equipment and the right information-ready to provide a safe atmosphere for your school community. Then it happens! You find yourself the victim of a weapon of mass disruption.