In light of the USDE waivers due to COVID-19, the information below replaces the previously available FAQs.
Institutions planning to offer courses or parts of a program through distance education, but do not have Distance Education Alternative Delivery Method included within their scope of accreditation, must submit a substantive change request by the January 2024 deadline.
On May 19, 2020, the Commission issued a notice regarding the United States Department of Education Extension of Distance Education. It stated that institutions seeking to use distance education programs as an additional delivery method, beyond the USDE extension, must obtain approval through the substantive change process. At that time, accreditor approval was not mandatory for institutions offering distance education courses. However, starting January 1, 2024, institutions not currently including distance education within their scope of accreditation, but offering such courses or program parts, must submit a substantive change request for the reasons detailed below.
Following renegotiation, the federal Distance Education and Innovation Regulations will come into effect on July 1, 2021. The Department published information on these requirements in an electronic notice titled "Guidance on Accreditation and Eligibility Requirements for Distance Education" (EA ID: OPE-21-06) dated January 19, 2021. According to the Department's recommendation, Dear Colleague Letter GEN-06-17 was revoked in August 2020. Previously, the regulatory requirements, as construed in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-06-17, set a 50% threshold for accreditor approval of distance education. Under this understanding, a distance education program did not need to be examined or authorized by an accrediting agency if the institution did not offer more than 50% of it online. However, according to the new guidance, a facility must be evaluated and accredited for its successful delivery of distance education by a recognized organization that includes distance education within its scope of recognition before it can offer courses or any other parts of a program eligible for Title IV funding.
As a result of the regulatory amendments, technical adjustments have been made by the Commission to the Substantive Change Guidelines, which will take effect on November 1, 2021. These adjustments eliminate the 50 percent threshold previously used to assess whether accreditor permission was required.
The institution's ability to successfully conduct distance education courses or programs has been evaluated, and the corrected substantive change request form for #4 Alternative Delivery Method will be made available on the Commission's website for substantive change. Institutions affected by this change are advised to submit materials using the amended request form by the January 2024 deadline.
All future accreditation activities will consider distance education as one of the institution's offerings once it is incorporated as an alternative delivery method within the institution's scope of accreditation, and teams and peer evaluators will assess them accordingly.
Furthermore, in line with the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures, the institution will need to submit the necessary notices or request advance approval from the Commission for any future modifications to an existing program's delivery mechanism.
If you have any questions about the requirements and your school does not currently offer distance learning within the parameters of its accreditation, please email info@ahlac.org.
