Saturday, April 08, 2006

The Demise of the 50% Rule Now that the Dept. of Education has removed the 50% rule, universities in the United States are free to expand their online course numbers beyond their on-campus offerings. My institution, Eastern Oregon University, participated in a multi-year study by the DoE about the feasibility of making changes in the rule, consequently I'm very pleased to see the changes finally approved by congress. This article by Frank Tansey from the Campus Technology reflects on some of the "challenges and opportunities" posed by the revised rule. My own expectation is that factors such as increased college costs, greater student familiarity with computers, hybrid courses using learning managment software, and broadband enhancements in technology will continue to drive many universities and colleges toward expanding their online course programs. The central question is how to make those online educational offerings better. _____JH ______ "It didn’t take much, just a few paragraphs in the recently-passed federal budget bill, to eliminate the 50% rule. In case you don’t know, the 50% rule required colleges to deliver at least half of their courses in a classroom setting on a campus in order to qualify for federal financial aid programs. The 50% rule was designed as a response to diploma mills that provided little in the way of education as long as someone paid the bill. In many cases it was federal financial aid that footed the bill." 8:09:14 AM    COMMENT []