Earlier this year, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska called this election a “dumpster fire.” We were reminded of this insight by Terry Hartle (Senior Vice President, Division of Government and Public Affairs of the American Council on Education) at last week’s Presidents’ Forum. Hoping to raise the level of dialogue beyond that surrounding a dumpster […]
I encourage you and/or your institution to submit comments on the state authorization regulation proposed recently (press release, proposed regulations) by the U.S. Department of Education. In a recent post, I gave you a “first look” at the language, included some analysis about what is new, and commented on some implications. In this post, I will […]
This morning the U.S. Department of Education released its proposed new regulations (press release, proposed regulations) for the state authorization of distance education programs. Institutional personnel and the public are invited to submit comments by August 24. This post will focus on the contents of the proposal. In this post, we will: Summarize the major […]
WCET partners with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) in creating a unified voice on pending federal regulations for today’s higher education students. By working together, we can have more impact on the process. We also avoid having competing priorities or contradictory recommendations. Today, we release a […]
Van Davis, Blackboard’s new Associate Vice President of Higher Education Research and Policy, is today’s guest blogger. We’re all engaged in assuring that student data is used properly. Van gives us an insight into legislation that may add new responsibilities in protecting student data and privacy. Thank you for the update, Van. We live in a society awash […]
This summer the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee has begun the process of reauthorizing the Higher Education Act of 1965. As some of you have experienced in previous reauthorizations, the committee has been holding hearings to determine what key factors of the Act that need updates. Through modern technology I have been […]
You will not want to miss the WCET Annual Meeting in Denver at the beautiful Westin Downtown, November 11-13. Though the fall meeting schedule is packed, a recent attendee said, “WCET is the one meeting on my agenda that I WILL NOT miss.” The following are a few reasons the WCET Annual Meeting provides such significant return […]
Some new federal regulations may be coming your way and we need to make our voice heard. We need your help in addressing concerns in four areas: ensuring equity for financial aid, student identity, accessibility, and state authorization of distance education. The Higher Education Act This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Higher […]
How do students judge the quality of distance education courses? The Distance Education Accrediting Commission’s (DEAC) new quality review process helps students to make that evaluation. Traditional colleges have accreditation. Accrediting agencies traditionally provide peer-review evaluations to (according to the U.S. Department of Education) “ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels […]
With great foresight into the happenings of the Hill, today Christopher T. Murray and Kenneth D. Salomon, partners at Thompson Coburn LLP, share with us what they have observed regarding Higher Ed Act Reauthorization possibilities for 2015. WCET is currently exploring ways to work with other organizations on policy advocacy and you will hear about a joint letter […]
