Distance Education Becomes a Major Part of Course Catalogues

Chronicle article.

A majority of colleges in the United States — 65 percent — offer college-level, credit-granting distance-education courses, according to a survey released today by the National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

It is another sign that distance education is becoming a staple of college life.

One of the Comments:

I am a part of the Tennessee Board of Regents system that has reported high growth in distance enrollment. This shift seems to continue relentlessly. I’ve heard our statewide enrollments in online courses is up 25% again in the coming Spring 2009 semester – and this is with $1.50 gasoline. Our enrollments were going up rapidly well before the gas spike and have continued afterwards. To me an essential factor is time and flexibility for students. Reducing barriers to educational access should always be something we strive for in higher education and distance education is one way of achieving that. — Sandy Schaeffer Dec 31, 10:53 AM

By 2020, Access to Internet Will Be in Everyone's Pocket, Study Says

Is it time (maybe past time) we start thinking seriously about how to move online learning to mobile devices?

See the new Pew study, the Future of the Internet III

Chronicle article

Obama Says Internet Key to Economic Recovery

It'll be interesting to see how Obama's emphasis on broadband access syncs up (or not) with Educause's policy push for the same.

“Who Owns What: Policy and Practice Regarding Online Course Ownership in Community Colleges”

This report is free and online.

The report found that:

· Most IPR policies clearly state that the institution owns tuition revenues from online courses, but were unclear about who or what owns course-specific domains and/or usage rights for derivative works, distribution and resale.

· The IPR policy should be less ambiguous and include specific language about online course ownership.

· Colleges should offer training on how staff should interpret their IPR policies.

· Colleges should create written agreements to augment their IPR policies that include explicit language that delineates the rights of the institution, faculty and students. Colleges should include language from the work-for-hire clause to protect the institution and faculty.

· Colleges should make the IPR policy accessible to all faculty and staff members.

Fred Lokken, chair of ITC, noted the importance of this study for community colleges. “This report provides valuable survey data regarding the status of intellectual property rights on college campuses nationally. The results will be of great value to administrators as they assess where they are, and where they need to be.”

Community colleges are the largest provider of online courses to students in the United States. Enrollment growth is expected to continue. ITC provides leadership, information and resources to expand access to, and enhance learning through, the effective use of technology. An affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges, ITC represents higher education institutions within the United States and Canada that use distance learning technologies.