Advocacy and Outreach
Advocacy Issues
WCET members share information on emerging legislative, legal, and policy issues at the institution, state, national, and international levels. Throughout the year certain issues are tracked by WCET staff or members, and updates are posted to the WCET Online Community and the website. Some of the advocacy issues for 2005 included:
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The Higher Education Reauthorization Act.
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Acacia’s legal actions on streaming video.
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Elimination of funding for federal grant programs, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
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Promoting the use of open educational resources in developing countries.
Presentations and Articles
WCET staff uses presentations to various groups to share information on WCET projects and about the organization itself. In almost all cases, this dissemination of ideas and information about the WCET culture is done at no cost to the organization. The unique expertise of the WCET staff members make them such valuable contributors that the hosting organizations pay for the cost of their attendance.
The following are the organizations addressed by WCET staff from July 2004 through June 2005:
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American Association of Higher Education
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American Council for Education
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Arizona Board of Regents
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Arizona State University Web Student Services Committee
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Associated School Boards of South Dakota/School Administrators of South Dakota Annual Joint Conference
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Consortium for School Networking International Symposium
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Education Industry Finance and Investment Summit
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EDUCAUSE West
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Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education Director’s Meeting
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Hewlett Foundation Policy Forum
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Higher Learning Commission
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Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
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Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System
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International Association of Universities
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LEARNTEC
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Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
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National Association of College and University Business Officers
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Northern Arizona University Web Student Services Committee
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Northwest Academic Computing Consortium
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Northwest Academic Forum
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Northwest Educational Outreach Network
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Nursing Education Xchange
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Ohio Board of Regents Conference for Institutional Trustees
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Open Source Summit
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Open University’s strategic planning group
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Teaching with Technology conference
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Trends in North American e-Learning colloquium
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United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization/Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Australia Forum on Trade in Educational Services
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University of Arizona Web Student Services Committee
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University of Nebraska’s Distance Education for Health Professionals conference
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Western Consortium for Accelerated Learning Opportunities
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Western Institute of Nursing
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Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
In addition to speaking to groups, WCET staff has authored the following publications in the 2004-2005 year:
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“Distance Learning in the United States.” Chinese Journal of Distance Education, 2004.
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“A Policy Perspective on Learning Theory and Practice in Distance Education.” In Learner-Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education, edited by T.M. Duffy and J.R. Kirkley. Mahwah, NJ: 2004.
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The Distance Learner’s Guide (2nd edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005.
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“Program Evaluation.” In Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning, edited by A. Distefano, K. E. Rudestam, and R. J. Silverman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004.
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“Serving Students Online: Enhancing Their Learning Experience,” a chapter in a National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ book, published by Jossey-Bass due in fall 2005.
WCET staff also act as reviewers for the following:
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American Journal of Distance Education
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Change
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Innovate!
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Journal of Research in Science Teaching
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Journal of Educators Online
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Open Learning Journal
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The Technology Source
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Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System
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Louisiana Board of Regents’ Distance Education Initiative