Technology Can Extend Access to Postsecondary Education: An Action Agenda for the South  

Creating Financial Aid Programs That Work for Distance Learners 
The emergence of technology and distance learning in higher education during the past decade has created greater access and new pathways to colleges and universities for many learners. No longer is geographic proximity to a campus or one's work or family commitments a deterrent to acquiring needed skills or to pursuing a credential. These learners are often the neediest as they seek to balance work, family responsibilities, and education. While billions of dollars of financial aid are made available from federal and state governments annually, little of this is available to the distance learner. Structures, policies, procedures, and practice have become real barriers to getting aid to the fastest growing populations of students in U.S. higher education. The barriers, many of which are engrained in federal, state, and institutional policy, must be removed. This report outlines and defines the problem, traces the historical record of aid programs, describes real barriers for distance learners, and suggests alternative strategies that policymakers at the federal, state, and institutional levels might consider to address financial aid issues. Also discussed are a number of alternative state approaches which might serve as models for other states. Finally, a regional financial aid “clearinghouse” concept is proposed and described in some detail.

Using Finance Policy to Reduce Barriers to Distance Learning
Despite its pervasiveness, states, systems and most colleges and universities still treat technology as a “special” category and fund it accordingly through special “one-time” appropriations. Information technology, with few exceptions, has yet to be established as a core budget or central “utility” or embrace models that use technology to reduce costs and increase productivity in the same way the private businesses have, especially in instruction. The report examines the ways in which state and system financing policies can advance more effectively the use of distance learning technologies and the goals outlined in other committee reports prepared by the Distance Learning Policy Laboratory. The report examines issues such as tuition, fees and charges, funding methods, costs and resource management, and education as e-commerce. Case studies of four SREB states -- Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina -- representing centralized, decentralized, mixed, and freestanding were used in the analysis are described, along with “lessons learned” from the casework. The report concludes with several recommendations for action and a challenge to states to use finance policy to reduce or remove barriers to distance learning.

Anytime, Anywhere Services for the 21st Century Student addresses the lack of support services that can be accessed independent of time and location and stresses the critical role of services to students' academic performance and success. The report recommends that a variety of traditional campus-based services be modified for learners whose work schedules or distance impede them from traveling to campus. Furthermore, because the distance learning environment places greater responsibility on the individual, students may require specialized services to support the learning process. In fact, the growing use of technology both on-and-off campus demands new student services (such as technology training) as well as new delivery formats (such as the Internet) for all students. The report contends that institutions that can provide quality, convenient services that are available at all times and in alternative formats are more likely to distinguish themselves from their peers and grow their enrollments. One way to increase the breadth and quality of services is through collaboration on both state and regional levels in order to achieve economies of scale that no single institution could maintain alone.

The Challenges of Quality Assurance in a Distance Learning Environment addresses state regulatory practices in the new distance learning environment and suggests that traditional regulatory approaches to quality assurance are and will be severely tested in the distance learning environment. Historically, accountability structures have been tied to geographic boundaries and the “physical presence” of resources on a campus, branch campus, or learning center. Distance learning providers are finding it difficult to operate in the maze of federal, state, and accreditation oversight that currently exists. The report calls attention to such issues as evaluation of consortia and non-educational vendors, evaluation of courses and modules, and dealing with “blended programs.” It recommends that states take advantage of statewide, regional, and national networks for sharing high quality offerings and best practices. State policies should be shaped with the understanding that “distance” is not a defining characteristic of learning processes; rather it is one among many factors to take into account in designing effective programs.

Distance Learning and the Transfer of Academic Credit  addresses the problems faced by distance learning students in having credits recognized by colleges and universities that often maintain different sets of general education, prerequisite, academic major, and institutional requirements. Disagreements over credit transfer and degree requirements may mean higher costs and more time for students to reach their education goals. Further, transfer policies may work against the advantages that distance learning provides for many learners: availability and flexibility of higher education. The promise of learning via technology is undermined when students are required to repeat certain courses or enroll in a single university in order to meet degree requirements. The report recommends the consideration of regional and/or national transfer policies, including common major field and residency requirements. SREB, its member states, and SREB's Electronic Campus should work to establish formal state commitments to a voluntary multi-state “credit transfer” compact that would mutually recognize credit earned at regionally accredited institutions in the region. States should also consider designating one or two institutions to act as “degree completers” for the state. Furthermore, mechanisms need to be developed to translate various forms of modularized education and competency-based certifications into “credit equivalencies.”

Universal Access to Technology and Support addresses the barriers to using distance learning to achieve lifelong learning needs in the region, including inequitable infrastructure and rates of computer ownership; lack of requisite skills and support; lack of variety of online content relevant to all citizens; and a lack of understanding of the impact that adult learning and/or higher education programs can have on employment opportunities and quality of life.

Supporting Faculty in the Use of Technology: A Guide to Principles, Policies, and Implementation Strategies addresses the impact of distance learning on a variety of faculty considerations including assessment, development, reward structures, and intellectual property policy. The technological transformation taking place in colleges and universities has great a implication for faculty, their assessment, compensation, workload, development, and the general role of faculty in the emerging distance learning environment. Both institutional policies that govern the traditional relationship of faculty to their schools and state-level policies that broadly define those relationships are not suited to the changing roles of institutions and faculty in the growing market-driven academic economy. Defining these new roles and forming strategies for faculty assessment, compensation and development must be undertaken in a new policy construct. Faculty issues also include any state-level policy implications for the copyright, ownership and intellectual property rights of courseware, courses, and related distance learning "property." It is hoped that efforts in this area may lead to the crafting of a broad state-level policy which would provide general guidelines for forming copyright policies at each institution.