(1) To the extent funds are appropriated specifically for this purpose and in partnership with the state board for community and technical colleges, the board shall convene a work group that includes representatives from the prosperity partnership, the technology alliance, the *higher education coordinating board, a private career or vocational school, a four-year public institution of higher education, the council of faculty representatives, the united faculty of Washington state, community and technical college faculty, and a community and technical college student, to take the following actions related to electronically distributed learning:

     (a) Identify and evaluate current national private employer workplace-based educational programs with electronically distributed learning components provided by public colleges and universities. The evaluation shall include:

     (i) A review of the literature and interviews of practitioners about promising practices and results;

     (ii) An initial determination of feasibility based on targeted populations served, subject matter, and level of education;

     (iii) An overview of technological considerations and adult learning strategies for distribution of learning to employer sites; and

     (iv) An overview of cost factors, including shared costs or coinvestments by public and private partners;

     (b) Review and, to the extent necessary, establish standards and best practices regarding electronically distributed learning and related support services including online help desk support, advising, mentoring, counseling, and tutoring;

     (c) Recommend methods to increase student access to electronically distributed learning programs of study and identify barriers to programs of study participation and completion;

     (d) Determine methods to increase the institutional supply and quality of open course materials, with a focus on the OpenCourseWare initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

     (e) Recommend methods to increase the availability and use of digital open textbooks; and

     (f) Review and report demographic information on electronically distributed learning programs of study enrollments, retention, and completions.

     (2) The board shall work in cooperation with the state board for community and technical colleges to report the preliminary results of the studies to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2008, and a final report by December 1, 2009.

[2008 c 258 § 2.]

NOTES:

     *Reviser's note: The higher education coordinating board was abolished by 2011 1st sp.s. c 11 § 301, effective July 1, 2012.

     Expiration date -- 2008 c 258 §§ 2-4: "Sections 2 through 4 of this act expire December 31, 2012." [2008 c 258 § 5.]

     Findings -- Intent -- 2008 c 258: "The legislature finds that there are many working adults in Washington that need additional postsecondary educational opportunities to further develop their employability. The legislature further finds that many of these people postpone or call off their personal educational plans because they are busy working and raising their families. Because the largest portion of our workforce over the next thirty years is already employed but in need of skill development, and because many low-wage, low-skilled, and mid-skilled individuals cannot take advantage of postsecondary educational opportunities as they currently exist, the legislature intends to identify and test additional postsecondary educational opportunities tailored to make postsecondary education accessible to working adults through the use of campuses extended to include workplace-based educational offerings." [2008 c 258 § 1.]