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=== Schools ===
=== Schools ===
USNEI provides these schools reports:
USNEI notes that the US Department of Education does not have the authority to accredit private or public elementary or secondary schools, and the Department does not recognize accrediting bodies for the accreditation of private or public elementary and secondary schools.
 
It provides one relevant schools report:


* [http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/accred-school.doc School-Level Accreditation] - the accreditation process at the primary and secondary education levels and provides links to accrediting agencies recognised by state governments and other authorities.
* [http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/accred-school.doc School-Level Accreditation] - the accreditation process at the primary and secondary education levels and provides links to accrediting agencies recognised by state governments and other authorities.
* [http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/accred-fed.doc Federal Recognition and Approval] - the nature and limitations of the federal role in recognising accrediting agencies and in approving institutions.


=== Post-secondary ===
=== Post-secondary ===

Revision as of 03:45, 1 August 2011

by Sara Frank Bristow - being edited daily as of 14 July 2011!

Experts situated in the United States

The list had not been finalised as of July 2011, but is known to include the following:

  • Cathy Cavanaugh, Associate Professor of Educational Technology, School of Teaching and Learning, University of Florida at Gainesville.
  • Sara Frank Bristow, Independent Researcher and Sero collaborator; contributor to Re.ViCa and VISCED.
  • Russ Poulin, WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies; contributor to Re.ViCa.


United States in a nutshell

(sourced in part from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States and https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html)

Source : http://www.cia.gov

The United States (United States of America; US, USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising 50 states and a federal district. The world's oldest surviving federation, the United States is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, in which citizens are subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local.

The country is situated mostly in central North America between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with about 311 million people (July 2011), the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area (depending on definition), and third largest by land area and by population.

Wikimedia Commons Map of US states

The US comprises 50 discrete states; see the US States Wikipedia article for a full list. Washington D.C. (the District of Columbia), a special district which is not part of any US state, serves as the permanent national capital. The US also possesses five major overseas territories, all considered separately in this wiki. According to 2010 estimates, the largest contiguous state, California, has 37 million people; and the next, Texas, has 25 million. The seven states with 10 million people or more are: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Ten states have populations of less than 10 but more than 6 million. 33 states have populations under 6 million; of these, 13 have populations ranging from 1 to 3 million.

The list of states with their own Virtual Campus wiki entries resides at Category:States of the United States. Regional sub-categories have been created for states with a high incidence of notable e-learning programmes, e.g. California and Colorado. Others are added as activity is identified.

Education in the United States

Education is primarily a state and local responsibility in the United States, with most decisions made (and policies established) on that basis. It is states and communities, as well as public and private organisations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrolment and graduation - not the federal (central) government. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant state and local role. Of an estimated $1.13 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2010-2011, a substantial majority will come from state, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary (primary) and secondary levels, where 89% of the funds will come from non-Federal sources.

The Federal contribution to primary and secondary education is only about 11%.

In 2008, about 74 million people (both citizens and foreign nationals) were enrolled in American schools, colleges and universities.

Schools in the United States

Children are required in most US states to attend school from the age of five or six until 16, 17 or 18 - generally bringing them through grade 12, or twelfth grade (the end of High School). This sequence is colloquially referred to as "K-12" education.

In all, 86% of American schoolchildren enroll in the "Public" (publicly funded) school system. About 12% are enrolled in parochial or nonsectarian "Private" (non-publicly funded) schools, and 2% are home-schooled.

Public school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts with many directives from state legislatures. School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardised testing decisions are usually made by state governments, with curricula varying widely from district to district.

Individual states, counties, and school districts have considerable leeway in how they choose to divide their school levels, so it is difficult to accurately describe the average child's standard progression through education. However, all states have historically made a distinction between two genres of K-12 education and three genres of K-12 school.

  • The genres of education are Primary and Secondary; and
  • The genres of school are Elementary School, Middle or Junior High School, and High School

Elementary and Secondary school programmes comprise nearly 14,000 school districts and some 56 million students, attending roughly 99,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools.

Pre-Primary

There is no compulsory Primary education requirement nationwide in the US. The terms "Preschool," "Prekindergarten," "Pre-K" or "Nursery School" may all be used to refer to earlier age-group education of this sort.

