Distance Education

The new law includes provisions related to the accreditation of distance education programs, including review by the National Advisory Council on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) in certain cases where an institution offering distance education experiences an annual enrollment increase of 50% of more. 

Legislative language:

Section 496(a)(4). . .

    (B) if such agency or association has or seeks to include within its scope of recognition the evaluation of the quality of institutions or programs offering distance education or correspondence education, such agency or association shall, in addition to meeting the other requirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the Secretary that—

           (i) the agency or association’s standards effectively address the quality of an institution’s distance education or correspondence education in the areas identified in paragraph (5), except that—

                  (I)  the agency or association shall not be required to have separate standards, procedures or policies for the evaluation of distance education or correspondence education institutions or programs in order to meet the requirements of this subparagraph; and

                 (II)  in the case that the agency or association is recognized by the Secretary, the agency or correspondence education or association shall not be required to obtain the approval of the Secretary to expand its scope of accreditation to include distance education, provided that the agency or association notifies the Secretary in writing of the change in scope; and

           (ii) the agency or association requires an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education to have processes through which the institution establishes that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the program and receives the academic credit;

            . . .

   (q) REVIEW OF SCOPE CHANGES.—The Secretary shall require the review, at the next available meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or any change in scope undertaken by an agency or association under subsection (a)(4)(B)(i)(II) if the enrollment of an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education that is accredited by such agency or association increases by 50 percent or more within any one institutional fiscal year.

Related Coverage