Thursday, July 27, 2000

Congressional Commission on Online Education Narrows Its Focus, Members Say By DAN CARNEVALE Washington A commission that will make recommendations to Congress about online education said in a progress report Wednesday that it was narrowing its focus but had not yet decided on any specific policies to back. David Byer, executive director of the commission, told representatives of the Education Department that the 16 commission members would probably provide detailed recommendations on how to support online-education research and development, how to ensure that all segments of American society have access to technology, to what extent the federal government should provide financial support for Web-based instruction, and how to keep the quality of online education high without imposing restrictive standards. Other issues involving online education probably will be addressed more broadly, he said. The commission, known as the Congressional Web-based Education Commission, is made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives, along with representatives of higher-education institutions and organizations. Its members have heard testimony at four meetings and plan to hold one more. They will make their recommendations in a report to Congress in November. Representatives of the commission met Wednesday with Education Department staff members to give an update on what has been accomplished so far. Mr. Byer said the commission had not decided for or against any specific recommendations. Members of the commission still want to collect and review additional testimony from experts in the field. "We're going to go to a place with some padded walls and have a lot of pizza delivered, and we're going to grapple with these issues," he said. Linda G. Roberts, director of the Education Department's Office of Educational Technology, said the progress the commission's members have made so far shows that they are on their way to making effective recommendations in the fall. "A lot of people are very skeptical of commissions, but I think this commission will have an enormous impact," she said. "The testimony that has been received so far is really quite extraordinary." The commission has set up a way for members of the public to provide testimony electronically. Interested parties may e-mail the commission at web_commission@ed.gov to receive directions for providing "e-testimony." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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