Elementary (Primary)

American children are required to attend six or seven years of Elementary School (generally comprising Kindergarten and grades 1-5 or 1-6). Kindergarten is a transitional year for students around the age of 5 or 6. Not all states make this year compulsory, though many do and may offer this as a free educational year. First grade is the more official "first year" of primary school.

Middle or Junior High School

Middle School is a period of schooling between Elementary and High School, viewed by many as a conceptual bridge between the two. It often shares resources with a larger Secondary School rather than occupy its own facilities. Middle School typically spans grades 6-8, while Junior High School (Junior High) spans grades 7 and 8 only. Middle School/Junior High School students are generally between 11 and 14 years old.

High School

The majority of American students complete four years of High School (grades 9-12), graduating with a diploma around the age of 18. A small percentage of students opt to withdraw prior to graduation, permitted at either 16 or 17 depending on state of residence. These students may take a standardised test and be graduated from compulsory education if they perform well.

In 2008, 87% of Americans over the age of 25 had graduated from High School. High School graduates may either enter the workforce or continue education, e.g. at a higher education institution.

Further and Higher Education

The American further and higher education systems, like the primary and secondary education systems, are largely decentralised. With a limited number of exceptions, the federal government does not directly regulate colleges and universities (although it may award them federal grants). It can therefore be difficult to make generalisations about the institutions in these sectors (without focussing on one individual US state at a time), though we have tried our best below.

Universities and "Colleges" in the United States

The US higher education system is known to host some of the finest universities in the world. According to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities, more than 30 of the highest-ranked 45 institutions are in the United States (as measured primarily by awards and research output).

In discussing postsecondary education in the US it is important to bear in mind that the definition of term "college" does not align neatly with that used by most other countries discussed in this wiki.

  • Universities are, generally speaking, four-year institutions of higher education and research, awarding both undergraduate and postgraduate ("graduate") degrees.
  • Colleges are four-year, undergraduate institutions with an emphasis on taught courses, which may award the same undergraduate degrees as universities. Colleges may be part of a larger research university or may exist independently.

Americans do not always distinguish verbally between "college" and "university" – those attending a university would refer to this process as "going to college" while in pursuit of their undergraduate degree.

It is difficult to identify the precise number of colleges and universities in the United States - in part because of varying definitions of the terms, and in part because of the diversity of potentially applicable institutions. Moreover, a US university need not be "accredited" in order to operate (see separate note on this topic). With these caveats in mind, a recent estimate by the University of Texas at Austin counts 2,043 colleges and universities; the US Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs counts over 8,000 (community and vocational colleges are omitted in the first survey but included in the second). And the Chronicle of Higher Education 2009 Almanac of Higher Education counts 4,811.

Students provide transcripts of their High School grades and their results on standardised tests when applying to American universities and colleges. Annual tuition fees are charged in almost all cases, and are often exorbitant compared to that found in other countries. (For the 2007–08 academic year, annual prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $11,578 at public institutions and $29,915 at private institutions.) Many students rely on student loans and scholarships from their university, the federal government, or a private lender.

Students may choose to attend "public" or "private" institutions to complete their undergraduate degrees. The majority of "public" universities are operated by the states and territories, usually as part of a "state university system". Each state supports at least one state university and several support many more. By a wide margin, these "state schools" tend to be the most affordable to residents from within that state. Every state has an entity designed to promote coordination and collaboration between higher education institutions.

Those individuals completing undergraduate education at either a university or college may enter the workforce in a professional capacity or continue on to postgraduate ("graduate") study. In 2008, 29% of American adults 25 and older had a bachelor's degree.

See the Category:United_States for a full list of US institutions described in this wiki.


Community Colleges in the United States

US "Community Colleges" are two-year institutions of higher education (once commonly called "Junior Colleges"). Often state-based and public, most Community Colleges operate under a policy of open admission and may be similar to the Polytechnics found in many other countries (though the term is rarely used in the US, and never in this context).

Many Community Colleges are operated either by special districts that draw property tax revenue from the local community, as a division of a state university, or as a sister institution within a state-wide higher education system. In recent years, many Community Colleges have added online courses to their catalogues, and in some states have become hotbeds of e-learning activity.

