Why Does One Online Education Supporter Oppose Better Data on Online Education?

In July, the U.S. Department of Education proposed regulations that would require colleges to provide more detailed data on students in online education programs. Given the rise of online education, including hybrid learning, it’s critical to understand how students' modes of attending college impact their success. The department’s proposed rule would require institutions to report student-level data on the modality of instruction for students receiving federal financial aid. The second proposal would create a “virtual location” for a college for federal reporting purposes, differentiating program-level data for students in fully online programs from those in in-person or hybrid programs. It’s hard to imagine someone arguing against better data for students, taxpayers, and policymakers, but one prominent advocate for online learning has just done that. WCET, the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies opposes both of these proposals. WCET’s most mind-boggling complaint is that the Education Department would use the data elsewhere, such as for program oversight audits or to include in College Scorecard program-level data. WCET said in a public statement it “can see where collecting some of this information might make sense, but others make us worry about the possibility of seeking reasons to defund distance education programs.”