Public Policy Week

Presenter: Rob Robinson, Senior Strategist and COO, The Hardy Group

Rob Robinson, Ph.D. is a Senior Consultant and COO with the Hardy Group, a boutique consulting
firm specializing in helping institutions and organization deliver quality online programing. Rob recently served as Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives at Anthology, an educational technology company. In this role, Rob worked directly with colleges and universities on strategic issues. From 2012 to 2021 he was Senior Principal Strategy Consultant at Civitas Learning where he worked with colleges and universities to help them leverage data analytics to further their mission of student success, with a specific focus on change management and institutional culture. Before joining Civitas Learning, Rob was a Principal Strategist at Blackboard, a position in which he provided strategic consulting services to higher education clients in the US and abroad.  Between 2010 and 2012, Rob served as Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Technology at the University of Texas at San Antonio where he led online and hybrid course development and supported faculty and staff across the institution. From 1999 until 2010, Rob was a key leader with the University of Texas System TeleCampus, a large-scale, System-wide organization supporting fully online degree programs, many of which were inter-institutional collaborative programs.  Prior to that, Rob spent many years working in various technology roles within higher education institutions.  Rob holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and a B.S. from UT Austin, and earned his M.B.A. at St. Edward’s University. Rob is a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Distance Learning Association, and recently served as a member of the Board of Trustees at La Roche University in Pennsylvania for six years.

Abstract: Artificial intelligence is transforming teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education, but regulatory guidance has struggled to keep up. This session provides a concise overview of the emerging policies shaping institutional use of AI, including federal expectations around “regular and substantive interaction,” academic integrity concerns, data privacy obligations, accessibility requirements, and the limits of automated grading and instructional support. The presentation highlights the most pressing compliance risks—such as undisclosed AI use, bias in algorithmic tools, and inadequate student protections—while identifying opportunities for responsible innovation. In addition to the federal and state regulatory environments, institutional policies must be adopted or revised to enable safe AI use across all departments.

Presenters: Cheryl Dowd, cdowd@wiche.edu, Senior Director, State Authorization Network (SAN) & WCET Policy Innovations

Cheryl Dowd directs the activities of State Authorization Network (SAN), including coordination of staff addressing interstate policy and compliance as well as other ancillary compliance issues. Additionally, she serves the overall WCET membership in addressing emerging and special regulatory issues related to digital learning in postsecondary education. 

Cheryl is a contributing author for a guidebook for understanding the legal basis for State and Federal compliance for activities of post-secondary institutions, State Authorization of Colleges and Universities.  USDLA awarded Cheryl the 2024 Eagle Award for demonstrating unique leadership in the public policy arena and a long-standing record of educational technology support as well as the support of the USDLA mission, which includes serving the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking, and opportunity. 

Cheryl earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Richmond, a master’s degree in criminal justice from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from James Madison University.

Abstract: Join us for this session to unpack the often-overlooked requirements that are beyond institutional approval through SARA or state-to-state authorization, including state-level program approvals, interstate employment considerations, and even addressing global activity compliance responsibilities.

Many institutions assume that participation in SARA or, in California’s case, state-to-state institutional approval, fully determines their out-of-state compliance obligations. In reality, SARA and state-to-state authorization address the broader institutional approval, but the complete package of compliance requirements does not stop there for institutions to manage when participating in interstate activities.

We will connect these additional obligations with federal expectations for Title IV eligibility, emphasizing the importance of clear student location policies and distinguishing federal professional licensure disclosure requirements from state program-approval rules. The session will conclude with a forward-looking discussion of recent state shifts and anticipated regulatory changes that all institution, yes, even those in California, should be tracking now.

Presentation Material: Click Here