Community Colleges typically offer two-year "associates degrees" and/or trade certifications, as well as services to the local community (e.g. library, job placement). Some offer courses towards a four-year bachelor’s degree and/or guarantee admission to a partner university. While most enrollees proceed directly from High School to Community College (and are therefore ages 18-21), Community College is also an attractive venue for older American adults returning to education after a hiatus; professionals seeking further certification in their field (or another); or hobbyists looking for an inexpensive way to further their personal interests.

US Community Colleges should not be confused with regular "Colleges", as the latter term is used uniquely in the US to refer to four-year teaching institutions which offer bachelor's degrees (see above). There are, however, other two-year institutions which would be referred to as "Community Colleges" even though they are not described as such by name; these have names like "institute of technology", "technical institute" or "technical colleges" and typically focus on training in technical and vocational skills.

Education Reform

As discussed above, the US Department of Education (ED) assumes (limited) responsibility for education across all sectors. It is ED's responsibility to identify major issues and problems in education and focus national attention on them, making recommendations for education reform, advising the President and implementing his/her education policies.

Some "hot button" issues targeted in the budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2012 include:

  • College access and completion
  • Investing in early learning
  • Accelerating the use of educational technology
  • Supporting English learners
  • Supporting individuals with disabilities
  • Strengthening the commitment to Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Education
  • Improving productivity and efficiency
  • Supporting rural education
  • Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

Sector specifics are discussed below.

Schools

Historically, universal public education began to gain traction in US schools from the middle of the nineteenth century, and the original Department of Education (ED) was created in 1867 to collect information that would help the States establish effective school systems. Approaches to improving public schooling have been the primary stakeholder concern ever since.

In 1980, Congress established the contemporary Department of Education as "Cabinet" level (i.e. operating among the most senior appointed officers of the federal government's executive branch). The department's official mission is to "promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access". Reforms over the last 60 years have included:

  • From the 1950s to the 1970s, many reforms to US education stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement, with a focus on issues like ending racial segregation, busing students to different areas for the purpose of desegregation and affirmative action.
  • In the 1980s, E.D. Hirsch set forth influential attack on "progressive" (education, instead advocating "cultural literacy" - i.e. memorization/repetition of facts, phrases, and texts. Hirsch's ideas have remained significant and are still incorporated into classroom practice through textbooks and curricula published under his own imprint.
  • In the 1990s, most US states and districts in the 1990s adopted Outcome-Based Education (OBE). A set of standards-based National Education Goals were set by the US Congress at that time. The standards-based reform movement culminated in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

As of July 2011, schools issues frequently highlighted for potential reform include:

  • Repairing the Bush-era "No Child Left Behind" Act
  • Reauthorisation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
  • Addressing teacher cheating scandals in standardised testing
  • Teacher union reform
  • Expanding school day or school year
  • Validity of charter schools (in which public schools operate more like private ones)
  • Validity of school choice, or "school vouchers" (in which parents may select which public school their child attends, or use a voucher to send them to a private one)
  • Improving teacher quality/salary
  • Improving teacher training
  • Awarding performance bonuses ("merit pay") to teachers
  • English-only vs. bilingual education (allowing students to study in their native tongue - typically Spanish)
  • Mainstreaming special education students (allowing special needs individuals to remain in "regular" schools)
  • Content of curriculum standards and textbooks (which intersects with controversial issues like the teaching of creationism in the classroom)

See the collected pieces on on "P-12" (pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade) Reform on the ED web site at http://www.ed.gov/p-12-reform; or the useful Wikipedia discussion at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_reform.

