Protecting Our Country's Protectors:

Distance Learning and the Military

Carolyn BakerU.S. Department of Defense

Susan HugginsAmerican Council on Education

Michael OffermanCapella University

Julie Porosky HamlinMarylandOnline

(Moderator)

THE SITUATION

Higher education is big business for the U.S. military services.

In turn, the military services are big business for many higher education providers.

Now that entire degrees can be completed remotely through e-learning, quality control has become a challenge.

QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ONLINE LEARNING – A CHALLENGE FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONSeveral approaches from several sources:

Regional Accrediting Commissions (Interregional Guidelines)

Southern Regional Education Board (Criteria for Evaluating Online Courses) and SREB Electronic Campus (Principles of Good Practice)

Sloan Consortium (Pillars of Quality)Western Interstate Commission for Higher

Education & Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (Principles of Good Practice)

QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ONLINE LEARNING – A CHALLENGE FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONMore sources:

American Distance Education Consortium (Guiding Principles)

American Council on Education (Distance Learning Principles)

Quality Matters ProgramIndividual Institutions' Rubrics & Best PracticesHigh School Initiatives

National Education Association/Institute for Higher Education (Quality Benchmarks)

North American Council for Online Learning (National Standards)

ASSURING QUALITY IN DISTANCE LEARNING – AN EVEN BIGGER

CHALLENGE FOR THE MILITARY

Why military service members need protection when pursuing degrees through distance

learning, and what the Department of Defense decided to do about this need.

Carolyn BakerChief of DoD Continuing Education Programs

U.S. Department of Defense

THE DOD INITIATIVE IN CONTEXT

How does the DoD initiative align with the priorities and efforts of the higher education

community and its representative organizations?

Susan HugginsAssistant Director of Program Evaluations

American Council on Education

THE IMPACT OF THE DOD INITIATIVE ON COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

What would be the impact on military-serving colleges and universities if they were required to

certify that their online programs meet the proposed DoD principles of good practice?  In what ways would the DoD principles support efforts by colleges and universities to ensure accountability and transparency in student

learning outcomes?

Michael OffermanPresident and CEOCapella University

Guiding Principles for Distance Learning Integrated in ACE Military Initiatives

Susan Huggins, Assistant DirectorProgram Evaluations

One Dupont Circle, Suite 250Washington, DC 20036

202-939-9794

Protecting Our Country’s Protectors: Distance Learning

and the Military

What is ACE?

American Council on Education

An independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1918.

ACE provides a forum for the discussion and decision-making on education issues of national importance and seeks to coordinate the interests of all segments of the higher education community into a single voice.

Connects workplace learning with colleges and universities by helping adults gain access to academic credit for formal courses and examinations taken outside traditional degree programs.

Center for Lifelong LearningFounded in 1942, the Center for Lifelong Learning

pioneered the evaluation of education and training that occurs outside the classroom (Military Programs

Evaluation).

Guiding Philosophy“WHAT an individual learns is more important than

WHEN, WHERE, and HOW the individual learned it.”

Guiding Principles for Distance Learning Integrated in ACE

Military Initiatives

The rising intensity of technology combined with the growing interest in distance learning for servicemembers has resulted in the need to address quality as it relates to two primary initiatives at ACE, MIVER and Military Program Evaluations.

M I V E R

Military Installation Voluntary Education Review (MIVER) coordinates military installation visits in cooperation with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, as well as colleges and universities offering degree programs on military installations. The MIVER project has two purposes:

To assess the quality of selected on-base voluntary education programs.

To assist in the improvement of such education through appropriate recommendations to institutions and the military services

M I V E R

MIVER operates according to the Principles of Good Practice for Voluntary Education Programs on Military Installations

Five Principles: Mission Statement & Command Support Program Management & Leadership Student Services Resources Voluntary Education Plan

Military Evaluations ProgramThe Military Evaluations Program provides institutions with a basis

for recognizing military educational experiences in terms of civilian academic credit through the review of training and occupations.

The Principles of Good Practice have been incorporated in the foundation that supports course evaluations through:

Selection of faculty evaluators. Assurance of appropriate courses Applicability to traditional college courses

a. learning outcomes b. assessment measures c. translating the outcomes into collegiate learning

Military Evaluations Program Selection of evaluators

Assurance of appropriate courses.

Applicability to traditional college courses a. learning outcomes b. assessment measures c. translating the outcomes into collegiate learning