Oregon+Details-email

Here is a lightly edited transcript of my e-mail exchange with Jennifer Diallo of the ODA office in Oregon. Signatures for both of us are at the bottom of the message. Most programs have a 2-year authorization. The exemption has no expiration as long as conditions remain the same. Changes will have to be reported to allow us to determine whether exempt status is still valid.
 * Jennifer Diallo,** M.Ed.

Hi Jennifer, Thanks for your reply. I am working on assembling the necessary information. Just a few notes, that I don’t think I need a reply for at this time, except perhaps the first bullet point, unless you want to: · How long is the exemption effective? How are the authorizations for programs with practicums effective. · As I understand the regulations, the Feds do not require a specific certification from any states, if the college can show that it is in compliance with the state’s rules. For example, Idaho does not appear to require anything unless the college has a physical presence. · I doubt that any of our DL classes have practicums that take place in Oregon, but some of our F2F programs probably do. I am following up on both, though. Again, thanks for your quick replies, and I’ll be contacting you with the information required as soon as it’s assembled. .... ... Nothing is cut-and-paste, but I’ll do my best to keep this brief so I can get the applications on my plate out of here. Answers: The form is short, the fee is $250. I’m attaching it. You’ve already used up quite a bit of your fee time, so this is probably not an argument worth either of our time. You may just want to fill out the form and send it in with a check at this point. Here’s what will happen:
 * From:** Lewis, Jerry [mailto:JLewis@columbiabasin.edu]
 * From:** Jennifer Diallo [mailto:Diallo_J@osac.state.or.us]
 * Language subject to interpretation is interpreted by us, not the school.
 * My understanding is that the Feds are requiring schools to have something from the states where you offer online programs to state that we don’t require authorization. The fact is, we DO require authorization if the programs have a practicum and most do, so we are NOT willing to provide blanket statements about exemption without knowing what the school offers. That determination requires staff time for at least minimal review.
 * If you have practicum students in Oregon, the practicum program must be authorized by this office. I recently reviewed our practicum programs and I believe you had authorization at one time, though most of those practicum authorizations are expired now. Updating those was to be my next project until this online Pandora problem reared its ugly head.
 * Everyone says they are accredited. That’s why we check. Checking is a task. We charge for tasks and for producing documents to confirm that a school meets our criteria for exemption. We don’t ever say a school is automatically exempt without checking. Some schools lose their accreditation, so we have to check.
 * If none of the online programs give credit for a practicum (even a student-arranged practicum), and you are regionally accredited, and the program is otherwise purely online, then the fee will only be $250 for the review, and I will send a letter to confirm exemption of the online programs.
 * If any of your online or F2F programs have practicums, then they are not exempt from ODA regulation. In that case, I’ll ask for more info specific to each program about the sites, number of students, how the supervision and grading is handled, etc. and you’ll have to pay a practicum fee of $500 for each program with a practicum and I will deduct the $250 from the first practicum fee. I will send a letter authorizing CBC to operate each of the practicum programs (and only those practicum programs mentioned in the letter) in Oregon, and you will have to re-apply for authorization in a few years when this one expires.
 * Jennifer Diallo,** M.Ed.

I see that I misstated myself. I did mean is it necessary for a school to receive exemption. Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I hope some of that was copy & paste! Some issues that arise: Anyway, sorry to bother you, and increase what is probably already an exorbitant work load. This is a bit of a Pandora’s box.
 * From:** Lewis, Jerry [mailto:JLewis@columbiabasin.edu]
 * The language seems to hinge on whether an institution ‘operates’ or ‘grant degrees’ in Oregon. We offer classes that students may choose to take, wherever they are. Due to our proximity to Oregon, we have more students from Oregon taking our classes, whether they be F2F at one of our Washington campuses, or online. Since the bulk of our online students also take F2F classes, this is probably the source of most of our Oregonian online students.
 * As I understand them, The federal rules do not require an exemption if it is not required, only that the institution show that it is in compliance. If Oregon Admin. Rules state that they do not apply in the case of completely online offerings, I am uncertain why it is necessary to apply for an exemption.
 * We don’t advertise to Oregon students, although if they subscribe to the Tri-City Herald or listen to media from the Tri-Cities, they may be subject to stories or advertisements about Columbia Basin College (CBC).
 * If anyone is doing a practicum in Oregon, it is unlikely they are solely online CBC students. It would appear these rules would apply to F2F students who do practica in Oregon, if there are any such students. Is that true?
 * As with the other Washington state community colleges, we are fully accredited. It seems like there should be some accounting for that. There is some language in the laws about schools operating for five or more years, but again, it looks like it refers to schools ‘operating’ in Oregon. It is unclear to me if those apply to us or not.

