New on WCET Frontiers
Policy
Celebrating Compliance Creativity: Meet the 2025 SANsational Award Winners
Published by: WCET | 2/5/2026
Every year, the SANsational Awards remind us of something we in the State Authorization Network (SAN) community already know- compliance work is not just about checking boxes. It is about problem-solving, collaboration, innovation, and, most importantly, protecting and empowering students. Since 2015, the State Authorization Network (SAN), a network of WCET, has awarded SANsational Awards […]
Practice
The Exhausting Debate: Why Quality, Not Modality, Should Be the Question
Published by: WCET | 2/3/2026
“Distance education isn’t as good as face-to-face.”“You have an online degree? That’s not really a degree.”“You went to an online school? Your degree must be a fake!”“Online schools aren’t as rigorous as ‘real’ colleges.” If you’ve been around digital learning since the late 1990s and early 2000s, you likely remember hearing disparaging comments like these. […]
Policy
What Week Two of AHEAD Rulemaking on Accountability Measures Means for Digital Learning
Published by: WCET | 1/21/2026
The new year began with the second and final week of The U.S. Department of Education’s (The Department) negotiated rulemaking for the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee. Week two focused on program accountability measures that will address consequences for failing programs. Processes were developed to address a program’s […]
And The Magic Eight Ball Says…
Published by: WCET | 1/9/2026
This month marks my one-year anniversary as WCET’s executive director. I frequently get asked how my first year has gone. My reply is always that it’s been an interesting time to step into leadership at an organization that lives at the intersection of higher education policy and technology. Between my one-year anniversary and the predictable […]
Policy
AHEAD Week One Recap: Workforce Pell, State Roles, and Implications for Digital Learning
Published by: WCET | 12/18/2025
Last week marked the close of the first week of the second negotiated rulemaking to implement the higher education provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21 (OB3). Convened by the Department of Education (the Department), the AHEAD negotiated rulemaking committee began its work by tackling one of the most closely watched […]
Practice
A Decade of Data: How SARA Is Strengthening Protections and Expanding Access for Distance Learners
Published by: WCET | 12/11/2025
As postsecondary institutions continue to expand their digital learning footprints, understanding the regulatory and consumer-protection landscape has never been more important. SARA plays a central role in that landscape, especially as distance education stabilizes beyond the pandemic and institutions look for efficient, student-centered ways to operate across state lines. To explore the latest data, trends, […]
Practice
From RISE to AHEAD: What We Learned and What Comes Next in Federal Rulemaking
Published by: WCET | 12/4/2025
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) completed the first of two negotiated rulemaking committees established to implement the federal statute, One Big Beautiful Bill Act Public Law 119-21 (OB3), enacted July 4, 2025. As we shared in a previous Frontiers Post, the Department first convened the Re-imagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee that recently […]
Practice
Looking Back, Moving Forward: A Year with WCET
Published by: WCET | 12/2/2025
When I was younger, and sleeping on the ground didn’t hurt quite so much, I liked to usher in the new year by camping. It offered a great opportunity to get away and find solitude to reflect on the previous year and contemplate the new year. I remember one New Year’s Eve when a huge […]
Practice
Meeting Students Where They Are: How Colorado Online is Transforming Digital Learning Through Collaboration
Published by: WCET | 11/20/2025
Each year, I look forward to the WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Awards because they give us the chance to shine a light on the incredible innovations happening across our community. These awards celebrate the projects that push digital learning forward—the ones that tackle real challenges, expand access, improve quality, and deliver meaningful results for today’s […]
Policy
State Authorization Shifts Again: What’s Changing and Why It Matters
Published by: WCET | 11/13/2025
Like the “Mighty Yopp” from Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! the first federal regulation on state authorization of distance education in 2010 echoed a powerful message from the states: “We’re here!” That Federal regulation affirmed that states have enforceable legal requirements that institutions must follow when engaging in activities within their borders. In April […]