OPE is determined to see that doesn’t happen. The OPE programs to aid developing institutions [Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act (HEA)] support institutions that enroll many of our minority and disadvantaged students. OPE is working with grantees to help them use their funds to build the infrastructure for access to the Internet. The cost of technology is high, but students at all our institutions need access to essential computing resources.

In addition to the digital divide issue, all these changes raise new challenges concerning the two long-standing and primary concerns of the federal government: quality and access.

Quality assurance in American higher education has been predominantly the province of regional and national accrediting agencies, membership organizations that rely on self-examination and peer review to determine whether institutions meet minimum standards of quality and to encourage improvement. OPE’s role is predicated on its authority to determine which postsecondary institutions are eligible for HEA Title IV student aid. The institutions eligible to offer federal student aid and to receive other federal funds must meet acceptable levels of quality. OPE recognizes accrediting agencies that have rigorous procedures for determining which institutions meet their standards and thereby become eligible for Title IV student aid.