Financial Aid, Correspondence, Authentication

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Financial 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

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• 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).

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Concerns 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

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•  Some of the Hot Topics
• I. Recently accelerated external regulatory
  demands
• A. Student authentication
• B. Last date of attendance / Title IV
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• II. Lack of clarity and consensus
• A. Categorizing distance education
• B. DE or CE?
• C. Whose responsibility is it?
• III. Some Consequences and Questions

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Student Authentication
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Academic 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)

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Examples 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???

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What 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

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Last date of attendance (LDA) Title IV Must
document LDA and verify regular and substantive
interaction between faculty and student
By Knterox
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Who is attending class?
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Pre-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

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• DE or CE?

Regular Substantive (Effective) Instructor to
Student Contact
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State 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

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Correspondence 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)

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So, DE and CE are Different
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So 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

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Main Resources

• DE Coordinator
• Campus Financial Aid Directors
• Online Teaching Conference
• Distance Education Captioning and Transcription
  grant
• _at_ONE
• DE webinars
• ACCJC DE webinar

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For 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