1. Reflections on OER and AccreditationRalph Wolffrwolff@wascsenior.org

2. 2 Propositions Both higher education and accreditation are broken and the fix isn’t clear Current business/organizational models are not sustainable Increases in both federal financial aid and regulation are also not sustainable OER represents a set of disruptive changes we will need to learn from, not fight 2 OER 3-11

3. Why Is Credentialing or Accreditation Important? Provides assurance of quality and integrity Access to financial aid or credit transfer Provides institutional and personal recognition Required for licensure or employment Identifies a standard of achievement and competence 3 OER 3-11

4. Why Is Our Current System of Credentialing and Accreditation Irrelevant? Current system does not serve enough students or serve them well Destroys motivation and creativity; blocks innovation Employers are not satisfied with graduates New forms – social media – will create new pathways 4 OER 3-11

5. The Current System Over 5000 institutions with 19,000,000 students Need state authorization to award degrees Accreditation for financial aid and credit recognition (regional, national and specialized accreditation) State licensing to operate and credentialing to practice 5 OER 3-11

7. Demands for greater public information will overwhelm us but not necessarily guide better decision making

8. Alternative models of delivery and organizational form will emerge within and outside existing institutions

9. Credentialing/accreditation may be the biggest barrier6 OER 3-11

10. Why More Control? Concern over fraud and abuse - $150 Billion in federal aid Low college completion rates High default rates with no loan forgiveness Proliferation of degree mills and fake accreditation Abuses of for profit institutions 7 OER 3-11

12. 9 OER 3-11 Challenge: Federal rule -- 25% limitation on outsourcing

13. DIY Students 10 Challenge: How do we validate large scale non-institutionally validated learning? OER 3-11

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19. It is our mission to accelerate learning for students of all ages.Challenge: Lack of adequate faculty credentials to recognize; does not meet definition of a “credit hour” 11 OER 3-11

20. Key Federal Regulations Definition of a credit hour – “reasonably equivalent” to Carnegie unit (1 hour of classroom instruction and 2 hours out of class) State authorization for issuing degrees and online learning Substantive change Online and correspondence education Monitoring institutional growth 12 OER 3-11

21. 13 OER 3-11

22. What Could an Open Access Approach Include? Instruction separated from the classroom Evaluation separated from instruction Learning recognized from multiple sources Credentialing by both credentialed and non-credentialed faculty Shift in accreditation from the institution to the student 14 OER 3-11

23. How WASC Is Responding Fundamental redesign of our process to create both a public accountability and public advocacy role AND embrace the changes coming Address 5 areas in our HB revision process: Evaluating retention and graduation rates Defining more clearly the level of learning and “what is good enough?” Establish common broad outcomes for– the DQP Greater transparency Addressing the new ecosystem to support innovation 15 OER 3-11

24. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome: If we created a OER unit within WASC, what should we focus on? How might we change our standards? What are the most important steps we can take to support your efforts? rwolff@wascsenior.org 16 OER 3-11