New on WCET Frontiers
Policy
ED’s New Proposed Regulations, Part II: Changes for Programs Leading to Professional Licensure
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 5/25/2023
As we revealed in our recent post, ED’s New Proposed Regulations: Part 1, State Authorization Reciprocity, the Department of Education’s new package of proposed regulations includes issues that could have a big impact on institutions that offer programs in other […]
Policy
ED’s New Proposed Regulations: Part 1, State Authorization Reciprocity
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 5/24/2023
Big changes could be in store for institutions that offer programs in other states and for the students they serve. This might surprise you as recent press articles about the Department of Education’s new proposed regulations focused solely on Gainful […]
Practice
Why Not Both?: It’s time to teach accessibly AND teach accessibility!
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 4/27/2023
This month WCET has focused on accessibility. As you may or may not know, we’ve been undertaking an accessibility review and revision of our entire website and document development practices. We held a WCET Webcast this month to feature the […]
Practice
Thinking Strategically About Student Belonging in Online Learning
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 4/13/2023
The feeling of belonging is, in my opinion and experience, a truly important factor for anyone’s success in an educational or even professional environment. The courses that I remember the most, the ones that I felt made the greatest impression […]
Practice
Increasing Access to Learning by Creating a Custom Online Lab Platform
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 4/6/2023
A few weeks ago we started our feature of recent WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award winners. Today we continue that feature with one of our WOW Honorable Mentions – Oregon State University Ecampus and their outstanding work developing a custom […]
Practice
The Shift in Digital Learning Modalities: Is Higher Education Ready?
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 3/30/2023
As we travel further into this post-pandemic era, I am struck by a recurring theme. The mix of courses with digital components demanded by students and offered by institutions has changed. And this shift is having real impact on campuses. […]
Policy
New SARA Reciprocity Policy Modification Process Yields Proposals Intended to Increase Student Protections
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 3/21/2023
Providing uniform consumer protection for distance education students located in all member states is a hallmark of the interstate reciprocity agreement known as the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). States that chose to join the agreement, often through state legislation […]
Practice
Indigenous Ways of Knowing, a Faculty’s Journey to Redesign Native American Art Online Course
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 3/16/2023
Each year, I have the honor of coordinating the WCET Awards initiative. The goal of our awards program is to highlight those doing great work in higher education digital learning. I feel so lucky to get the chance each year […]
Policy
OPM and Third-Party Servicers Update; Your Turn to Inform the Department of Ed
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 3/14/2023
The U.S. Department of Education is listening! Their February 15 press release (see our post about it) provides opportunities to inform the Department on two separate but related topic areas. We hope that you will take one or more of […]
Policy
Defining Distance Education in Policy: Announcement and Call to Action
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 3/7/2023
As previewed in a fall WCET Frontiers post, WCET and SAN have been conducting an analysis of “distance education” definitions used by federal agencies, states, accreditors, and others. The purpose of this review is to highlight the challenges and risks […]