ralph wolff presentation oer2011
TRANSCRIPT
2
Propositions Both higher education and
accreditation are broken and the fix isn’t clear
Current business/organizational models are not sustainable
Increases in both federal financial aid and regulation are also not sustainable
OER represents a set of disruptive changes we will need to learn from, not fight
2OER 3-11
3OER 3-11
Why Is Credentialing or Accreditation Important?
Provides assurance of quality and integrity
Access to financial aid or credit transfer
Provides institutional and personal recognition
Required for licensure or employment
Identifies a standard of achievement and competence
4OER 3-11
Why Is Our Current System of Credentialing
and Accreditation Irrelevant?
Current system does not serve enough students or serve them well
Destroys motivation and creativity; blocks innovation
Employers are not satisfied with graduates
New forms – social media – will create new pathways
5OER 3-11
The Current System
Over 5000 institutions with 19,000,000 students
Need state authorization to award degrees
Accreditation for financial aid and credit recognition (regional, national and specialized accreditation)
State licensing to operate and credentialing to practice
6OER 3-11
4 Likely Scenarios More legislation and regulations to
control new models and increase accountability and ROI
Demands for greater public information will overwhelm us but not necessarily guide better decision making
Alternative models of delivery and organizational form will emerge within and outside existing institutions
Credentialing/accreditation may be the biggest barrier
7OER 3-11
Why More Control?
Concern over fraud and abuse - $150 Billion in federal aid
Low college completion rates High default rates with no loan
forgiveness Proliferation of degree mills and
fake accreditation Abuses of for profit institutions
8OER 3-11
University of the People
Is University of the People an accredited university?
• At present, University of the People is not an accredited institution. The University is in the process of preparing the necessary materials to apply for accreditation from an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Challenge: Time and standards for accreditation.
9OER 3-11
Challenge: Federal rule -- 25% limitation on outsourcing
DIY Students
10OER 3-11
Challenge: How do we validate large scale non-institutionally validated learning?
11OER 3-11
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Challenge: Lack of adequate faculty credentials to recognize; does not meet definition of a “credit hour”
12OER 3-11
Key Federal Regulations Definition of a credit hour –
“reasonably equivalent” to Carnegie unit (1 hour of classroom instruction and 2 hours out of class)
State authorization for issuing degrees and online learning
Substantive change Online and correspondence
education Monitoring institutional growth
13OER 3-11
14OER 3-11
What Could an Open Access Approach
Include? Instruction separated from the
classroom Evaluation separated from
instruction Learning recognized from multiple
sources Credentialing by both credentialed
and non-credentialed faculty Shift in accreditation from the
institution to the student
15OER 3-11
How WASC Is Responding
Fundamental redesign of our process to create both a public accountability and public advocacy role AND embrace the changes coming
Address 5 areas in our HB revision process:
Evaluating retention and graduation rates Defining more clearly the level of learning
and “what is good enough?” Establish common broad outcomes for– the
DQP Greater transparency Addressing the new ecosystem to support
innovation
16OER 3-11
Your ideas and suggestions are
welcome: If we created a OER unit within
WASC, what should we focus on? How might we change our standards?
What are the most important steps we can take to support your efforts?