Report of the

Purpose of this Document

The purpose of this document is to provide a report to the Board of Directors, and other interested APA governance groups or members of APA, about the current issues related to the use of distance education in professional education and training in psychology.

The report discusses principles and concepts based on the definitions of distance education presented and a review of the available literature, including the literature of regional and specialty accrediting bodies. “Principles for Distance Education: General,” outlines nine domains that speak to principles of best practice for programs considering distance education. “Quality Assessment and Assurance for Distance Education in Professional Psychology” examines issues associated with measures of quality in training programs, such as, assessment and evaluation of programs. Also, included in the report are appendixes that reference best practice principles endorsed by various accreditation commissions (Appendix B) and a discussion of the current status and capacity of the hardware and software technology used in the delivery of distance education (Appendix C).

SECTION II

While there are areas of divergence regarding the use of technology in psychological training and service provision, there appears to be consensus on several fronts. First, the increased use of technology in both psychological service and training is inevitable and is generally accepted in higher education circles (Jerome, et al., 2000; Maheu, 2001; Wong, 1999). Second, shifts in technology have the potential to dramatically impact the way in which education takes place, opening up many new opportunities (Gullahorn et al, 1998; IHEP, 1999b; Oblinger, Barone, & Hawkins, 2001; Sattem et. al., 2000). Further, technology itself is neither inherently good nor bad (Reed, McLaughlin, & Milholland, 2000). Finally, distance education can either be done well or done poorly (IHEP, 1999d). "The important issues are not technical but curriculum-driven and pedagogical" (CRAC, 2001, p.4).

Distance education is defined by the regional accrediting commissions (CRAC, 2001) as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. Distance education may employ correspondence study, or audio, video, or computer technologies. The regional accrediting commissions also agree that best practices in distance education (see Appendix B) simply extend to emergent forms of learning the well-established essentials of institutional quality that have been applied already in regional accreditation practices (CRAC, 2001). These essentials are as follows:

1. 
   That education is best experienced within a community of learning where competent professionals are actively and cooperatively involved with creating, providing, and improving the instructional program;
   
2. 
   That learning is dynamic and interactive, regardless of the setting in which it occurs;
   
3. 
   That instructional programs leading to degrees having integrity are organized around substantive and coherent curricula which define expected learning outcomes;
   
4. 
   That institutions accept the obligation to address student needs related to, and to provide the resources necessary for, their academic success;
   
5. 
   That institutions are responsible for the education provided in their name;
   
6. 
   That institutions undertake the assessment and improvement of their quality, giving particular emphasis to student learning; and,
   
7. 
   That institutions voluntarily subject themselves to peer review.
   

(1) Access; (2) Learning Community; (3) Faculty Support; (4) Student Support; (5) Curriculum and Instruction; (6) Evaluation and Assessment; (7) Institutional Context and Commitment; (8) Facilities and Finance; and (9) Library and Learning Resources. Within the domains are principles of good practice (italicized statements) with supporting references.