New on WCET Frontiers
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Practice
Lessons from Tidepools: Connecting Learning and Work
Published by: WCET | 11/5/2025
I’m fascinated by tidepools. Perhaps it comes from growing up in a desert, where the idea of a self-contained aquatic world is both foreign and magical. Each pool is the perfect example of an interconnected system: seaweed, plankton, mussels, starfish, and even otters are all connected through these pools of water left behind by the […]
Practice
Mitigating Program & Campus Closure with Course Sharing
Published by: WCET | 10/16/2025
Across higher education, we’re seeing tough headlines about campuses closing or programs being cut. It’s a challenging time for higher ed, and learners are often the ones most affected. In this post, our partners at Parchment by Instructure share how course sharing can help institutions work together to expand access, sustain programs, and keep campuses […]
Practice
Now Is Our Moment: Six Takeaways from the 2025 Badge Summit
Published by: WCET | 10/9/2025
At WCET, we’re always inspired by the spaces where innovation in higher education moves from idea to action. From what we understand, the 2025 Badge Summit at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was exactly that kind of moment. What once may have felt like a specialized discussion about badges and digital credentials has grown into […]