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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Policy
SAN Releases a New “How To” Handbook to Build an Institution’s State-to-State Authorization Plan
Published by: WCET | 9/18/2025
The State Authorization Network (SAN) is excited to share SAN’s newest comprehensive resource, the State-to-State Institutional Approval for Distance Education Handbook, developed in partnership with Shari Miller, Institutional Compliance MATTERS. This handbook is the third major SAN report designed to demystify complex compliance requirements when institutions offer interstate opportunities, whether through online courses or experiential […]
Policy
Your Opportunity to Inform the Department of ED: New Rulemaking Impact on Digital Learning
Published by: WCET | 8/13/2025
Another year, another round of U.S. Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking, and once again, the results could have a big impact on students and the institutions serving them through distance education. On July 25, 2025, the Department released Public Hearing; Negotiated Rulemaking Committees. Two committees will be formed to develop future regulations affecting Title IV […]
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 […]
Event
Inside the 2024 SANsational Awards: Meet this Year’s Winners!
Published by: WCET | 11/21/2024
The State Authorization Network (SAN) has announced the winners of the 2024 SANsational Awards. Since 2015, the awards have recognized the achievements of higher educational institutions and organizations nationwide that have raised the bar when developing comprehensive and viable solutions to challenging distance education compliance/state authorization issues. This year, SAN honored seven winners in three […]
Event
Postcards from Long Beach – Takeaways from WCET 2024
Published by: WCET | 10/31/2024
Welcome to Frontiers! It’s getting colder on my side of the country, so I’m fondly thinking of our week in CA earlier this month. Today, I’m sending you all the sandy, sunshine-filled highlights from WCET’s 36th Annual Meeting! Picture this: Nearly 300 digital learning enthusiasts swapping tales of AI adventures, chatting about accessibility, and finding […]