ABC Guidance for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Distance Education
(article written by Peggy Barton, Washington Environmental Training Center, for ABC's newsletter, The Certifier)
An extensive two-year project culminated in June 2003 when the Association of Boards of Certification’s Board of Directors approved publication of guidance to assist states in the evaluation of distance education training programs for water and wastewater industry professionals. Elizabeth Allen-Hatcher, Education Services Specialist with the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and ABC Board members Stacy Passaro, Training Program Manager with the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and Peggy Barton, Associate Director of the Washington Environmental Training Center collaborated on the project, taking into consideration the needs and perspectives of both the distance education developer and sponsor as well as those of the certifying authority or training evaluator.
There is no doubt that distance education is a rapidly growing industry with training being developed in various formats, some traditional and some incorporating cutting edge technology. In a climate of budget restrictions, new certification requirements for very small water systems, and a drive for greater convenience in scheduling training, an increased demand for relevant distance education can be expected. Most state certification programs are being called upon to evaluate more of these types of training programs. Unfortunately, the traditional questions, tools and methods we use to evaluate instructor-led classroom training curriculums do not provide the information we need to effectively evaluate training provided through distance education activities.
ABC’s two new documents, Guidance for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Distance Education and Application Template for Evaluation of Distance Education, have been designed as tools for programs to use in establishing their own procedures for evaluating and accrediting distance education. While it is not intended to serve as a national standard, it should assist states in establishing some consistency in the review of environmental distance education programs by incorporating current distance education design and evaluation standards as well as the criteria established by the water and wastewater industry’s leading training organizations, AWWA and WEF.
The guidance document is intended as a tool to help you identify major elements to consider when evaluating a distance education training program. Course development, beta testing, accreditation, examination, administration, technical support and security have all been addressed. There may be other elements that your state might wish to include or exclude to meet your own specific needs or regulatory requirements. The evaluation form is a companion document to the guidance document and asks for specific information related to the major guidance elements. It has been designed as a template – another tool that can also be customized to meet your specific program needs.
As more certifying authorities begin to apply consistent standards for identifying, evaluating and accrediting quality distance education programs it will certainly benefit our entire industry. The operators and utilities will have increased opportunities for convenient training, and the distance education developers and sponsors will now know what standards we are expecting and what information we need in order to effectively evaluate their training programs.
