Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education

Mission Statement

The Partnership for Statewide Education will design and establish a cooperative system of educational program alternatives to serve Hoosier residents, businesses, and industries through the use of a wide array of distance education delivery systems, ranging from traditional print materials to computer conferencing and audiographics. The postsecondary institutions of Indiana are committed to this effort, which will require the coordination of institutional resources, programs, and instruction. The design of this system responds to the expanding needs within the state for universal access to lifelong education. The limitations of economic circumstances, family constraints, and employment responsibilities, in effect, close the doors of our postsecondary institutions to many Indiana citizens whose needs can be better addressed through the delivery of instructional content directly into the home, neighborhood learning center, or work environments. In designing this system, the Partnership adopts the position that the delivery of both degree and non-degree courses via technology and associated support services can provide a fully credible educational experience. Given this assumption, the Partnership will assess and evaluate distance education programs and courses to guarantee that the quality of the instruction delivered via technology will be equal to or greater than that of traditional postsecondary instruction.

Policy Principles

In view of its vision for the State of Indiana, the Partnership will be guided in its work by the following principles:

1. Every effort will be made to provide access to postsecondary educational programming, resources, and services. Institutional members of the Partnership will collaborate to share the opportunities and responsibilities to serve the state’s needs for educational programming.
2. The definition of postsecondary education relative to the Partnership for Statewide Education will be sufficiently broad to include credit, non-credit, related appropriate K-12 programming, programming to support and promote workforce development, and general information programming.
3. Institutional members of the Partnership will work together to provide academic support services, including library, computer, and other resources, to assure appropriate learning opportunities to students enrolled in distance education courses and programs.
4. Instructional offerings provided via the Partnership for Statewide Education shall be articulated for transferability, as appropriate, among all participant colleges and universities and will, to the maximum extent possible, be applicable toward degree requirements at the students’ institutions of choice. Information concerning any limitations on degree applicability shall be provided to potential students in sufficient time for them to make informed decisions prior to registration deadlines.
5. The service area for instruction offered via the Partnership for Statewide Education shall be defined as the entire state of Indiana and shall not be limited by institutionally defined service areas surrounding established sites. The Partnership recognizes that local and regional needs of Indiana citizens can be best addressed through area institutions and thus will collaborate with local campuses (or consortia) to meet area needs while serving the state. Participation in the Partnership will not restrict a member institution’s offering of any course by live, on-site instruction. All courses offered via the Partnership’s technology infrastructure will be coordinated to avoid unnecessary duplication and to reduce costs while ensuring access.
6. All available means of delivery of educational programming will be considered: those that offer the greatest opportunities for student access and that both facilitate and enhance the teaching/learning process within reasonable cost will be employed.
7. In keeping with the nature and scope of the current missions of member institutions, the Partnership for Statewide Education will explore the possibilities and feasibility of opening distance education opportunities to persons out of state assuming reasonable benefits are apparent, cost-effectiveness is assured, and the programming is provided under the sponsorship of a member institution.
8. Instructional representatives of the member institutions of the Partnership will investigate reasonable opportunities for joint development of courses and course delivery.
9. The Partnership for Statewide Education will identify and deliver as soon as possible selected associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degree programs as well as instruction leading to specialized certification and licensure to be made available via distance education.
10. All instructional offerings provided as part of the Partnership for Statewide Education will be of equivalent quality to that of courses offered throughout the remainder of the state’s postsecondary system. The assurance of instructional integrity shall be the responsibility of the institution offering the instruction.
11. The Partnership for Statewide Education will work to identify potential audiences for distance education and welcome as colleagues educational organizations and other groups who may assist in this identification of audiences and needs as well as delivery mechanisms.
12. Members of the Partnership will develop and implement cooperative evaluation and assessment instruments and measures to determine the effectiveness of instructional offerings.

The strength of the Partnership is its ability to meet the needs of the State of Indiana through cooperation and collaboration instead of competition and duplication. Through a coordinated effort, a single effective program may attract the levels of participation to warrant the cost invested in instruction, course or program development, and delivery media. Without such cooperation, a single institution is not likely to be as able to meet the needs of geographically dispersed populations as effectively or efficiently. Although the primary commitment of the Partnership is to credit courses which will lead toward degree completion, other formal and informal educational opportunities are challenges which the Partnership is prepared to address.

Adopted December 1992