Released in May 2011, from the Instructional Technology Council, the 2010 Distance Education Survey Results: Trends in eLearning: Tracking the Impact of eLearning at Community Colleges, offers seven issues of relevant regulatory and legislative activity that are currently impacting the trends in distance learning.

1. State Authorization for Institutions Offering Distance Education to Out-of-State Students
2. Increased Scrutiny of For-Profit higher Education Institutions
3. Broadband Techology Opportunities Program (BTOP)
4. Failure to Enact the American Graduation Initiative
5. Passage of the TAA Community College and Career Training Grants Program
6. The Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan
7. The 2008 Higher Education Opportunites Act (HEOA)

Learn more by reading the full report.

2010 ELearning Trends - Instructional Technology Council

The recent hot button concerning Title IV student financial aid funding and distance learning is causing higher education institutions to sit up and take note.  The regulation states "If an institution is offering postsecondary education through distance or correspondence education to students in a state in which it is not physically located, the institution must meet any State requirements for it to be legally offering postsecondary distance or correspondence education in that State.  We are further providing that an institution must be able to document upon request by the Department that it has the applicable State approval." - Oct. 29, 2010 Amendments to the Higher Education Act Program Integrity Issues, State Authorization, Section § 600.9. 

Riddled with controversy, the regulation effective July 1, 2014, is requiring schools to obtain state approval from every state in which an institution has out-of-state distance learning students who receive federally-funded financial aid.  Some suggest this may cause schools to withhold education to some out-of-state online learners to avoid having to deal with these issues.

A time-consuming and expensive endeavor, heads are spinning as schools begin to acknowledge the magnitude of the requirement.  For smaller community colleges that serve a tri-state area it may be less time-consuming but many times those schools have limited personnel and resources to complete tasks associated with new regulations.  Next in line are the larger universities that may serve distance students spanning many states and in some cases other countries. This will require a lot of leg work and continued follow up as new students from other states are added.

As this news hit the fan a few months ago, I was in San Antonio, TX at the TxDLA conference.  I had a chat with a distance learning administrator (who shall remain anonymous) from a local community college who was absolutely outraged about the new regulation!  She spoke with passion, disgust, and anger about how the "powers that be", as she put it, sat in their chairs in the sky and dreamt up regulations that seem impossible to abide by.  I remember walking away and thinking...the hot button has been turned on!

The new regulation was originally reported (although possibly a rumor) to be in effect as of July 1, 2011.  However, it was then announced to be in effect as of July 1, 2014, giving schools time to wrap their head around the requirements and get it done.

State Authorizations Tied to Distance Education Funding

According to a recent study, Cheryl J. Wachenheim, an associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics at North Dakota State University, her economics online students may be cheating for final exams since they aren't proctored and the temptation of cheating seems to high to pass up.  A faculty member teaching both on ground and online classes, Wachenheim fears students in an online environment may be cramming assignments and homework into the final weeks of a self-paced course thus retaining very little if any information in preparation for the final.  With limited time, students may be more likely to cheat since they are able to use external resources such as open books and notes during tests with no consequences. Read the full article published in The Chronicle here.

Testing Integrity is a hot button in the world of online learning environments.  Cutting edge technologies have flooded the market but can be costly, require bulky devices, and in many cases have raised the proverbial "Big Brother Eyebrow".  What happened to a real, live, human being proctoring an exam?  Many schools do require students to have proctored final exams.  However, in some cases they are asked to find the proctor themselves.  Really?  "Sure, I think my "Aunt Sally" can 'proctor' my test"...you get the picture...where's the objectivity?

SmarterProctors is a database of individuals who are available all over the United States to proctor exams.  Graduate students, clergy, teachers, notaries, librarians, unbiased individuals ready to proctor a high stakes exam at a local library, office, or church.  Creating a profile is free.  Proctors set their fees and fees are paid through our secure and user-friendly system.  To learn more go to SmarterProctors.com.

Testing Integrity - Real People Proctors

WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) was recently awarded the Bill & Melinda Gates Grant on Predictive Analysis.  Congratulations to an organization that strives to promote new technologies, research, and opportunities in the world of educational technology and online learning.  To learn more read the full story.

WCET Scores a $1 Million Gates Grant

The Babson Survey Research Group in partnership with Pearson Learning Solutions released the annual "Online Learning Trends in Private-Sector Colleges and Universities" report in March.  The findings are very interesting and echo the voice that acknowledges the steady growth of online education.  According to the report, sixty percent (60%) of private-sector colleges and universities report that online learning was a critical part of their institutions' long-term strategies in 2010.

The evidence goes on to say that in most cases learning outcomes for online education is "as good as or better than" their face-to-face counterparts.  All institution types have reached the same concensus that tough economic times are good for higher education enrollments though the exact reason why is still debateable.  Lastly the study addresses the recent federal regulations on financial aid and how that is affecting funding and recruiting efforts. 

Read the complete study for details.

Online Learning Trends Study Released