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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">In Case You Missed It…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white">NC-SARA President and CEO Lori Williams collaborated with</span></b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"> State Higher Education
Executive Officers Association President Rob Anderson to pen a </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif"><a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/07/20/covid-surge-distance-learning-demands-renewed-focus-quality-assurance-opinion"><span style="color:#1E447E;background:white">new
joint op-ed</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"> published by Inside Higher Ed that emphasizes the valuable role states must play in assuring postsecondary distance education quality, particularly as the
number of students enrolled in distance education spikes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white">The </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">op-ed</span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"> provides
an overview of how NC-SARA helps support state oversight of distance education quality and student consumer protections, but also underscores the fact that states must do more to ensure appropriate accountability and quality.
</span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">You can go to
</span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%;background:white"><a href="https://nc-sara.org/news-events/case-you-missed-it-nc-sara-sheeo-op-ed-emphasizes-important-role-states-assuring"><span style="color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%">NC-SARA.org</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">
for the full press release and access to the <i>Inside Higher Ed</i> piece.</span><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white">NC-SARA President and CEO Lori Williams was a guest</span></b><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"> on </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif"><a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/audio/2020/07/21/ep-15-online-learnings-outlook-fall"><span style="color:#1E447E;background:white">The
Key, <em><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">Inside Higher Ed</span></em>’s weekly podcast</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2B2B2B;background:white"> on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education. Episode
15 of this podcast focuses on the </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">many questions that loom about remote learning in coming months. Will online offerings from colleges be more sophisticated? What steps need to be
taken to ensure academic quality in online learning? And will short-term credentials be more popular?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">Lori Williams provided answers to these tricky questions when she discussed ideas from the </span><u><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%"><a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/07/20/covid-surge-distance-learning-demands-renewed-focus-quality-assurance-opinion" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%;background:white">opinion
piece</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif"> she wrote </span>
<span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">for <em><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">Inside Higher Ed</span></em> on the role for states in quality assurance in online education. You can go to
</span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%;background:white"><a href="https://nc-sara.org/news-events/case-you-missed-it-nc-sara-ceo-lori-williams-inside-higher-eds-key-podcast"><span style="color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2F5597;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%">NC-SARA.org</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">
for the full press release and access to the podcast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">Save the Date…</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:black;background:white">For the<b> 2020 October S-SARA RSC Virtual Meeting</b>. Like the 2020 June RSC meeting, the October meeting will follow the same meeting structure – a virtual, two-part
meeting on the GoToWebinar platform. Formal registration information will be sent via email in September. The states submitting renewal applications are Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. We look forward to convening with you then!</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Elisa Jaden</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Program Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Southern Regional Education Board<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">592 Tenth Street NW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Atlanta, Georgia 30318<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Phone (404) 879-5517<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">Fax (404) 872-1477<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif">E-mail: <span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:elisa.jaden@sreb.org"><span style="color:blue">elisa.jaden@sreb.org</span></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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