Thursday, May 9, 2002
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Accreditors Release a Report Saying They Can Evaluate Distance Programs EffectivelyBy DAN CARNEVALE
Washington
An organization of accreditors released a report Wednesday saying that accrediting agencies could effectively judge the quality of distance-education programs even if the government relaxed regulations aimed at keeping the programs honest. The 18-page report, written by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, describes how the council's 17 regional and national accrediting agencies are adapting to the growth of online education. The report outlines how accreditors are using their current standards to evaluate virtual institutions. Unlike traditional programs, it says, online-education offerings may not have physical resources for accreditors to examine. If not, it's up to the institution to prove that faculty and student services are delivered through alternative means just as well as they would be at a traditional institution. In addition, some new standards are being developed for distance education. Some accrediting bodies ask online institutions to provide faculty training and to measure learning outcomes -- something traditional institutions are not asked to do. "As distance learning has evolved, so have the standards, policies, procedures, and quality reviews of the accreditors," said Judith S. Eaton, the council's president. "There's no single way to review distance education." The report is meant to answer critics who are afraid of easing two federal financial-aid regulations that affect distance education, she said. One rule requires college programs that don't operate in a quarter, trimester, or semester system to provide 12 hours of course work a week in order to give federal financial aid. Another rule prevents institutions that enroll more than 50 percent of their students at a distance from providing the student aid. The Education Department says it is planning to modify both rules, and legislation that would do the same is pending in Congress. (See an article from The Chronicle, May 10.) Some education observers say the rules are necessary to curb fraud and abuse, and that the accrediting process doesn't provide enough of a safeguard. An institution must be accredited to receive federal financial aid. But Ms. Eaton said the report shows that accreditors can effectively evaluate distance-education programs. "It's really a response to the concern that we're not doing enough in this area," she said. "This shows that we are doing something." The council, however, isn't taking a position on whether to relax the regulations. "We don't make the judgment for financial-aid policy," Ms. Eaton said. But Lawrence N. Gold, higher-education director for the American Federation of Teachers, said Congress and the Education Department should still be wary about getting rid of the 12-hour and 50-percent rules. Although he had not read the report as of Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Gold said the amount of time a student spends in class is still an important measure of quality. "To simply say that accreditation agencies will pay enough attention to this -- it flies in the face of the government's responsibility to curb fraud and abuse in its own programs," he said.
Background articles from The Chronicle:
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 Harvard U. revises policy for investigating reports of sexual assault by students Federal report suggests that Pell Grants increase students' likelihood of graduating 2 institutions announce major library acquisitions Spring commencement speakers are announced by 20 colleges South Dakota plans a statewide student-records database to give students flexibility Accreditors release a report saying they can evaluate distance programs effectively |
Copyright © 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education