Category Archives: Higher Learning Commission

November 26, 2012, 2:29 pm

Compressed Online Courses Draw More Scrutiny

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools is investigating two more institutions over their use of accelerated courses, The Chronicle has learned.

The commission sent letters this month to Cloud County Community College, in Kansas, and Adams State University, in Colorado, requiring those institutions to prepare detailed reports describing their shortened-format courses, which have helped many athletes stay eligible for sports.

Earlier this month, the commission announced an investigation into Western Oklahoma State College, which was the focus of a Chronicle article detailing how thousands of college athletes have used its 10-day classes to help maintain NCAA eligibility. The American Association of Community Colleges has also raised concerns.

Higher Learning Commission representatives plan to visit Western Oklahoma early next year. …

November 15, 2012, 2:36 pm

Higher Learning Commission to Investigate Western Oklahoma State College

By Brad Wolverton

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools announced on Thursday that it planned to investigate Western Oklahoma State College and its use of accelerated courses.

The move follows a Chronicle report detailing how thousands of college athletes have used the college’s 10-day classes to help maintain their eligibility to compete in NCAA sports. In a written statement, the commission said the article had “raised serious questions about the rigor of these courses, their appropriateness as college-level courses within a college curriculum, and the award of three semester hours of credit.”

The commission said it was also concerned about the marketing of those courses to athletes across the country, and the college’s apparent reliance on the classes to close possible gaps in its revenues.

Western Oklahoma, a two-year institution in Altus,…