Post-secondary

Given the decentralised nature of the US HE system, federal reform might never reflect the kind of sweeping mandates periodically effected in other countries or unions. Nevertheless, certain proposed and actual reforms - largely addressing issues of affordability and access - pressed through or discussed from 2008-2011 are of interest. Not all are exclusively higher-education specific. Some are detailed here:

  • The National Broadband Plan (March 2010) - relevant in its potential to transform education in the US, as noted in the report itself. Despite early advances in the arena, for nearly 10 years the United States has lagged behind many other developed countries in the adoption of broadband technology. America's first National Broadband Plan recommends sweeping improvements to US broadband governance, infrastructure, affordability, and deployment, dedicating $15.5 billion to broadband deployment over the next decade.
  • The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 – whose goals include "producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making college accessible and transforming the way our student loan programs operate. It will expand quality early education opportunities that will put more children on the path to success. It will strengthen community colleges and training programs to help build a highly-skilled, innovative, 21st century workforce ready for the rigors of a global economy."
  • Announcement by President Obama in July, 2009 - A promise to devote $12 billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at US community colleges, with $500 million devoted to freely available online courses. As of April 2010 the future of most of these declarations was unclear (although portions were realised in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010).

Read about numerous current issues in the realm of US Higher Education reform at the Teachnology, Inc. web site: http://www.teach-nology.com/highered/reform/

The Bologna Process

This section was included as relevant to Re.ViCa and has not been updated since first posting.

The average American academic remains unaware of the Bologna Process and its significance. Yet a recent report by the US-based Lumina Foundation chides:

Former Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings’ Commission on the Future of Higher Education paid no attention whatsoever to Bologna, and neither did the U.S. higher education community… Such purblind stances are unforgivable in a world without borders.

This report's author, Cliff Adelman (Institute for Higher Education Policy), is among numerous vocal proponents of US participation in a process similar to that set forth by Bologna. Lumina promotes "Tuning", explored in papers such as The Bologna Club: What U.S. Higher Education Can Learn from a Decade of European Reconstruction - which set forth the goal that attainment of high-quality undergraduate degrees and credentials in the United States should increase to 60% by 2025.

Adelman's efforts and those of others like him are not widely known. Bologna's spirit of harmonisation, unity and "work towards a common cause" is not often felt across US state borders, and there are few models of cross-border cooperation that even scratch the surface of the Bologna Process's goals.

As a separate issue, some European researchers have explored evidence of US hostility towards the Bologna Process itself, in terms of its perceived success in attracting overseas students who might otherwise pursue studies in the US. As an increasing number of "geographically mobile" students choose European universities over American ones, some believe that Bologna is a seen as a threat – yet one that US officials have been unwilling to acknowledge or name. For one example of this research track, see Charlier and Croche's 2008 piece on The Outcome of Competition Between Europe and the United States.

Administration and finance

(sourced largely from the US Department of Education web site, http://www2.ed.gov)

2011 US Department of Education

The US Congress established the contemporary US Department of Education (ED, or externally USDE) on May 4, 1980, by combining offices from several federal agencies. The Department of Education is administered by the United States Secretary of Education. It is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy for and administers most federal assistance to all sectors of US education. Its mission is "to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access."

ED has 4,200 employees and a $63.7 billion budget. Its elementary and secondary programs serve more than 14,000 school districts and 56 million students, attending some 97,000 schools and 28,000 private schools. Department programmes also provide financial assistance to about 11 million postsecondary students.

It is important to bear in mind, however, the predominant state and local role in establishing schools and colleges, developing curricula, and determining requirements for enrolment and graduation. These tasks are not, for the most part, under the purview of ED. Of an estimated $1.13 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2010-2011, a substantial majority is coming from state, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary (primary) and secondary levels, where the federal contribution to primary and secondary education is only about 11%.

The US Department of Education does:

  • Establish policies relating to federal financial aid for education, and administer/monitor those funds - for early childhood, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education programmes.
  • Collect data, oversee schools research, and disseminate results to the US Congress, educators and the general public.
  • Identify major issues, focus national attention on them, and make recommendations for education reform (advising the president and implementing his/her education policies)
  • Enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in programmes receiving federal funds, and ensure equal access to education

The US Department of Education does not:

  • Establish schools and colleges
  • Develop curricula
  • Set requirements for enrollment and graduation
  • Determine state education standards
  • Develop or implement testing to measure whether states are meeting their education standards

Notably for VISCED and Re.ViCa purposes, the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) provides leadership for maximising technology’s contribution to improving education at all levels. OET develops national educational technology policy, ensures that the department's programmes are coordinated and consistent across the federal government. OET leverages the best modern technology to:

  • Support progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning
  • Connect and support teachers and ensure all students have access to highly effective teaching
  • Engage students and turn around low-performing schools
  • Improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career readiness through enhanced data systems.

