Policy
Federal Policy Surprises! Updates and a Call to Action
Published by: WCET Frontiers | 2/22/2022 | 0 comments
How many of you like surprises? Surprises can be great fun, but let’s be clear that rulemaking surprises are sometimes more like encountering the clown from IT. Not to be left out, Congress is also providing its own surprise so you may want to consider contacting your Congressional Representative and/or Senator. What started out as […]
Policy
2022 Digital Learning Policy Preview, Part 1: U.S. Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking
Published by: WCET Frontiers | 1/26/2022 | 0 comments
The self-proclaimed “policy nerds” at WCET and WCET/SAN began looking forward to 2022, and we started to marvel at all the policy issues for digital learning in higher education that will be in play this year. Some significant changes for online and distance learning with significant implications for student consumer protection are on the horizon. […]
Practice
2021 Top WCET Frontiers Blog Posts
Published by: ewalton | 12/16/2021 | 0 comments
WCET staff–thank you for your on-going support of the WCET Frontiers blog. Over the holidays, we wanted to offer you the chance to review posts that you may have missed but had been popular with your peers. Rather than evoking Casey Kasem with American Top 40 and just listing the posts topping the chart with […]
Policy
One Year Anniversary of the Federal Regulations for Professional Licensure Notifications – How are you Celebrating?
Published by: Lindsey Downs | 7/1/2021 | 0 comments
Maybe it is a little cheeky to say celebrating, but we are all on this crazy journey together to manage these institutional requirements. The federal regulations require notifications in order for institutions to participate in Title IV HEA programs, and SARA closely aligned their requirements to the Federal regulations for SARA participating institutions to address […]
Practice
Unprecedented Times Surprised Some Institution Staff with State Regulatory Compliance Requirements
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/10/2020 | 0 comments
These unprecedented times raised regulatory compliance challenges that may have surprised some institution personnel. However, some of these regulatory compliance challenges were not actually unprecedented. The COVID-19 pandemic induced institutions to shift from in-person to remote instruction. As a result, institutions closed campuses and served students who were, in some cases, located in a state […]
Practice
Institutional Accreditation in the Midst of COVID-19
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/6/2020 | 0 comments
In response to the pandemic, accrediting agencies acted creatively in applying their quality assurance processes in an uncertain and changing world. Today’s guest post provides insights about how one accrediting agency (the Higher Learning Commission) responded to this challenge and their view of the future. We requested this article because we openly wondered when accrediting […]
Practice
Did Your Course Go Digital Due to COVID-19? Playbook Advises on Regulations When Making the Switch
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/4/2020 | 0 comments
The spring 2020 term saw an unprecedented response to an unprecedented challenge as virtually every U.S. higher education institution offering face-to-face instruction rapidly switched to remote instruction, many in as little as one to two weeks and some in a few days. Institutions struggled to resolve challenges ranging from the technological to the pedagogical to […]
Practice
Season Shifts and Policy Changes: Important Rule Changes You May Have Missed
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 10/23/2020 | 0 comments
Have you had the opportunity to notice that some parts of the U.S. have seen a change in the weather and the trees? To say that this fall has been busy is quite an understatement! We know that everyone has placed significant focus on the development and implementation of strategies to safely maintain academic continuity. […]
Practice
Surprise! Newly Released Final Regulations
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 8/26/2020 | 4 comments
On April 1st, the Department of Education released the final set of proposed regulations stemming from the 2019 Negotiated Rulemaking process (April Fools!). Back in April, WCET published three blog posts outlining the proposed regulations on April 3rd, April 6th, and April 13th. I know that seems like a lifetime ago but many of us […]
Practice
Another Magical July 1 – Federal Regulations Now in Effect
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 7/16/2020 | 0 comments
July 1 is that magical day when Federal Regulations affecting institutions that participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs become effective for regulations that were released by the U.S. Department of Education by November 1 of last year. The purpose of this timing is for financial aid offices at institutions to have time to […]