This is a set of guidelines released earlier this year and open for comment until August by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) in the United States. According to the document (9 page PDF) " the 21st Century Guidelines are designed to inform, but not limit, accreditors and states in their judgment of satisfactory levels of quality in the offering of programs through distance education." The standards address such things as institutional capacity, transparency, support for students, program review and academic integrity. Worth noting is the provision that contracts with online program management (OPM) companies "are reviewed to ensure that the institution retains appropriate authority and responsibility for the academic program and student privacy." More information here (and apologies if I haven't correctly interpreted the alphabet soup of agencies involved).
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