New on WCET Frontiers
Practice
What is Distance Education? – Definitions and Delineations
Published by: WCET | 11/7/2017
Close your eyes (not for too long) and answer the question: “What is distance education?” Did you envision the same concept and experiences as I did? Even though more than one-quarter of all higher education students in the United States […]
Practice
OIG Report on WGU, Part 3: A Brief History of ‘Regular and Substantive Interaction’
Published by: WCET | 10/17/2017
Thank you to Van Davis for this third entry on our series examining the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Audit Report of Western Governors University. Today, Van examines the changing nature of definitions used over time. Is […]
Policy
The OIG Report on WGU, Part 2: React…But Don’t Overreact
Published by: WCET | 10/3/2017
It has been more than a week since the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its Final Audit Report declaring that “Western Governors University Was Not Eligible to Participate in the Title IV Programs.” Both of […]
Practice
On the OIG/WGU Finding, Part 1: When Interaction Is Not Interaction
Published by: WCET | 9/22/2017
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report concluding: “We concluded that Western Governors University did not comply with the institutional eligibility requirement that limits the percentage of regular students who may enroll in […]
Practice
Need Your Input: What Matters to You in Counting Distance Education Activities?
Published by: WCET | 8/17/2017
It is said that we count what we value. It is also said that not everything that can be counted has value. Can you help tell the difference when measuring distance education activities? The U.S. Department of Education needs your […]
Practice
We Need YOU! …to comment on Federal State Authorization Regulations
Published by: WCET | 7/13/2017
The Department of Education seeks comments about higher education regulations that may be “appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification.” WCET and the WCET State Authorization Network (SAN) will comment about the federal state authorization regulations that are scheduled to be […]
Policy
Federal Regulations: Delays, Reviews, and a Call for Comments
Published by: WCET | 7/6/2017
Federal higher education regulations are under fire and the Department of Education wants your input. Let’s give it to them. Only the Teacher Prep regulations suffered the quick death of the Congressional Review Act. Several other postsecondary consumer protection regulations […]
Practice
New Digital Learning Compass Shows Distance Ed Enrollments Trending Upwards
Published by: WCET | 5/2/2017
Higher education enrollments for all students fell, but more students enrolled in distance education courses than ever before. This is one of the findings of the new “Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017” released by the new Digital Learning Compass partnership. […]
Practice
Education Department Confirms ‘Reciprocity’ Definition Clarification
Published by: WCET | 1/19/2017
Thank you Ted Mitchell! In his last hours as the Under Secretary of Education, Mitchell wrote a letter to Marshall Hill (Executive Director, NC-SARA) and me confirming the clarifications to state authorization regulations that Department staff made to me and […]
Education Department Clarifies Its Intent on State Authorization Reciprocity
Published by: WCET | 1/9/2017
To paraphrase Mark Twain: “The report of SARA’s death was an exaggeration.” Department of Education officials recently told me that they recognize the hard work over many years in creating interstate reciprocity agreements for state authorization. They also expressed surprise […]