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about good practices and sound policies that accelerate the effective adoption and use of technologies in teaching and learning.
WCET Focus Area: Accountability
Background
Accountability Initiatives
Accountability is more than just a buzz word around WCET. We are in the heart of the issue, bringing our members the latest news and practices in higher education accountability. Our Transparency by Design project is among a group of voluntary systems of accountability along with College Portraits and AACC's Voluntary Framework of Accountability each addressing different populations with a variety of data on colleges and universities across the nation.
Accrediting and Educational Technologies
Recent News/Blog Items on Accountability
- House Cmte. Passes Bill on Higher Ed. Data Transparency
- Community-College Accountability Measure Still Holds Policy-Making Potential
- If We Profs Don't Reform Higher Ed, We'll Be Re-Formed (and we won't like it)
- Think tank warns against “quality assurance” creeping into universities
- Think tank warns against “quality assurance” creeping into universities
WCET has also been very active over the years in working with higher education accrediting agencies in the United States on issues involving technology and instruction. Recently, Congress and the U.S. Department of Education have questioned the accrediting agencies' roles in reviewing higher education, especially the growth in online learning. WCET will follow these conversations and alert members as to what any resulting proposals or changes might mean for them.
WCET Accountability Activities
The Transparency by Design (TbD) initiative powers the College Choices for Adults website which brings adult learners a depth of data which allows them to make informed decisions about their higher education options.
"Changes in Federal Distance Ed Policy: How You Can Respond" webcast featuring Russ Poulin, WCET, and Fred Lokken, Truckee Meadows Community College for ITC. May 25, 2010.
With the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions, WCET created the "Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs".
Accountability Resources
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation.
Ready to Assemble: Grading State Higher Education Accountability Systems. Education Sector, an independent, higher education think tank, analyzes documentation of each state's higher education accountability system in this report and clickable map summary of performance.
Defining Accountability. November 18, 2009. Inside Higher Ed's account of a presentation "Increasing Accountability in American Higher Education" from the American Enterprise Institute's forum.
The White Noise of Accountability. June 24, 2010. Inside Higher Ed's Clifford Adelman analyzes the state of accountability in higher education.
