This post includes articles about institutional plans to further the remote learning efforts that began in the spring, reported road bumps in the US Department of Defense Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementation, implications for state broadband projects funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and use of open educational resources.
With our "Interesting Policy 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.
- Government Rescinds International Student Policy, Inside Higher Ed, July 15, 2020. (After Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenged the directive that would have required international students to take in-person coursework to stay in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the policy.)
- Trump Sours on Online Learning That His Administration Evangelized, Politico, July 27, 2020. (Trump administration officials have recently criticized schools' decisions to utilize online instruction, a departure from the administration's previous, sunny outlook toward online learning.)
- What's Next for Remote Learning? Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2020. (While many colleges plan to return to in-person instruction in the fall, a recent report evaluating institutions' pandemic pivot to online learning finds that more than 80 percent of online learning officers plan to continue making improvements to courses that they offered remotely in the spring.)
- CMMC Board Faces "Passionate" Internal Turmoil over New Contract with DOD, Fedscoop, July 28, 2020. (Some members of the third-party board tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Department of Defense's [DOD] Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification [CMMC] program are reportedly unhappy with its leadership and DOD officials as the two parties negotiate terms of a proposed contract that would govern the board's authority.)
- COVID-19 and Online Education Decisions, Inside Higher Ed, July 30, 2020. (A recently released survey offers insights around the public's perception of online education and its efficacy, as well as thoughts around whether employers will value online credentials.)
- States Eager to Expand Broadband, Wary of CARES Act Deadline, Associated Press, August 1, 2020. (Rules accompanying funding in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security [CARES] Act are forcing some states to rush to utilize the money for broadband projects—something that generally takes months or years of planning—by the end of the 2020 calendar year.)
- University of Arizona's Big Online Push, Inside Higher Ed, August 4, 2020. (The University of Arizona has acquired the fully online Ashford University—a move that signals an enhanced focus on digital learning and distance education programs.)
- Window of Opportunity for OER, Inside Higher Ed, August 13, 2020. (Surveys show that the use of open educational resources [OER] has increased in recent years, and the impact that the pandemic is having on textbook supply chains and individual finances may further bolster the integration of OER across campuses.)
For more information about policy issues impacting higher education IT, please visit the EDUCAUSE Review Policy Spotlight blog as well as the EDUCAUSE Policy web page.
Kathryn Branson is a Senior Associate with Ulman Public Policy.
© 2020 Kathryn Branson. The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.