OET released the nation's first National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) in March 2010 as described above.

See http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/techreports.html for a list of OET's previous research outputs.

Schools

The ED Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) directs, coordinates, and recommends policy for programmes designed to:

  • Assist state and local educational agencies to improve the achievement of elementary and secondary school students
  • Help ensure equal access to services, particularly for under privileged and underrepresented children
  • Foster educational improvement at the state and local levels
  • Provide financial assistance to local educational agencies whose local revenues are affected by federal activities

OESE offers nearly 200 programmes, addressing a wide range of issues such as:

  • Hurricane Help for Schools (Hurricane Education Recovery Act Programmes)
  • Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs (e.g. Advanced Placement Incentive Program, Mathematics and Science Partnerships)
  • Impact Aid Programs (e.g. Payments for Federal Property, Facilities Maintenance)
  • Office of Indian [Native American] Education (e.g. Demonstration Grants for Indian Children)
  • Office of Migrant Education (e.g. High School Equivalency Program, Migrant Education Technology Grants)
  • School Support and Technology Programs (e.g. Rural Education Achievement Program, Enhancing Education through Technology (Ed-Tech) State Program)
  • Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs (e.g. Education for Homeless Children and Youth, School Improvement Fund)

Note not this is only a fragment of a much longer list; and that not all programmes are guaranteed funding on an annual basis.

Post-secondary

The Office of the Under Secretary (OUS)' oversees policies, programmes, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid. It consists of the following subdivisions: Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE); Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE); Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA); President's Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHITCU); and President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHIHBCU). These are examined in brief below.

The Office of Postsecondary Education

The Office of Postsecondary Education formulates federal postsecondary education policy and administers over 40 programmes that address critical national needs in support of its mission: to increase access to quality postsecondary education.

OPE includes two major organisational components:

  • Policy, Planning, and Innovation (PPI) develops postsecondary education policy and legislative proposals and is responsible for budget formulation and forecasting for programmess administered by OPE.
  • Higher Education Programs (HEP) administers programmes that increase access to postsecondary education for disadvantaged students, strengthen the capacity of colleges and universities that serve a high percentage of disadvantaged students, provide teacher and student development resources, and increase expertise in foreign languages and international studies.

Additionally, Accreditation and State Liaison (ASL) has responsibility for the accrediting agency recognition process and for the coordination of activities between states and the US Department of Education that impact institutional participation in the federal financial assistance programs. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity provides recommendations to the Secretary of Education regarding the recognition of postsecondary accrediting agencies.

See http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/programs.html for a full list of OPE programmes.

FIPSE

One of the US Office of Postsecondary Education's primary programmes is the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). FIPSE's main activity each year is conducting the Comprehensive Program, a grant programme intended to support innovative, replicable postsecondary education improvement projects.

FIPSE also administers four international consortia programmes, co-funded by foreign government partners. Programmes support multi-institutional collaboration; student exchange; faculty cooperation and exchange; shared and common curricula; mutual recognition of credits; acquisition of host country languages; and apprenticeships and other work activities. The current "special focus" international competitions are:

  • The United States-Russia Program - supports consortia of institutions of higher education to promote cooperation in education and science between the United States and Russia.

Read more about FIPSE’s programmes at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/fipse/brochure.html

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) administers and coordinates programmes related to adult education and literacy, career and technical education, and community colleges.

OVAE oversees:

  • The Division of Adult Education and Literacy
  • The Division of Academic and Technical Education
  • US Community Colleges

Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA)

The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) directs, coordinates, and recommends policies for programmes that are designed to:

  • Provide financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions.
  • Deliver grants, loans, and work-study assistance to nearly nine million students through approximately 6,000 postsecondary institutions, 4,800 lenders, and 35 guarantee organisations.
  • Collect more than $150 million in outstanding loans with data systems that track 93 million student loans and 15 million Pell Grants.

The White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHITCU)

The Office of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities (WHITCU) ensures that the US's Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) are fully recognised and have full access to federal programs benefiting other higher education institutions.

