Higher education institutions seeking to offer distance learning courses throughout the United States may soon find regulatory and cost burdens eased.
On April 11, 2013, former Secretary of Education Richard Riley and the Commission on the Regulation of Post Secondary Education gathered in Washington, D.C., to unveil plans to enact reciprocity agreements so that higher education institutions could more easily offer online learning across state lines.
According to a press release from the commission, current regulations are based on individual states establishing laws guiding the acceptance and availability of distance learning degrees and courses. Voluntary adoption by the states of the proposed reciprocity agreements would greatly ease the cost and administrative burdens on higher education institutions and expand the network of available courses and degrees for students nationwide.
The Washington Post quotes Secretary Riley as stating that the commission’s work would open opportunity and access for students nationwide, while simultaneously helping the country achieve its college completion rates. According to a white paper published by the Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business, online learning programs can and often do change how institutions compete for students. Schools that can broaden the scope and reach of their programs can greatly increase the number of potential students. The U.S. Journal of Academics lists many benefits for students, too, including increased accessibility to programs, flexibility to take courses around existing work schedules and opportunities for disabled students to take courses.
For higher education institutions, the commission’s suggestions bring welcome relief to burdensome paperwork and other regulatory hurdles. The commission’s report indicates that the current situation of individual state requirements drains institutional resources as they must navigate a complicated and cumbersome system of individual requirements before offering distance learning courses. This not only adds to their administrative burdens, but deprives students of learning opportunities by limiting access to distance learning courses and degrees.
The commission’s report also indicates that the great disparities in fee structures for authorization to offer distance learning courses varies from $0 to $10,000, with fees increasing in some states depending on the number and type of degrees offered. This costly and inefficient system, the commission states, could be eased by simplified and standardized baseline agreements and procedures offered through a statewide reciprocity structure. The commission’s press release states that under the proposed plan, the onus for protecting educational quality and integrity would depend on the institution’s home state.
Nationwide, distance learning is one of the fastest growing elements of higher education. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Learning in the U.S., a Babson Survey Research report, states that in 2011, almost 7 million students accessed online learning, an increase of approximately 500,000 students from the previous year. By easing regulations and costs, higher education institutions can expand access and increase enrollment, while simultaneously providing students with greater access and choice to quality programs.
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