What are the issues?

In Asking the Really Tough Questions: Policy Issues for Distance Learning, Barbara Gellman-Danley and Marie J. Fetzner organize issues related to distance education into seven areas each with a list of key issues (http://www.westga.edu/~distance/danley11.html). Their document was published in 1998 but continues to be an excellent framework.

Policy Development Area	Key Issues
1) Academic	Academic calendar, course integrity, transferability, transcripts, evaluation process, admission standards, curriculum approval process, accreditation
2) Fiscal	Tuition rate, technology fee, FTE’s, consortia contracts, state fiscal regulations
3) Geographic	Service Area Regional limitations, local versus out-of-state tuition, consortia agreements
4) Governance	Single versus multiple board oversight, staffing, existing structure versus shadow colleges or enclaves
5) Labor-Management	Compensation and workload, development incentives, intellectual property, faculty training, congruence with existing union contracts
6) Legal	Fair use, copyright, faculty, student and institutional liability
7) Student Support Services	Advisement, counseling, library access, materials delivery, student training, test proctoring

 
In chapter eight of the second edition (2005) of Distance Education: A Systems View, Moore and Kearsley address issues of policy in strategic planning, staffing, learner support, libraries, budgeting, quality assessment, the digital divide, and accreditation. As they note, even in 2005 policy barriers to implementation of distance learning activities were falling at the institutional, regional, state, and national levels.

Are there other issues than those listed above?

Faculty Interest & Needs Assessment

The University of Mary Washington is investigating the need and interest in teaching some of its courses in a blended or fully online environment. As part of this process, the interest level of the faculty is being gauged along with potential needs for professional development and/or technological support. A survey is available to full and part time faculty. The survey is being administered to faculty on the CGPS campus first with a subsequent administration to CAS faculty at a later date. If you are a part time or full time instructor on the CGPS campus and have not been emailed a link to the survey, please contact John St.Clair, Director of Distance and Blended Learning.

The software tool being used for this survey is Zarca and is available on the web.