There are 36 federally recognised Tribal Colleges and Universities in the United States, serving approximately 30,000 full- and part-time students. They offer two-year associate degrees in over 200 disciplines (and some provide bachelor's and master's degree). They also offer 200 vocational certificate programs. The WHITCU web site notes:

Tribal Colleges and Universities are both integral and essential to their communities. They are often the only postsecondary institutions within some of our Nation's poorest rural areas. Tribal Colleges and Universities serve a variety of people, from young adults to senior citizens, American Indians to non-American Indians. They also provide crucial services and add hope to communities that suffer high rates of poverty and unemployment.

White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHIHBCU)

The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities seeks to strengthen the capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to provide excellence in education. A fact sheet available on the web site notes:

The nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) hold a 130-year record of significantly increasing the percentage of black Americans who are able to attend college, effectively creating cohorts of black leadership, and helping achieve economic mobilisation of African-American communities. Many HBCUs specialise in teaching students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Quality assurance

Quality Assurance in US Education is not typically overseen at the national level. The matter is discussed by the US Network for Education Information (USNEI), which reports:

Quality assurance takes several forms in the U.S. education system. The approval of institutions and programs is generally undertaken by state agencies and accrediting agencies, with the latter also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of academic and administrative standards. Professional and academic disciplinary associations also play a role in influencing and assessing quality. Educational potential, progress, and outcomes, as well as inputs and outputs, are measured by surveys, studies, tests, and other assessments at the national, regional, state and institutional levels.

Various documents outlining assessment, evaluation, and standards activities in US education at all levels can be reviewed at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-structure-us.html. The site also offers overviews of associates, bachelor’s, and postgraduate degrees - though these are not federally regulated.

USNEI provides these general reports:

Schools

USNEI notes that the US Department of Education does not have the authority to accredit private or public elementary or secondary schools, and the Department does not recognize accrediting bodies for the accreditation of private or public elementary and secondary schools.

It provides one relevant schools report:

  • School-Level Accreditation - the accreditation process at the primary and secondary education levels and provides links to accrediting agencies recognised by state governments and other authorities.

Post-secondary

USNEI provides these post-secondary reports:

A note on Post-secondary Accreditation

It is difficult to summarise in brief the uniqueness and complexity of the academic accreditation process in the US.

  • There is no single governmental accrediting body for American postsecondary educational institutions. Rather, the US Department of Education (ED) relies on 74 private and state-based accrediting agencies to provide oversight of member institutions.
  • These agencies are divided into subgroups which are not considered equal among the "elite" in American academia: 16 "regional" accrediting agencies are regarded as the most selective, accrediting well-regarded institutions like Harvard University and Pennsylvania State. The remaining "national," "hybrid" and "programmatic" agencies may certify lesser-known and/or specialised entities such as Full Sail University and Texas Chiropractic College – whose students may find themselves unable to transfer earned academic credits into regionally accredited schools. (Transfer of credits among US universities is otherwise quite common.)
  • Agencies awarded recognition by the US Department of Education are not the only ones permitted to provide university accreditation; they have simply met a certain set of ED criteria. Recognition is not a requirement for an accrediting body to operate legally - although without it, institutions it certifies cannot participate in federal student aid programs.
  • Non-accredited institutions are often perceived as lacking in quality and rigor, and may be termed "diploma mills".

Naturally, most postsecondary institutions do seek accreditation, and those which achieve international standing normally have accreditation from the most rigorous ED agencies.

Information society

Education in the US has seen rapid uptake of learning technology in all spheres, seen in many areas including the development of virtual schools, a longstanding tradition of computer-based training among corporations, and – more relevant to Re.ViCa – in the increasing popularity of hybrid and online university courses. While only those higher education programmes deemed sizable, significant or otherwise "notable" in e-learning terms have their own entries in the Re.ViCa wiki, one has the sense that not a single US university remains which does not offer online courses.

The USA has a complex structure of HE e-learning providers, including organisations offering both face-to-face and e-learning (usually blended) provision via different subsidiaries. There are numerous universities offering courses exclusively online; some have developed via conventional "brick-and-mortar" institutions, while others have evolved from traditional "correspondence (distance-learning) schools". While many online universities target adult and military learners, some young American students simply prefer online courses for scheduling and financial convenience. In 2008 when global oil costs (and thus US fuel costs) rose astronomically, many schools saw surges in online enrolment as students decided that commuting had become too expensive.

