Bringing Technology into Higher Education Policies

----A Regional View

J. B. Mathews

Senior Technology Policy Advisor

Southern Regional Education Board

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COOPERATIVE

• Formed in 1995

• Comprised of 38 state higher education and K-12 coordinating and governing boards

• Task Groups, involving approximately 160 individuals: distance learning, professional development, professional development, and telecommunications & infrastructure

• Information sharing, conferences, studies

AMERICAN TELEDCOMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE

• Formed in April 2001

• Four regional educational compacts & MiCTA

• Low cost contracts

• Leadership in services to education

• Existing contracts: long distance, interactive video, wireless, internet access, etc.

ELECTRONIC CAMPUS

• Began in January 1998

• 5000 courses, 200 programs, & 350 institutions

• GALILEO: accessed by 50 institutions outside of GA

• WAYS-IN: collaboration with GA GLOBE

DISTANCE LEARNING POLICY LAB

• A regional (and national) project, funded by FIPSE, to develop information and policy guidelines and recommendations for state and institutional policy makers

• State Partner concept

• GOALS : Quality, cost, and access issues in distance learning

• At midpoint of three-year grant

VISION

• TECHNOLOGY ENABLED:

• new functions• flexibilities• access, • economies• student centered• needs of population

• economic development

• life-long learning• credit and non-credit• anytime, anywhere• just in time, and

modularized.

UNDERSERVED

• Goal/Issue

• Ubiquitous infrastructure; computer ownership

• Greater citizen instruction and training

• Access to programming and information sources at low cost

• Growth of postsecondary enrollment

• Raise education levels in the South; increase number of postsecondary degrees

UNDERSERVED

• Policy Proposals

• Changes in financial aid

• Promote corporate tuition reimbursement

• Support community access, economic development, k-16 initiatives

FACULTY ISSUES

• Goal/Issue

• Improve effectiveness of teaching and learning

• Support new roles for faculty; change compensation and incentives policies

• Equitable policies that balance access and ownership rights

FACULTY ISSUES

• Policy Proposals

• Strengthen commitments to “human resource development”

• Institute “continuous improvement” and evaluation strategies

• Adopt regional as well as institutional evaluation schemes

• Establish “capitalization” or “investment” funds for start -up

FACULTY ISSUES

• Institutions adopt instructional team approach

• Recognize e-learning contributions in tenure, promotion

• Establish more flexible contract policies

• Create new organizational structures

• Substitute learner outcome evaluation for seat time and course length policies

FACULTY ISSUES

• Strengthen local tutorial support of distance learners

• Establish a priori intellectual property policies, and assure understanding

• Financial rewards should follow contributions

• Support “fair use” through federal law changes.

FINANCIAL AID

• Goal/Issue

• Increase amount and sources of aid available to part-time students, distance learners taking courses from multiple institutions, and for non traditional term lengths

• Support non-degree work; modules of learning

FINANCIAL AID

• Goal/Issue

• Expand allowable costs in financial aid packages (e.g., computers, DLS line)

• Encourage educational choice on a program, not an institutional level

• Determine method of disbursing aid for overlapping loan periods

• Determine an average completion time in terms of preparation and study time

FINANCIAL AID

• Goal/Issue

• Distinguish distance learning from correspondence courses

FINANCIAL AID

• Policy Proposals

• Better identification and tracking of distance learners

• Delivery of aid to student not institution (GI Bill model)

• Omission of seat time as measure of progress

• Promotion of a regional agreement on financial aid guidelines

FINANCIAL AID

• Promotion of a borrower-based academic year with “just in time” disbursement of aid

FINANCE

• Goal/Issue

• Adopt “goal centered” funding policies for technology

• Adopt studen-centered rather than institutional or departmental goals

• Disaggregate services and pricing to facilitate distance learning

• Costing and resource allocation should facilitate collaboration

FINANCE

• Goal/Issue

• Promote “economies of scale” and other conditions that improve cost-effectiveness

• Address policies that incent opposite behavior (or disincent roal-related behavior) that are built into the system

• Encourage e-commerce capability

FINANCE

• Policy Proposals

• Tuition policies which are more segmented and tailored

• Normalize funding for technology as opposed to “one time” or special allocations

• Fund ongoing replacement and upgrading; use “life cycle” planning

• Support new policies toward outside providers and vendors

FINANCE

• Policy Proposals

• Allow more flexibility between expenditure categories

• Develop “investment” and depreciation models of funding

• Diminish/change classification between capital and operating

• Establish periodic review mechanisms

FINANCE

• Policy Proposals

• Provide change incentives for faculty

• Cost services separately to establish equitable pricing

STUDENT SERVICES

• Goal/Issue

• Improve quality and availability of student services for all students (traditional, distance, part time)

• Develop a 24 x 7 philosophy

STUDENT SERVICES

• Goal/Issue

• Establish link between particular services and student success in distance learning

• Encourage unbundling of services: student choice of service packages to meet their individual needs

STUDENT SERVICES

• Policy Proposals

• Institutional mission statements that emphasize meeting student needs

• Integrated on-campus and DL services

• Utilize outside vendors

• Allow alternative, flexible funding strategies for services (reallocation)

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Goal/Issue

• Allay concerns about DL courses and programs while also protecting consumers

• Improve levels of faculty-student interaction

• Focus on the aspects of quality instruction appropriate to the means of delivery rather than comparing on- vs off-campus

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Goal/Issue

• Look at quality assurance policy at the different levels (state and institution) across different systems.

• Create a matrix typology of emerging policies from the faculty point of view, the accrediting body view, and the institutional view.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Policy Proposals

• Include e-learning in mission statements

• Encourage institutions and systems to develop strategic plans

• Establish state-level quality control processes

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Policy Proposals

• Review adequacy of faculty development, infrastructure, student services, regulatory requirements

• Establish continuous improvement mechanisms of assessment and modification

CREDIT

• Goal/Issue

• Lower costs and time to degree for DL students taking courses from multiple institutions

• Accommodate the multi-institution student

• Accommodate a modularized curriculum

CREDIT

• Policy Proposals• Common general education requirements at

the state level• Full transferability of accredited associate

degree across state lines to any SREB institution

• Electronic reports showing how credits will be recognized at any institution in the region

CREDIT

• Policy Proposals

• Establish institutional transfer coordinators

• Specific and general articulation agreements

• Establilsh statewide transfer committees

• Develop generic BA degrees to complete specialized AA degrees

CREDIT

• Policy Proposals

• Common standards for tracking and reporting migration of students across states

• State organization which serves as “credit integrator” and degree completer

• Statements of “student responsibility”

TUITION: REGIONAL E-RATE

• Goal/Issue

• Expand student choice

• Establish “free trade zone” in SREB for distance learning

• Reduce duplication

• Utilize available capacity

TUITION: REGIONAL E-RATE

• Goal/Issue

• Promote regional economic development

• Expand institutional markets

TUITION: REGIONAL E-RATE

• Policy Proposals

• Establish permissive state policies to allow institutions to establish an e-rate that is independent of location of student

• Encourage “market pricing”