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New web interface could become the future of online instruction
Indiana’s Harrison College wants to lead the way in online education with a new web interface developed by the school. The interface, which took a little over a year and more than $1 million to develop, is called KnowU.
Harrison College recently launched a microsite (knowu.harrison.edu) to enable students to get a feel for what’s to come, said Mark Apple, associate director of public relations.
The interface, which aims to make online learning more “authentic,” will be available to a test group of about 200 students in January.…Read More
As regulations loom, a call for cooperation between states
Members of an influential online-learning task force said states should create uniform standards for online colleges and universities, making it easier for institutions to comply with a federal rule that will prove costly and confusing to web-based schools.
The Education Department’s (ED) state authorization rule, scheduled to take effect July 1, would force online colleges to seek authorization from agencies in every state where their students are enrolled.
Higher-education officials have said this requirement wouldn’t just be cumbersome for online schools; it could encourage colleges to withdraw from many states, especially states with small populations.…Read More
New federal rule could have worst impact on small states
Colleges with online programs might withdraw from states, mostly in the northeast, that have small populations and stringent requirements for distance education courses when the Education Department’s (ED’s) “state authorization” regulation kicks in July 1.
Decision makers from online schools from across the country gathered March 28 in Washington, D.C. for the annual Presidents’ Forum, hosted by web-based Excelsior College. Presidents, provosts, and deans decried the state authorization rule, which will require schools to gain approval from every state in which they have a student.
Robert Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University, said during his address to the forum that certification fees vary widely from state to state, with many of the toughest approval processes in small states such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire.…Read More
ED sticks by controversial rule; online college officials concerned
The Education Department (ED) said in a March 17 letter that it would not rescind a controversial new rule requiring online schools that operate nationwide to register with every state in which they have students.
Educators and ed-tech officials said the regulation—known as the state-authorization rule—will mandate the burdensome task of state-by-state certification, imposing a financial strain on web-based colleges that could be passed down to students.
The federal rule, unveiled in October, was scheduled to go into effect July 1. ED officials would now be satisfied with a “good-faith effort” from colleges and universities.…Read More
Fed rule could have ‘major chilling effect’ on online instruction
Colleges that offer online instruction nationwide would have to get approval from every state in which they operate, or those online courses could be shut down, after the Education Department (ED) proposed a controversial rule that has drawn the ire of educators and distance-education organizations.
The regulation, known as the state-authorization rule, is scheduled to take effect July 1.
It would force colleges and universities that receive federal aid to prove they are certified to operate in every state in which they have online students—a mandate, educators said, that comes at a high cost and could cripple many burgeoning online education programs.…Read More
States look to Indiana as a model for online instruction
Washington state could mimic Indiana’s successful model for online instruction if a state legislator’s proposed bill that would make online college classes more available to students there becomes law.
In a Jan. 6 announcement, Washington State Sen. Jim Kastama, a Democrat, said he soon would propose legislation that would form a partnership between the state and Western Governors University (WGU), a nonprofit online school formed in 1999 with about 20,000 students nationwide.
Kastama said teaming up with the Utah-based WGU would be a way for Washington to meet its “huge unmet need for higher education,” especially during the nation’s economic downturn, when millions have gone back to college to attain extra education while they’re unemployed or underemployed.…Read More
Rapid growth in online instruction could wane, study says
Enrollment in online college classes grew by more than 1 million students over the past year, and while a new study shows that more educators think online instruction is equivalent in quality to face-to-face classes, fiscal pressure and government regulations aimed at for-profit schools could curb the online-learning spike, the study says.
As it did in 2009, Babson College’s annual survey of online education in the U.S. showed that more Americans are turning to flexible online college courses during tough economic times, when college enrollment typically rises.
The million-student increase marks “the largest ever year-to-year increase in the number of students studying online,” said Elaine Allen, co-director of the Babson Survey Research Group and an author of the research.…Read More
Historically black colleges look to increase online presence
When Michael Hill needed a doctoral program with the flexibility to let him continue working full-time as a Lincoln University administrator, he chose an online degree program from another institution.
With such firsthand experience, Hill is now trying to start an online degree program at Lincoln. It’s one of many historically black colleges and universities that have yet to enter a booming market for online instruction that could be particularly lucrative for black colleges.
Blacks comprised about 12 percent of total enrollment in higher education in 2007 but made up 21 percent of the student population at for-profit institutions—many of which offer online degree programs, according to an American Council on Education report released this year.…Read More
Online-instruction leader to make key changes
In a move that might trickle down to the rest of the for-profit education market, the University of Phoenix—the nation’s largest provider of online college classes—says it will offer new students a free, three-week trial program to see if they are ready for its curricula and for online instruction in an effort to weed out those at risk of leaving school before earning a degree.
The announcement comes as the federal government ramps up its regulation of for-profit colleges and universities, an industry that critics say preys on many students and leaves them with hefty debt loads and meager job prospects.
But Apollo Group Inc., the company that runs the University of Phoenix, says this change—and others the company will make as it seeks to comply with new federal guidelines—likely will result in fewer opportunities for lower-income students.…Read More