Enhancing professionalism within the distance learning community is a long-time emphasis of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). For this reason, informational activities—workshops, conferences, and journals—have been an essential part of our association since its founding in 1987.
As distance learning has flourished, the association has kept pace by working more proactively to enhance professionalism. Thus, in the last 2 years, USDLA has begun credentialing distance learning practitioners and programs. In fact, the association now offers a triad of credentialing services.
In 2003, USDLA, in conjunction with Nova Southeastern University, began offering the Distance Learning Leader Certificate Program (DLLCP) for individual distance learning practitioners.
In 2004, the association, through its subsidiary, the Distance Learning Accreditation Board (DLAB), began offering an accreditation service. The service is designed for both U.S.-based and international degree-granting distance learning programs.
The USDLA/Quality Standards (USDLA/QS) certification is a new standards-based program that recognizes excellence in a variety of distance learning settings.
The developments in this area are a logical response to the explosive growth of distance learning and its prominence in global education. They recognize that greater visibility and influence carries with it parallel responsibilities for conduct and professionalism. Indeed, a passive, laissez-faire approach in this area leads only to marginaliza-tion. None of us can afford that.
Rather, we must offer a solid benchmark of quality—something to measure against, something to aspire o—and that is what we are now doing.
Deploying this triad of services is a major achievement for our association and, even more important, marks a noteworthy maturing of our industry. These services complement one another. Let me briefly describe each one.
The DLLCP is for individuals— key people who are leaders in disance education. In the course of his program, candidates acquire a specialized body of knowledge related to distance learning, includ-ng principles of best practice. This s not just high-sounding theory. We ake a real-world approach and fea-ure the richness and the diversity hat characterize current distance earning practice.
The DLAB accreditation program s for the distance learning component of degree-granting institutions in he United States or abroad. DLAB s a serious program—self-study, on-site peer review—the whole gamut. It is not for the fainthearted. It is ideal where degree programs cross national boundaries and there may be questions about comparability or suitability. It is great for a school that wants its distance learning to excel. Achieving DLAB accreditation is an important accomplishment.
The third and newest element of our triad is the Quality Standards certification. Its power stems both from its breadth and flexibility. USDLA/QS can work for any distance learning provider—K-12, higher education, government, industry, continuing education, domestic, or global. The provider may or may not offer a degree or diploma.
DLAB, on the one hand, uses peer review because that is accepted practice in accreditation circles. QS certification, on the other hand, uses a small team of experts who examine how a school measures up to a known set of standards. It is a thorough review—everything from technology to transcripts, from recruiting to regulatory compliance. Successful completion of the QS review provides the basis for an ongoing relationship. Our goal is to thereby foster a climate of continuous improvement. This is a quality certification and it delineates certain standards, so we reserve the right to pull the certification of a school that no longer meets our Quality Standards criteria.
Let me summarize this triad by noting that USDLA credentialing initiatives serve two complementary functions, one facing inward one facing outward.
Our internal goal recognizes that while distance learning has been around for more than a century, it only became a potent force with the development of new technologies in the last 20 years. Anything thus born has a steep learning curve associated with it. Out of that experience, though, has come an understanding and a body of accepted practices. The field is dynamic; no one could ever know it all. We do though, know some things that consistently lead to stronger, more effective distance learning programs. This real-world knowledge is a vital component in all of our cre-dentialing services.
Our external goal recognizes a public trust. The explosion of spam-based diploma mills has tested the credibility of any institution operating in an online environment. Simply put, people need to know who is real and who is fake; “Who can ] trust?” This is a new role for us but, increasingly, people—in fact, thousands each year—are posing that question to us. Our credentialing services give us a credible basis for responding.
Voluntary self-governance has a long tradition in U.S. higher education. USDLA’s work aligns nicely with accepted practice in this area. We have a broadly-based association whose members share a commitment to excellence and professionalism. We jointly identified a range of successful distance learning techniques. Then, we distilled those approaches into a set of unifying principles called best practices. In this way, we have developed a powerful tool for quality improvement.
Our having done so marks an important milestone in the development of your association. That, though, is never an end in itself. Rather, it is another example of the value that flows from a committed group of professionals working together for the common good. Together we will make a difference.
“The DLAB accreditation program is for the distance learning component of degree-granting instiutions in the United States or abroad. DLAB is a serious program—self-study, on-site peer review—the whole gamut.”
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