Lucky Links

It may be Friday the 13th, but here's your links equivalent of a rabbit's foot:

• Webinar fun! Boosting College Completion for a New Economy, an initiative of the Education Commission of the States, is hosting a webinar next week, looking at state legislative policy and funding trends. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25 from 1-2pm ET. You can register here.
• The application period for the third wave of Next Generation Learning Challenges funding for blended learning models is open until June 8, 2012. There are two separate requests for proposals, one directed at secondary grantees (Breakthrough School Models for College Readiness) and one for postsecondary grantees (Breakthrough Models for College Completion). You can check out the details here.
• And while we’re talking about blended learning, you should check out Bill Tucker’s Ed Sector commentary on a new Fordham policy piece, The Costs of Online Learning. Tucker encourages advocates on all sides of this issue to dig deeper into the economics of online learning while they’re looking at student learning outcomes. (For more related reading, link to this Community College Resource Center brief about online delivery of developmental education.)