EDUCAUSE Policy: Interesting Reads

With our "Interesting Reads" blog posts, the EDUCAUSE Policy Office highlights recent articles on federal policy issues and developments that are directly relevant to members or provide insights on higher education policy in general.

• Restructuring the Education Department, Inside Higher Ed, February 19, 2018. (The Department of Education has proposed a reorganization plan that would eliminate the office of the under secretary, which oversees higher education policy, and combine postsecondary and CTE into a single office.)
• Taking the Pulse of a Class, Inside Higher Ed, February 20, 2018. (ClassPass, a new app, allows students to rate instructors throughout the semester with open-ended feedback in an effort to make feedback more constructive.)
• Confidence Crisis in Online Accessibility, Inside Higher Ed, February 21, 2018. (An annual survey from the Instructional Technology Council reveals a dramatic fall in the confidence of community colleges that their online courses are fully accessible for students with disabilities.)
• The Odd State Out, Inside Higher Ed, February 28, 2018. (As Massachusetts is expected to be the 49^th state to join SARA, advocates concerned about for-profit colleges are hopeful California will refrain from joining.)
• Blockchain Technology Enters the Higher Education Industry [https://btcmanager.com/blockchain-technology-enters-higher-education-industry-financing-verification-2018/], BTCManager.com, February 28, 2018. (By treating credentials like currency, blockchain technology may be applicable to higher education and allow for simplified credential verification.)
• Distance Education Enrollment Growth – Major Differences Persist Among Sectors, WCET Frontiers, March 1, 2018. (WCET analyzes the 2016 IPEDS distance education data, which shows many of the trends first identified in 2013 have continued.)

Jen Ortega is an outside consultant for EDUCAUSE.