Center for Distance Education reports sharp enrollment growth and asks for staff, spending authority and system upgrades

Dr. Alyssa Martin, state director of the North Dakota Center For Distance Education, told the House Appropriations and Education and Environment Division that the center is experiencing rapid growth and requested funding and staffing to support that expansion.

Martin said the Center for Distance Education (CDE), which traces its roots to 1935, served more than 27,000 course enrollments in the current biennium and reported roughly 15,000 enrollments in the current fiscal year at the time of testimony. She said the agency had earned about $4.9 million in tuition revenue to date and that the center is tuition‑contingent: increased enrollments have been funded through tuition rather than additional general fund appropriations.

To manage growth and maintain quality, Martin presented four decision packages and related requests: increased special spending authority (to allow the center to spend higher tuition revenue as enrollments rise), conversion of key full‑time temporary positions to permanent status (she asked to convert two temporary hires tied to enrollment and learning‑management work), conversion of a 0.8 FTE to a full FTE to improve retention, and a request for $350,000 to replace an aging enterprise resource/store/billing system. She also requested $513,000 in general fund support for two items: a military pathway program (curriculum development and tuition waivers for participating students) and tuition waivers for some home‑schooled students who otherwise cannot afford multiple courses.

Martin attributed large enrollment increases in part to changes in state law (House Bill 1376), which shifted choice toward families seeking courses and removed some district discretion. She told the committee that HB1376 and other pending proposals (including HB1105 and HB1172) could change the center’s financial model depending on amendments.

The center has taken several steps to address concerns from districts about academic rigor and integrity. Martin said the center is moving toward competency‑based education with standard‑level pre/post assessments, phasing out weak CTE courses, replacing multiple‑choice assessments with more authentic, project‑based assessments where appropriate, imposing test‑access codes for proctored exams that change every 48 hours, running weekly rapid‑progress reports to flag suspiciously fast progress, and revamping academic‑integrity policies. She said the center has hired a dean of students and a counselor to coordinate interventions and student supports.

Martin outlined organizational changes and staffing: the center has 104 employees, with 29 full‑time equivalent positions currently active, 64 part‑time adjuncts who often teach evenings and weekends, and 1.8 vacancies she is restructuring and filling. She asked to convert positions hired as full‑time temporary to permanent status to retain staff who have been critical in responding to enrollment demand.

Committee members questioned the center about tuition rates, curriculum oversight and how competency‑based results would translate to local districts’ grade reporting. Martin said the center will provide both standard letter grades and proficiency‑by‑standard reporting, and maintain alignment to North Dakota standards so credits transfer back to local districts.

Martin also said the center has invested in curriculum vetting, new dashboards for competency tracking, partnerships (National Guard for a military pathway, state library for rural students, Cybersecurity courses with EduTech) and new onboarding and professional development requirements for adjuncts. No vote was taken at the overview hearing; legislators asked for more budget detail at future hearings.