In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as ''Distance Education and Online Learning
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.

Section 484(l)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1091(l)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ''in whole or in part'' and
inserting ''predominantly'';
(B) by striking ''of 1 year or longer''; and
(C) by striking ''unless'' and all that follows
through ''all courses at the institution''; and
(2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
''(B) Requirement.--An institution of higher
education referred to in subparagraph (A) is an
institution of higher education that is not an
institution or school described in section 3(3)(C) of
the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education
Act of 1998.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM.

Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1088(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
''(3) Distance education programs.--
''(A) In general.--A program that is offered
predominantly through distance education methods and
processes (other than correspondence courses) is an
eligible program for purposes of this title if--
''(i) the program was reviewed and approved
by an accrediting agency or association that--
''(I) is recognized by the
Secretary under subpart 2 of part H;
and
''(II) has evaluation of distance
education programs within the scope of
its recognition; and
''(ii) the institution offering the program
complies with clause (i) or clause (ii) of
subparagraph (B).
''(B) Additional criteria based on duration of
certification.--
''(i) Certified for at least 4 years.--An
institution complies with this clause if the
institution has been certified as eligible to
participate in programs under this title for at
least four years and--
''(I) has not had its participation
in programs under this title limited,
suspended, or terminated within the
preceding 5 years;
''(II) has not had or failed to
resolve an audit finding or program
review finding under this Act during
the preceding 2 years that resulted in
the institution being required to repay
an amount that is greater than 5
percent of the total funds the
institution received under the programs
authorized by this title for any award
year covered by the audit or program
review;
''(III) has not been found by the
Secretary during the preceding 5 years
to be in material noncompliance with
the provisions of this Act related to
the submission of acceptable and timely
audit reports required under this
title; and
''(IV) is determined to be
financially responsible under
regulations promulgated by the
Secretary pursuant to section 498(c).
''(ii) Certified for less than 4 years.--An
institution complies with this clause if the
institution has been certified as eligible to
participate in programs under this title for
less than four years, meets the requirements of
clause (i), and--
''(I) the institution has not been
subject to any action to suspend,
revoke, withdraw, or terminate its
authority to operate by a state;
''(II) the institution has not been
subject to any action to suspend,
revoke, withdraw, or terminate its
accreditation and has not been placed
on probation or an equivalent status by
a recognized accrediting agency;
''(III) neither the institution nor
any person who exercises substantial
control over the institution have been
administratively or judicially
determined to have committed fraud or
any other material violation of law
involving the use of federal, state or
local government funds; and
''(IV) no person who exercises
substantial control over the
institution has been directly or
indirectly affiliated with an
institution that has lost or been
denied accreditation, has lost or been
denied authority to operate by a state,
has lost or been denied eligibility to
participate in programs authorized
under this title, has filed for
bankruptcy, or has closed owing a
liability for a program requirement
under this Act.
''(C) Consequences of withdrawl of approval.--If
the accreditation agency or association withdraws
approval of the program described in subparagraph
(A)(i), or the institution fails to meet any of the
requirements described in clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (B) (whichever is applicable), or both,
then the program shall cease to be an eligible program
at the end of the award year in which such withdrawal
of approval or failure to meet such requirements
occurs. The program shall not be an eligible program
for any subsequent award year until the institution
obtains such approval or corrects such failure, or
both.''.

SEC. 4. RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIATION.

Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (n)(3), by striking the last sentence and
inserting the following: ''If the agency or association
requests that the evaluation of institutions offering distance
education programs be included within its scope of recognition,
and demonstrates that the agency or association meets the
requirements of subsection (p), then the Secretary shall
include the accreditation of institutions offering distance
education programs within the agency's or association's scope
of recognition.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
''(p) Distance Education Programs.--An agency or association that
seeks to evaluate the quality of institutions offering distance
education programs within its scope of recognition shall, in addition
to meeting the other requirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the
Secretary that the agency or association assesses--
''(1) measures of student achievement of students enrolled
in distance education programs, including State licensing
examination results, and success in preparing students for
entry into and advancement in the work force;
''(2) measures of program completion and retention rates of
students in distance education programs, including monitoring
such rates throughout the accreditation period;
''(3) the preparation of faculty and students to
participate in distance education programs;
''(4) the quality and frequency of interaction between
faculty and students in distance education programs;
''(5) the availability of current and recognized learning
resources and support services for students in distance
education programs; and
''(6) measures to ensure the integrity of student and
faculty participation in distance education programs.''.
A:
Distance Education and Online Learning Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise title IV student assistance provisions regarding distance education courses and programs, with respect to student eligibility, eligible programs, and requirements for recognition of accrediting agencies that evaluate institutions of higher education offering such programs.