DISTANCE EDUCATION AND FEDERAL POLICY IN THE USA MAIN PECULIARITIES

Rozhenko I.V., Poltava

Higher Medical Educational Institution of Ukraine

"Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy"

Today’s distance-education schools are offering a diversity of undergraduate and graduate degree programs that are attracting students. Distance-education schools are witnessing a rise in their enrolments as more people become aware of their academic opportunities, prospective online students wonder about the academic credibility of today’s distance-education schools[1]. In the United States today, 85 accredited online colleges and universities exist [2]. The programs range from colleges of art and health sciences to nursing, information science, English, computer science, business, law, and so on. Most every degree offered in traditional learning is now being offered or in the design stage to be offered via an online program at an accredited university. As of 2000, approximately one in thirteen students had taken a post- secondary course on a distance in the United States. Studies have indicated that enrolments in distance education quadrupled between 1995 and 2000. Furthermore, by 2000-2001, approximately 90% of public four-year higher education institutions were offering courses on a distance (United States General Accounting Office, 2004). With such growth in distance-education courses and programs, entire degrees can now be attained on a distance.

With such rapid growth of distance-education across the curriculum in the United States, many professionals believe that the issues surrounding distance education will affect not only institutions, but state and federal regulations as well. Because distance education transcends state borders more often than not, and increasingly international borders, it seems appropriate that federal policy should be playing a larger regulatory role in moderating the current initiatives in distance education. The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) defines distance education as: The acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction. Distance learning encompasses all technologies and supports the pursuit of lifelong learning for all. Distance learning is used in all areas of education including Pre-K through grade 12, higher education, home school education, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, and telemedicine.The California Distance Learning Project (CDLP) supplies its own definition of distance learning [3] and goes further to mention the following defining elements as: the separation of teacher and learner during a majority of instruction; separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time; use of educational media to unite teacher and learner; the provision of two-way communication; and volitional control of learning by student rather than distance instructor. Distance education deals with the separation of place and/or time between the learner and instructor and interaction between the learner and instructor via through media. With such orientation, questions concerning programs revolve around quality, funding, information and communication technologies, and how the teacher-learner relationship must shift to ensure educational progress. Federal resources for distance education are made available to help build a solid infrastructure and capacity for the education sector to make effective the use of technology and the information for instruction[3]. The implementation of distance education is resource intensive, based on the need for a solid technology and knowledge base throughout the education community. Therefore, having a plethora of funding resources made available via a merit-based system of competition and needs, the US Department of Education has made the implementation and procurement of distance-education programs more possible than ever before. The Instructional Technology Council (ITC) lists 26 federal government-funding programs under its ‘distance-education grants’. The programs range from the advanced technological education (ATE) program to the distance learning and telemedicine program and librarians of the Distance Education and the Role of the State twenty-first century[4].

Furthermore, ITC lists nine funding resources via websites, and sixteen additional foundation grants for distance education. The American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) lists 16 funding institutions (fellowships, foundations, organizations) under its ‘federal programs & grants’ section, and an additional 22 websites that have funding possibilities for distance-education initiatives[4]. Therefore, the resources and funding are available through many different avenues. However, for a country with a population nearing 300 million, and with the number of students enrolling in distance-education platforms growing quickly, funding through the government is increasingly important and of high priority. As moderator, the federal government makes available and approves funds and grants, and makes them available to those wishing to pursue distance-education opportunities, both on the learner side and on the teacher/developer side. As previously stated, the US Department of Education strictly states as its mission that it leaves direct curricular and policy implementation and guidance to the states, institutions, or otherwise, that implement educational practices[3]. Federal restrictions were placed on distance-education programs across the United States over one decade ago in response to concerns over fraud and abuse of power in issuing degrees and maintaining quality in education. However, protection against fraud and abuse must still be accounted for, and accreditation is a perfect starting point for a federal policy in allowing universities to offer federal student aid. More strict policies may have to arise; however, the 50 per cent rule is a retarding factor in the growth and success of distance education.

References

1. Distance Education and the Role of the State. USA perspective Paul Mihailidis, University of Maryland, USA. E–Learning 2005

2. Clearinghouse for Community Colleges, Los Angeles, CA. Available at: http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed423922.html

3. American Distance Education Consortium Federal Programs and Grants. Available at: http://www.adec.edu/fed-pgms.html

4. California Distance Learning Project: for adult educators. Available at: http://www.cdlponline.org