SENATE Committee on Higher Education and Technical and Vocational Education Chairman Joel Villanueva is pushing for an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the implementation and achievements of the Open Distance Learning Act.

In filing his Senate Resolution 383, Villanueva expressed belief that assessing the impact of the Open Distance Learning Act on the quality, costs, accessibility, and availability of higher education, especially to certain demographics such as working students, businessmen, people with disability, and senior citizens and other students affected by the Covid19 pandemic, on the national level can help identify and address the physical and financial barriers that limit the effectiveness of the law.

Villanueva added that they can also identify Open Distance Learning best practices that can be adopted under the new normal education system.

The senator stressed that an investigation is crucial to discuss various aspects of the implementation of the Open Distance Learning Act.

This includes the range of undergraduate and graduate programs and courses offered by all Higher Education Institutes for Open Distance Learning; the quality of design and mode of delivery of curriculum or programs implemented by HEIs and the costs incurred by both students and faculty.

Villanueva added that there is also the need to tackle the completion or graduation rates of students; the quality and adequacy of support from the Commission on Higher Education and Technical Skills and Development Authority and other concerned agencies to HEIs; and the links of Open Distance Learning HEIs to academic, research, and government institutions.

Based on data, with more than five years since the enactment of the Open Distance Learning Act, there are only 22 HEIs that are offering 76 distance education programs.

The Open Distance Learning Act was enacted in 2014 as a tool to expand and democratize access to quality tertiary education for the benefit of learners in special circumstances including working students.