Together, OLC, UPCEA and WCET represent more than 1,000 higher education institutions throughout the United States, whose members strive to model the innovative use of technologies to increase access and improve educational outcomes.
UPCEA, OLC and WCET and the member institutions they represent suggest the following guiding principles for Congress when considering current laws and regulations in the use of educational technologies, either at a distance or in the traditional classroom:
- Fairness. Provide equal access to Federal financial aid for students learning at a distance or via innovative methods (including but not limited to competency-based education and adaptive learning) as for “traditional” students.
- Innovation. Rules grounded in the traditional classroom hinder advancements. Since innovations will continue to emerge among higher education institutions, consider authorizing particular innovations in the HEA itself and allow greater flexibility in statute for the Department of Education to waive rules or conduct further “experimental” or “demonstration” projects to help incubate future innovations.
- Accountability. Holding colleges to standards for student performance and protection of financial aid funds need not add to the burden of over-regulation. This balanced approach to any new laws and regulations should be narrowly tailored to address specific needs.
“The current system was established over 50 years ago, when the typical student was ‘college-aged’ and full-time,” said Karen Pedersen, Ph.D., chief knowledge officer, OLC. “Today’s learners are people you know – working adults, single parents, military personnel and their families, veterans, caregivers, farm families, and others. For them, classroom-based learning creates enormous challenges of time, access, and cost.”
“Contemporary learners constitute 85 percent of today’s learners,” said Robert Hansen, CEO, UPCEA. “Our coalition is dedicated to advocating for advancing access, innovation, and creative solutions to help realign federal policy with the current higher education landscape.”
The coalition also produced an infographic that illustrates 50-plus years of evolution in higher education (1965 through 2016), displaying the need to evolve the Higher Education Act for the 21st Century learner.
The infographic and supporting information for the coalition’s guiding principles are available online.
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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