Bringing Technology into Higher Education Policies A Regional View

1
Bringing Technology into Higher Education
Policies----A Regional View

• J. B. Mathews
• Senior Technology Policy Advisor
• Southern Regional Education Board

2
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

3
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.
  

4
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

5
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

6
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.

7
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
  

8
UNDERSERVED

• Policy Proposals
• Changes in financial aid
• Promote corporate tuition reimbursement
• Support community access, economic development,
  k-16 initiatives
  

9
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
  

10
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
  

11
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
  

12
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.

13
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

14
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

15
FINANCIAL AID

• Goal/Issue
• Distinguish distance learning from correspondence
  courses
  

16
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

17
FINANCIAL AID

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

18
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

19
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

20
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
  

21
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

22
FINANCE

• Policy Proposals
• Provide change incentives for faculty
• Cost services separately to establish equitable
  pricing
  

23
STUDENT SERVICES

• Goal/Issue
• Improve quality and availability of student
  services for all students (traditional, distance,
  part time)
  
• Develop a 24 x 7 philosophy

24
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
  

25
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)
  

26
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

27
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.

28
QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Policy Proposals
• Include e-learning in mission statements
• Encourage institutions and systems to develop
  strategic plans
  
• Establish state-level quality control processes

29
QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Policy Proposals
• Review adequacy of faculty development,
  infrastructure, student services, regulatory
  requirements
  
• Establish continuous improvement mechanisms of
  assessment and modification

30
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

31
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
  

32
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
  

33
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

34
TUITION REGIONAL E-RATE

• Goal/Issue
• Expand student choice
• Establish free trade zone in SREB for distance
  learning
  
• Reduce duplication
• Utilize available capacity

35
TUITION REGIONAL E-RATE

• Goal/Issue
• Promote regional economic development
• Expand institutional markets

36
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