New on WCET Frontiers
Policy
Certifying Compliance in an Uncertain Landscape: Survey Findings on the Impact of Professional /Licensure Requirements
Published by: WCET | 2/12/2026
Professional licensure compliance often operates behind the scenes, but its influence on higher education has grown in recent years. It can shape which programs institutions offer, where students are able to enroll, and how institutions evaluate regulatory risk. The State Authorization Network’s (SAN) new report, Between the Lines, Behind the Work: Survey Findings on the […]
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. […]
Practice
Five Common Myths About AI in Higher Education and What Our Research Actually Found
Published by: WCET | 1/29/2026
Cutting through the noise to help institutions make smarter AI decisions As AI continues to reshape conversations across higher education, leaders are navigating an increasingly crowded landscape of competing claims, vendor promises, and institutional anxieties. In the midst of this information overload, misconceptions can cloud decision-making and slow meaningful progress. Through our national study of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Practice
Reading the Tea Leaves: WCET, the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library, and the Power of Information
Published by: WCET | 11/7/2025
WCET was founded by leaders who were willing to “read the tea leaves” and recognize the potential of emerging technologies to transform higher education. Acting on that foresight, they built a community dedicated to collaboration and to expanding access and success for learners. That same spirit continues to guide WCET today as we help our […]