Hot Topics in Distance Education
Dolores Davison, Foothill College
Carolyn Holcroft, Foothill College
Aimee Myers, Sierra College
Creation of a Distance
Education Ad Hoc Committee
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“The Distance Education Ad Hoc Committee is
established to review, prioritize, and recommend to
the Executive Committee policies and practices
regarding distance education needs that are within
the purview of the Academic Senate. The committee
will interact with existing standing committees, as
appropriate, write resolutions as needed, and provide
a recommendation to the Executive Committee in
spring 2012 on the prospect of forming a permanent
ASCCC committee on distance education.”
Approved by the ASCCC Executive Committee at its
February 2011 meeting
Major Areas of the DE
Committee’s Responsibilities
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Emerging DE accreditation issues
Existing Title 5 Compliance Issues
Senate-Union DE Issues
Effective Practices
CMS Selection
Local Support of DE
Providing Education as to why DE is not the
answer to budget/capacity issues
International outreach issues
Current Legislation: AB 626
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AB 626 (Blumenfeld) would define “distance
learning” in the Ed Code:
“For the purposes of this article, "distance
learning" means a course conducted with
over one-half of the instructional content
delivered when faculty and students are in
different physical places.“
Folded into AB 851 on 12 April 2011
Current Legislation: AB 851
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AB 851 (Nestande) calls for the
following:
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Reports from the CCC and CSU on
workload and performance data on
Distance Learning courses, including #s of
students and completion rates (both of
courses and of programs that are entirely
Distance Ed).;
AB 851 (continued)
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Would report on feasibility of developing an
accelerated bachelor’s degree completion
program of DL courses, targeting students
who started college but did not obtain a
degree.
Would call for the LAO to convene a task
force to identify the steps necessary to
establish a Western Governors University in
California (WGU is an accredited, non-profit
online university headquartered in Utah).
Currently in committee but postponed 3/29.
The LAO Report on DE
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Basis for both of the above bills
Published by the LAO in November 2010, so
escaped close scrutiny because of the
elections, etc
Summary in Rostrum (December 2010):
“While the LAO points out that distance
education will not replace face-to-face
education, the potential for growth is almost
unlimited and as such merits closer scrutiny.“
Hot Topics in DE Curriculum
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New Guidelines for Distance
Accessibility
Attendance in DE classes
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Logging in may no longer be used to
demonstrate attendance
Need for weekly academic activity
Hot Topics in DE Curriculum:
Defining Online Attendance
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Definition & documentation of attendance in fully
online courses significantly impacts students with
financial aid
When a student receiving Title IV grants and
loans withdraws from a program, the student’s
institution must determine the amount of
assistance the student earned to calculate the
amount of unearned funds that must be returned
to the Department of Education
Defining Online Attendance
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There is increased oversight of federal
student aid for distance education programs
by U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education is scrutinizing “last
day of attendance” calculations for financial aid
students who unofficially withdraw or drop-out
from their online courses
“Last day of attendance” is used to determine the
amount of aid a student is eligible to receive when
he/she withdraws or leaves a course
Defining Online Attendance
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Victims of online financial-aid fraud in 2009*
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Axia College at University of Phoenix
Lansing Community College in Michigan
Dallas County Community College in Texas
Rio Salado College in Arizona
*According to the
Inspector General’s
report to Congress
Anatomy of an Online-Ed Scam
http://chronicle.com/article/Graphic-Anatomy-of-an/63578/
Defining Online Attendance
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Office of Federal
Student Aid to
increase program
reviews of student
aid operations next
year by 50%
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Audit-like examinations
of student aid
operations designed to
ensure that:
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Students receive only the
grants/loans they’re
entitled to;
Institutions make refunds
in accordance with the
law in cases where
students withdraw
Defining Online Attendance
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Baker College audited by U.S. Dept. of Education
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College did not maintain records that were adequate
to support its determination of student attendance
during 2006-2007
College incorrectly identified when distance education
students began and ceased attendance
Result
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Baker College was required to reimburse the U.S.
Government thousands of dollars in financial aid funds
for errors found and is subject to additional audits to
verify the first day of attendance for these students
Defining Online Attendance
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Dept of Ed recommends:
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Develop & implement written policy & procedures for
attendance
Policy and procedures should address
maintenance of records adequate to support
student eligibility for financial aid
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Ensure that the specific date is documented and
retained in accordance with the record retention
requirements in those cases where the institution has
chosen to use the last date of academic activity as the
last date of attendance
Defining Online Attendance
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Attendance must be based on student’s Last Day
of Attendance in a documented “academically
related activity”
Acceptable
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Meaningful participation in an online discussion
Student initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a courserelated question via email or chat room
Quizzes, tests, assignment submission
Unacceptable
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Student-tracking of course site login
Student posting of bio in Discussion forum