New on WCET Frontiers

Policy
What the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Means for Digital Learning in Higher Education
Published by: WCET | 7/22/2025
There is no shortage of news items about Congress recently passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). We know that the OBBBA was a massive budget bill that was passed using an expedited process, created by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, called “reconciliation.” This process allows for the Senate to pass the legislation […]

Practice
Voice of the Online Learner 2025
Published by: WCET | 7/17/2025
Understanding the evolving needs of online learners is essential for designing programs that truly serve today’s students (and tomorrow’s workforce). This year, WCET is pleased to help share findings from the Voice of the Online Learner report, produced by our partners at Risepoint. Now in its 14th year, the 2025 edition provides a compelling look […]

Practice
Celebrating Innovation: AI Week 2025 at Oregon State University
Published by: WCET | 6/26/2025
Artificial intelligence has quickly shifted from abstract theory to an everyday tool—and few places is that shift more visible than in higher education. Here on WCET Frontiers, we’re always excited to showcase institutions that are leading the way in thoughtfully integrating AI into teaching, research, and campus operations. This week’s post highlights Oregon State University’s […]
Practice
Generative AI in the Curriculum: A Call for Coordinated Integration
Published by: WCET | 6/12/2025
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our personal and professional lives, higher education must take a strategic, coordinated approach to help students develop essential AI literacies. In this timely post, Gloria Niles, WCET Steering Committee Vice Chair, and the Director of Online Learning with the University of Hawai’i System, reflects on the 2025 EDUCAUSE […]

Practice
Staying the Course: Putting Students at the Center
Published by: WCET | 6/5/2025
Back before the pandemic, I embarked on a western U.S. camping trip I lovingly referred to as my “midlife crisis trip.” One of the few national parks I got to visit before the pandemic forced me back home was Zion National Park in southwestern Utah. If you’ve spent any time at Zion, you are likely […]

Practice
Making Accessibility the Assignment: What First-Year Writing Students Taught Me About Inclusive Pedagogy
Published by: WCET | 5/15/2025
What happens when we stop seeing accessibility as just a checkbox and start seeing it as a part of good communication practices? Or a core teaching practice? In this week’s post, Stacia Moroski-Rigney from Michigan State University shares how a seemingly simple first-year-writing class assignment that included required captions turned into something much more—an opportunity […]

Practice
Navigating Course Sharing in the ICCOC: How Collaboration Shapes Online Education
Published by: WCET | 5/8/2025
When institutions come together with a shared vision, remarkable things can happen—especially in online education. This week on Frontiers, WCET Steering Committee member Theresa Umscheid, Executive Director of the Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC), shares how a commitment to equity, consistency, and student success guides the ICCOC’s approach to course sharing. In her post, […]

Practice
The Quality Conversation
Published by: WCET | 5/1/2025
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the sudden shift to remote learning in spring 2020. Institutions, faculty, and staff scrambled to keep courses going—and they did, under incredibly tough circumstances. But as time passed, many of the critiques of that emergency shift unfairly landed on online learning as a whole. In today’s […]

Practice
Charting the Course for Academic Innovation: Reflections from the 100 Year Ed Tech Project
Published by: WCET | 4/3/2025
The future of education really isn’t that far away, especially when you consider that it is being shaped right now through the ideas, innovations, and voices of all of us. That’s why WCET wanted to be a part of an outstanding event held last week, the 100 Year Ed Tech Project’s 2025 Design Summit. This […]

Practice
Giving Visuals a Voice – the Impact of Audio Descriptions in Digital Learning
Published by: WCET | 3/28/2025
Ensuring accessibility in digital learning is a priority for WCET, and audio descriptions are a crucial component in making video content inclusive for all learners. But what exactly are audio descriptions, and how can they improve the learning experience? Let’s dive into the fundamentals of audio descriptions and how they enhance accessibility in higher education. […]