In terms of blended/e-learning provision, some players of note in the US include:

  • The University of Phoenix (UOP), with over 109,000 attending via the Internet through the University’s Online Campus (out of over 213,000 students total as of May 2004). Despite the public-sounding nature of the name, UOP is a private, for-profit institution, which has been a global driver of adult-oriented online learning in the past decade.
  • The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), with over 110,000 online enrolments spread over 540 distinct courses online. UMUC is an actual public university, with a physical campus.
  • MIT, known in particular for its OpenCourseWare initiative

There are many more. The Re.ViCa Handbook offers a "World Tour" overview of notable US institutions when it comes to e-learning; see also the Re.ViCa wiki's United States category for US institutions only; or the section below for a longer list.

Towards the information society

The US has long been considered one of the most technologically powerful nations in the world. Nevertheless, recent concerns about the quality of US primary education, broadband infrastructure, security against terrorist attacks, and ability to maintain "fair" foreign policy agreements have cast doubt as to whether the country will indeed be equipped to lead in the new "information society".

In the past decade, the US's driving role in information manipulation via technology-related developments such as internet navigation (Yahoo, Google), social media tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), citizen media (blogs, podcasts, YouTube), and of course learning management systems (e.g. Blackboard), have seemingly reinforced its reputation as it has positioned itself to maintain its position as a world leader. Moreover, the current administration has unveiled a series of internet- and education-related initiatives which promise a solid foundation moving forward.

Information society strategy

A variety of offices, agencies and non-profits monitor and direct US activity and strategy in the information society.

  • The Federal Communications Commission, an independent US government agency, regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. (As noted above, it has unveiled the first US National Broadband Plan in March 2010, reinforcing the notion that all Americans are entitled to "affordable access to robust and reliable broadband products and services".)
  • The Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) supports the use of technology in education. (It released its draft "National Education Technology Plan" in March 2010 to "provide the context and vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education" - see details above.)
  • The IT Dashboard, launched in June 2009, allows the American people to monitor IT investments across the Federal government.
  • Founded in 1969, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) represents state chief information officers and information technology executives and managers from the states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The primary state members are senior officials from state government who have executive-level and statewide responsibility for information technology leadership.
  • The Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council serves as the principal interagency forum for improving practices in the design, modernisation, use, sharing, and performance of Federal Government agency information resources

This is not a comprehensive list - and in particular does not identify any state or regional programmes (of which there are many). See http://www.usa.gov/Government/State_Local/Technology.shtml for more related agencies/organisations.

Benchmarking e-learning

The term "benchmarking" – and perhaps the very concept - has not been as commonly applied in US higher education as in many other countries. Skeptics might argue that this is due to of that country’s general tendency towards solitude and unilateralism in these matters. Where the term "benchmarking" does occur in reference to e-learning, we find it applied in diverse (and often corporate-training-related) evaluation methodologies and systems:

For a more abstract interpretation of "benchmarking" in the US, see the Educational Research Reports Center at the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) for a variety of reports which compare approaches to e-learning in K-12 and general education, undertaken by the National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education; the Sloan Consortium; and others.

ICT in education initiatives

Virtual initiatives in schools

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education

As noted above, most US universities offer at least one hybrid or fully online program. Many institutions offer a wide range of programmes, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. There are no relevant federal initiatives of note.

Many of the "notables" are operated by for-profit, private companies, although a variety of initiatives originating in "traditional" universities are examined as well. Some major institutions/initiatives include:

There are many more. See the US category for a full list of those programmes indexed by the Re.ViCa wiki.

Lessons learnt

General lessons

Some countries - like the US - offer regional initiatives which merit study alongside national ones. The decentralised approach to US education renders it suitable for study by European analysts.

The apparent success of e-learning/online higher education in the US must be approached with care - quality may vary widely from institution to institution (and programme to programme). One must always remember that the US accreditation mechanisms are complex and not subject to federal standardisation (per se); and that there are certainly some US online universities which operate legally without any accreditation, respected or otherwise.

Notable practices

References


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