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Enhancing professionalism within the distance learning community is a long-time emphasis of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). For this reason, informational activities-workshops, conferences, and journals-have been an essential part of our association since its founding in 1987.
As distance learning has flourished, the association has kept pace by working more proactively to enhance professionalism. Thus, in the last 2 years, USDLA has begun credentialing distance learning practitioners and programs. In fact, the association now offers a triad of credentialing services.
In 2003, USDLA, in conjunction with Nova Southeastern University, began offering the Distance Learning Leader Certificate Program (DLLCP) for individual distance learning practitioners.
In 2004, the association, through its subsidiary, the Distance Learning Accreditation Board (DLAB), began offering an accreditation service. The service is designed for both U.S.-based and international degree-granting distance learning programs.
The USDLA/Quality Standards (USDLA/QS) certification is a new standards-based program that recognizes excellence in a variety of distance learning settings.
The developments in this area are a logical response to the explosive growth of distance learning and its prominence in global education. They recognize that greater visibility and influence carries with it parallel responsibilities for conduct and professionalism. Indeed, a passive, laissez-faire approach in this area leads only to marginalization. None of us can afford that. Rather, we must offer a solid benchmark of quality-something to measure against, something to aspire to-and...