Distance Learning Accreditation Summary

DETC: Requires 51% or more of courses to be offered online.

Higher Learning Commission:

Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs:

Values

  1. that education is best experienced within a community of learning where competent

professionals are actively and cooperatively involved with creating, providing, and

improving the instructional program;

  1. that learning is dynamic and interactive, regardless of the setting in which it occurs;
  2. that instructional programs leading to degrees having integrity are organized around
  3. substantive and coherent curricula which define expected learning outcomes;that institutions accept the obligation to address student needs related to, and to

provide the resources necessary for, their academic success;

  1. that institutions are responsible for the education provided in their name;
  2. that institutions undertake the assessment and improvement of their quality, giving

particular emphasis to student learning;

  1. that institutions voluntarily subject themselves to peer review.

Best Practices

Institutional Context and Commitment

Electronically offered programs both support and extend the roles of educational institutions. Increasingly they are integral to academic organization, with growing implications for institutional infrastructure.

  • Consistent with the institution’s role and mission
  • Consult with accreditation commission if program offered to determine if it represents a major change
  • Distance Learning should be budgeted appropriately
  • Institution assures adequacy in staffing to meet the needs of distance learning
  • Organizational structure supports distance learning success
  • Marketing, training, copyright compliance, outsourced services, prioritize future plans, progams meet institutional standards, academic oversight, integrity of student work and faculty instructions, provide needed information technologies
  • Articulation and transfer policies based on learning outcomes and not modes of delivery
  • Consistent and coherent technical framework for students – minimize impact on students when technology changes
  • Institution provides students with reasonable technical support for each educational technology hardware, software, delivery system
  • Technologies purchased based on appropriateness for students and curriculum, not just on cost savings. Document reasons for purchases.
  • Institution seeks to understand legal and regulatory requirements of the jurisdiction in which it operates (disabilities, copyright, state and national requirements

Curriculum and Instruction

Methods change, but standards of quality endure. The important issues are not technical butcurriculum-driven and pedagogical. Decisions about such matters are made by qualifiedprofessionals and focus on learning outcomes for an increasingly diverse student population.

  • Electronically offered degree is coherent and complete, results in collegiate level learning outcomes appropriate to the rigor and breadth of the degree or certificate, includes general education requirements.
  • Academically qualified persons participate fully in the decisions concerning program curricula and program oversight.
  • Students are clearly notified of program requirements. Scheduling of online program should allow students to complete program requirements including general education courses.
  • Consortia agreements must meet program, institutional requirements, standards, mission, and vision. (Faculty qualifications, course content, LMS, Bookstore, Student services, technical services, administrative services, online payment, student privacy).
  • Student/Instructor, Student/Student interactions (synchronous/asynchronous) is reflected in the design of the course/program and technical facilities provided.

Faculty Support

As indicated above, faculty roles are becoming increasingly diverse and reorganized. Forexample, the same person may not perform both the tasks of course development and directinstruction to students. Regardless of who performs which of these tasks, important issuesare involved.

  • Policies realted to Faculty workloads, compensation, ownership of intellectual property, implications for faculty evaluation must be in place and mutually agreed upon by all parties.
  • Institution provides appropriate technical, design, and production support for faculty.
  • Institution provides appropriate training for program technologies, including potentical changes in course design and management.
  • Institution provides to those who work directly with students and student orientations appropriate training for use of technology and strategies for effective interaction.

Student Support

Colleges and universities have learned that the twenty-first century student is different, bothdemographically and geographically, from students of previous generations. Thesedifferences affect everything from admissions policy to library services. Reaching thesestudents, and serving them appropriately, are major challenges to today’s institutions.

  • Institution commits to continuation of the program for a period sufficient to enable all admitted students to complete the degree, program, or certificate.
  • Prior to admitting students to the program
  • Ascertain student appropriate qualifications to be admitted (records, personal review, testing).
  • Institution informs prospective students of required access to technologies used in the program, concerning technical competency requirements for program, program costs, payment, and refund policies, curriculum design and expected time frame, Library and learning services, other student services available, methods for interaction with faculty and fellow students, and understanding of independent learning expectations.
  • Students must have access to appropriate services with the assumption that they will not be on campus (accurate program information, costs, courses, policies, requirements, registration and advising, admission, placement testing, enrollment, financial aid, scholarships, tutoring, career counseling, degree completion audits, library resources, training in information literacy and research techniques, bookstore, technical support, referrals for student learning differences, grievance procedures).
  • Institution recognizes that students also need a sense of community and encourages study groups, student government representation, invitations to campus events including gradutation.

Evaluation and Assessment

Both the assessment of student achievement and evaluation of the overall program take onadded importance as new techniques evolve. For example, in asynchronous programs theelement of seat time is essentially removed from the equation. For these reasons, theinstitution conducts sustained, evidence-based and participatory inquiry as to whetherdistance learning programs are achieving objectives. The results of such inquiry are used toguide curriculum design and delivery, pedagogy, and educational processes, and may affectfuture policy and budgets and perhaps have implications for the institution’s roles andmission.

  • Institution provides documented assessment of student achievement is conducted in each course and at the completion of the program (compare student performance to the intended learning outcomes).
  • Examinations take place in circumstances that include firm student identification. Institution assures integrity of student work.
  • Institution provides documented procedures for security of personal information, assessments, evaluation.
  • Program effectiveness determined by student performance related to learning outcomes, student retention rates, student satisfaction, faculty satisfaction, library/learning resources used appropriate to program needs, student competence in fundamental skills (communication, comprehension, analysis), cost effectiveness of program.
  • Institutional continual self-evaluation directed toward program improvement, more effective uses of technology, improve pedagogy, advances in student achievement, improved retention rates, effective use of resources.
  • Institutional evaluation of electronically offered programs occurs in the context of regular institutional accreditation.