Jerry, In short, the answer to your question is that the students **//don’t//** need to seek exemption, it is the **//school//** that needs to prove that it meets the criteria for exemption. While the rule you cite says simply that the rules regarding **//authorization//** do not apply to ‘unassisted’ online programs, it does not clarify what ‘unassisted’ means, nor does it require this Office to provide online schools with proof of exempt status. Also, you have only focused on the rules regarding authorization. Our regulatory responsibility is much larger and includes regulation of the use of a degree in Oregon, and the enforcement of rules against diploma mills – both of which responsibilities come into play on this issue. If a school wants to invoke their right to deliver online programs to Oregon students without proof that the program meets our criteria for exempt status, our regulatory responsibility vis-à-vis that school may still be invoked under other rules established to protect Oregon students and employers and to ensure quality standards related to degree use in Oregon. However, the real issue at play is that we are being asked to provide schools with what they deem to be “online only” programs with “proof” that the school is exempt from Oregon regulation, and this office is not able to “approve” or confirm the exempt status of any school without a review of the school and its programs using criteria we have established to meet our statutory responsibility to maintain certain standards for degree programs offered in Oregon or to Oregon students, and degrees valid for use in Oregon. In order to be exempt, all of the school’s degree programs must be purely online. Even purely online programs are not allowed to operate in Oregon if their degrees are not valid for use in Oregon. In addition, the new federal regulations have resulted in a barrage of requests from unknown and often unaccredited schools asking us to confirm their exempt status. The Office of Degree Authorization has the statutory responsibility to both regulate schools operating any program for college credit in Oregon if there is any part of that program that occurs outside the students’ home and computer, AND to protect Oregon students from diploma mills and unaccredited degree providers. The Oregon exemption rule was written at a time when there was no way to regulate online education. Now that the federal rule has changed the game, Oregon, like many states, will likely be rewriting its rules regarding online education. Until that time, we are doing our best to provide support to schools without jeopardizing our responsibility to Oregon citizens. In order to determine the best approach to this influx of requests, we have reviewed **ALL** of our rules, not just the one you cite below, and have determined that our statutory responsibility does not allow us to provide confirmation of a school’s exempt status without at the very least determining the school’s legal status as a degree-granting institution and the validity of its degree for use in Oregon. Since we are the identified party that will process these requests, we have determined that the only way we are able to fulfill this role while ensuring our statutory responsibilities is by ensuring that any online provider has met the following conditions: In the end, it is the responsibility of the Administrator of this office to determine whether a school may operate degree programs in Oregon, and to interpret, apply, and enforce the Oregon Administrative Rules regarding degree authorization, degree validation, and diploma mill activity. I hope that I have answered your question to your satisfaction, since I am quite busy with the 70+ requests for confirmation of exempt status on my desk at the moment. Interim ODA Administrator | Oregon Student Assistance Commission | 1500 Valley River Dr., Suite 100 | Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 687-7478 | FAX (541) 687-7414 | jennifer.l.diallo@state.or.us | [|www.osac.state.or.us] //Messages to and from this e-mail address may be available to the public under Oregon law//
 * From:** Jennifer Diallo [mailto:Diallo_J@osac.state.or.us]
 * Sent:** Wednesday, April 06, 2011 1:32 PM
 * To:** Lewis, Jerry
 * Subject:** RE: State authorization exemption.
 * 1) The school must prove that ALL of the programs submitted are purely online, having no practicum component AT ALL. Most of the programs we have seen thus far are not purely online, as we define that term for degree-granting schools;
 * 2) The school must have legal status as a degree-granting institution authorized by a state with standards equivalent to Oregon authorization;
 * 3) The school must have accreditation by an accrediting organization recognized per Oregon rules;
 * 4) The degrees offered by this school must be valid for use in Oregon, per the criteria established by this Office.
 * Jennifer Diallo,** M.Ed.

Hi, I am wondering why students taking completely online courses would need to seek an exemption, since the Oregon Administrative Rules specifically exempt such instances. (1) These rules do not apply to a school that offers degrees or credits from outside of Oregon and is unassisted within the state, so that any concomitant learning or evaluation occurring within Oregon is accomplished exclusively through interstate communication (e.g., internet, mail, telephone, fax) in which the student acts entirely alone within this state. -- Mark your calendars: NWeLearn 2011 - Oct. 13 & 14, Vancouver, WA - [|http://www.nwelearn.org] Jerry Lewis Director of eLearning 2011 NWeLearn Past-chair WebCT/Bb Senior Level Certified Trainer Columbia Basin College Pasco, WA 99301 -3379 jlewis@columbiabasin.edu 509-542-4465, direct 509-547-0511, ext 2465 509-546-0401 fax
 * From:** Lewis, Jerry [mailto:JLewis@columbiabasin.edu]
 * Sent:** Wednesday, April 06, 2011 12:00 PM
 * To:** ODA
 * Subject:** State authorization exemption.
 * 583-030-0009**
 * Exclusions**