EdScoop | March 4, 2019 - Despite a surge of regulations in the 1980s designed to prevent fraudulent use of financial aid funds for online courses, the Department of Education still struggles to balance consumer protections with a growing need for short-term and distance education to offer student aid, according to a... Read More>

Education Dive | February 27, 2019 -  Dive Brief: As regulators and industry representatives hash out a potential future for higher education accreditation, particularly rules governing online learning, three industry groups have put forward their own policy recommendations. Covering topics such as competency-based education (CBE), regular and substantive interaction and state authorization, the policy... Read More>

Inside Higher Ed | February 27, 2019 - Discussions of federal rules around digital learning and educational innovation are ongoing at the U.S. Department of Education. Some of those issues may end up requiring intervention from Congress. Three key digital learning organizations released today a set of policy briefs to guide these... Read More>

Briefs Authored by UPCEA, OLC, and WCET Cover Competency-Based Education, Financial Aid, Regular and Substantive Interaction, and State Authorization WASHINGTON, DC - February 27, 2019 - Today, three organizations in higher education—UPCEA, OLC and WCET—have issued a set of policy briefs relating to necessary changes to federal regulations affecting the professional,... Read More>

WCET | February 21, 2019 - A Sense of Urgency Many public colleges and universities have embraced the mission of increasing access to higher education by recruiting more diverse student populations. Unfortunately, institutions continue to see significant persistence and completion gaps for their low-income students, students of color, and first-generation students. In response... Read More>

InsideHigherEd | February 25, 2019 - Community colleges are realizing that addressing racial and income equity are the missing pieces to improving completion rates. And Achieving the Dream wants to help them eliminate that inequity. Colleges have been focused for more than a decade on accelerating the completion movement to increase graduation... Read More>

Educause Review | February 21, 2019 - The Every Learner Everywhere network helps colleges and universities use adaptive learning technology to improve teaching and learning, with a focus on increasing the success of first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color. Many public colleges and universities have embraced the mission of increasing... Read More>

EdScoop | February 22, 2019 - A root cause of college dropouts is the high failure rate in foundational courses, prompting a new initiative, announced Wednesday, aimed at creating a national network for education groups to collaborate on adaptive learning solutions. Every Learner Everywhere, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,... Read More>

OLC also announces the first round of 2019 Effective Practice Award recipients, whose innovative digital learning initiatives will be recognized during the OLC Innovate Conference, April 2-5, in Denver. NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (Feb. 26, 2019) — The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and MERLOT will gather the digital learning community in Denver, April 2-5,... Read More>

Many colleges lack formal policies for digital accessibility, leaving students with disabilities at a disadvantage. A new set of quality indicators could lay the foundation institutions need. Inside Higher Ed | February 20, 2019 - Champions of accessibility awareness have made strides in highlighting that all students, not just those with... Read More>