Title: Financial Aid, Correspondence, Authentication
1Financial Aid, Correspondence, AuthenticationShou
ld We Go On?
Hot Topics and Accreditation Issues in Distance
Education
- Dennis Bailey-Fougnier , Cabrillo College
- Dolores Davison, Foothill College
- Patricia James Hanz, Mt. San Jacinto College
- Danny Martino, Santiago Canyon College
2- In CCCs, distance learning continues to grow
- 2005-06 12.48 of total headcount (unduplicated)
- 2009-10 23.54 of total headcount (unduplicated)
- In US, over 6 million students took at least one
online class last year. - Institutions indicating Online education is
critical to the long-term strategy of my
institution reached its highest level in 2011
(65.5).
3Concerns about Distance Education
- Federal and National Concerns
- A few cases of significant institutional growth
and transformation triggered Congressional
concerns with exploitation of institutions,
students - Growing amount of federal student aid funds,
proportion going to private institutions and for
profit institutions offering DE - Financial aid fraud for which Distance Education
may be particularly suited - Growing number of degree mills that operate as
distance only institutions leading to problems
for transfer institutions, employers - ACCJC Web Seminar Spring 2012
4- Some of the Hot Topics
- I. Recently accelerated external regulatory
demands - A. Student authentication
- B. Last date of attendance / Title IV
-
- II. Lack of clarity and consensus
- A. Categorizing distance education
- B. DE or CE?
- C. Whose responsibility is it?
- III. Some Consequences and Questions
5Student Authentication
6Academic Integrity and Authentication
- HEOA requires accreditors to require institutions
to have processes through which the institution
establishes that the student who registers in a
distance education course or program is the same
student who participates in and completes the
program and receives the academic credit. - (emphasis added)
7Examples of Processes and Practices
- 1) College LMS
- 2) Proctored assessment
- 3) LMS log-in statement
- Through the entry of my username and password I
affirm that I am the student who enrolled in this
course. Furthermore, I affirm that I understand
and agree to follow the regulations regarding
academic integrity and the use of student data as
described in the Student Conduct Code that
governs student rights and responsibilities.
Failure to abide by the regulations may result in
disciplinary action up to expulsion from the
college. - 4) Academic integrity in DE training
- 5) Plagiarism detection software
- Why is it important to us???
8What those looking in are looking for
- Institutions must use
- a) secure log-in and password, OR proctored
examinations, OR - b) and/or new or other technologies
- c) and/or practices that are developed and
effective in verifying each students
identification
9Last date of attendance (LDA) Title IV Must
document LDA and verify regular and substantive
interaction between faculty and student
By Knterox
10Who is attending class?
11Pre-emptive Solutions?
- Make it clear to online teaching faculty that LMS
statistics are not enough. - Regular Effective Contact is defined and enforced
- LDA policy is created and enforced that includes
academic engagement (activity). - Instructors save work of the student dropped and
document when the activity stopped. - Institutional definition
- of Excessive Absences
12Regular Substantive (Effective) Instructor to
Student Contact
13State Definition
- Distance education means instruction in which
the instructor and student are separated by
distance and interact through the assistance of
communication technology. - Same course-quality standards
- Regular, effective contact
- Separate curricular review
- Federal definition not much different
14Correspondence Education
- Instructional material provided by mail or
electronic transmission (including examinations)
to students who are separated from the instructor - Limited interaction between student and
instructor and primarily initiated by students - A course that is typically self-paced
-
- 34 C.F.R. 602.3 (Definitions)
15So, DE and CE are Different
16So What?
- We concluded the College was not eligible to
participate in federal financial aid because
50 or more of its students were enrolled in
correspondence courses We recommend require the
college to return to the U.S. Department of
Education the 42,362,291 in Title IV funds
disbursed - Final Title IV Audit Report, Executive
Summary
17Main Resources
- DE Coordinator
- Campus Financial Aid Directors
- Online Teaching Conference
- Distance Education Captioning and Transcription
grant - _at_ONE
- DE webinars
- ACCJC DE webinar
18For more information--- ACCJC Web Seminar DE
on the Front Burner New Regulations, New
Challenges and Accreditation Spring 2012
http//tinyurl.com/accjcDE
DE Coordinators Web Seminar Meetings
http//www.onefortraining.org/coordinators