Third report to Congress on the distance education demonstration program.doc

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THIRD REPORT TO CONGRESS
ON THE
DISTANCE EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
. Department of Education
Margaret Spellings
Secretary
Office of Postsecondary Education
Sally Stroup
Assistant Secretary
April 2005
This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: . Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Office of Policy, Planning and Innovation, Third Report to Congress on the Distance Education Demonstration Program, February 2005, Washington, DC, 20006.
This report is available on the Department’s Web site at: grams/disted
On request, this publication is available in alternative formats, such as Braille, large print, audiotape, puter diskette. For more information, please contact the Department’s Alternative Format Center
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THIRD REPORT TO CONGRESS
ON THE
DISTANCE EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii
INTRODUCTION 1
INCREASING ACCESS 5
Distance Education Program Enrollments 5
Types of Programs 8
Student Characteristics 8
DATA RELATED TO TITLE IV FUNDING 12
Cohort Default 12
Financial Aid for Distance Education Students 14
RETENTION PLETION 15
POLICY PERSPECTIVES 17
Barriers Identified by Demonstration Program Participants 17
Term Structure as a Foundation for Financial Aid Rules 18
Eliminating the 50 Percent Rules for Distance Education 19
Continued Oversight Critical 20
CONCLUSION 21
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is the third report to Congress on the results of the Distance Education Demonstration Program, which was authorized by Congress in the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). The purposes of the demonstration program are to: (1) test the quality and viability of expanded distance education programs currently restricted under the HEA; (2) provide for increased student access to higher e