New on WCET Frontiers
Commission on Regulation of Postsecondary Distance Education Holds First Meeting
Published by: WCET | 6/14/2012
Earlier this year, the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) announced the creation of the Commission on Regulation of Postsecondary Distance Education. According to the Commission’s mission statement, it will: “develop and […]
Court Deals Second Blow to Federal State Authorization Regulation
Published by: WCET | 6/5/2012
This afternoon (June 5, 2012), the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court ruling to ‘vacate’ the distance education portion (§600.9c) of the U.S. Department of Education’s ‘state authorization’ regulation. In last summer’s ruling on a lawsuit challenging […]
It’s Coming: The Next Higher Education Act Reauthorization
Published by: WCET | 5/23/2012
As you may have noted, we are still addressing federal regulatory issues that resulted from the last round of Higher Education Act reauthorization. While we will continue to address what’s in place, it’s also time to look forward. We invited […]
10 Steps You Can Take to Begin the State Authorization Process
Published by: WCET | 5/17/2012
When speaking about state authorization to institutional audiences, we are often asked to provide guidance to institutional leaders and staff on how they might go about starting the process of becoming authorized outside of the institution’s home state. After thinking […]
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement Draft Released: Seeking Your Feedback
Published by: WCET | 4/27/2012
State regulators attending the annual NASASPS meeting earlier this week received a first draft of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). With funding from Lumina Foundation, the Presidents’ Forum working with the Council of State Governments developed the document as […]
Should Online Courses Charge Less? It Doesn’t Just Happen
Published by: WCET | 3/22/2012
I was recently invited to address the Indiana Commission for Higher Education on this issue. They had received several proposals for distance programs in recent months. Each one was pricing its courses at a rate higher than its on-campus counterpart. […]
Putting a Student Face on Not Complying with State Authorization
Published by: WCET | 3/14/2012
In talking to institutions about state authorization, we often get asked about the consequences to the institution for not complying with the regulations. Rarely do we get asked about the impact on students. We became aware of some instances where […]
House Votes to Repeal State Authorization (and Reciprocity Update)
Published by: WCET | 2/29/2012
Just when I was thinking that it was time for an update on state authorization regulations, the U.S. House of Representatives schedules a vote on the subject. Wow! Were they ever accommodating! What are next steps? What is the impact […]
U.S. News on Their Rankings of Online Colleges: In Their Own Words
Published by: WCET | 2/2/2012
The developers of the US News and World Report’s Top Online Programs rankings invited WCET members to ask questions regarding the implementation, methodology, survey questions, and future plans. We thank Bob Morse and Eric Brooks of U.S. News for extending […]
Black bars around the Internet
Published by: WCET | 1/18/2012
As you may have noticed, many sites around the web have gone black today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA – H.R. 3261) in the House and the Protect IP Act (PIPA – S.968) in the Senate. We […]