Distance Education

Distance education can refer to several methods of course delivery:  technology-mediated instruction (TMI), Instruction Television (ITV), web-based, teleconference, etc.  In order for a course to be "distance education", at least 51% of the course must be taught through the web, teleconference, videotapes -- or some method does not involve face-to-face contact between the instructor and the student.  Although PACE courses have a distance education component, student do have face-to-face contact for the majority of the course and so are not considered "distance education" courses.  See the state Academic Senate Distance Education Review  and the state Chancellor's Office Distance Education Guidelines for more information.

Courses taught through distance education will need a course outline (MS Word) and a distance education form (MS Word or PDF) approved by the Curriculum Committee.

Instructions for completing the form:

  1. Subject Name and Number:  Discipline name and number, not title of course.
  2. Basic Rationale:  Describe your reasons for offering this course through distance education.
  3. Course Quality:  Describe how you will apply the same standards of rigor in this course as in the traditionally-taught course.
  4. Faculty Involvement in course development:  Describe how the faculty in the discipline have been the sole or primary initiators and developers of the course.
  5. Student/Faculty contact: Describe the availability of instructor office hours, e-mail contact, chat room contact, etc.
  6. How course differs from traditional course:  Describe how (or if) the course differs.  Lecture courses may not differ much, but labs may need significant modifications.

Submit the form and an updated course outline to the Agenda Review Subcommittee to place the item on the agenda of the next Curriculum Committee.

LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS

LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGES OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS INDEX NUMBER E-89
REFERENCE: TOPIC: 
Title 5, CCR sections 55002, 55370, 55378 Approval of Distance Education Courses 
ISSUE DATE: December 11, 1996   INITIATED BY:  Educational Services 
CHANGES: All Sections DATE OF CHANGES: November 11, 1999


1.    COURSE APPROVAL 

  1. Each proposed or existing course offered by distance education shall be reviewed and approved separately (Title 5, Section 55378). 

  2. The review and approval of new distance education courses shall follow the curriculum approval procedures outlined in Administrative Regulation E-65 -- Approval of Credit Courses: Standards and Procedures, sections 2(b) "Curriculum Development". 

  3. The review and approval of existing courses as distance education courses shall follow the curriculum approval procedures outlined in Administrative Regulation E-65 - Approval of Credit Courses: Standards and Procedure, section 2(c) "Added Courses". 

2.    CERTIFICATION 
When approving distance education courses, the college curriculum committee will certify the following:

  1. Course Quality Standards (Title 5, Section 55372) 
    The same standards of course quality are applied to the distance education courses
    as are applied to traditional classroom courses. 

  2. Course Quality Determinations (Title 5, Section 55374) 
    Determinations and judgments about the quality of the distance education course were made with the full involvement of the faculty as defined by Administrative Regulation E-65 and college curriculum approval procedures. 

  3. Instructor Contact (Title 5, Section 55376) 
    Each section of the course which is delivered through distance education will include regular effective contact between instructor and students. 

3.    DURATION OF APPROVAL 
Distance education courses shall be approved under the same conditions and criteria as all other courses. All distance education courses approved under this regulation will continue to be in effect unless new regulations are approved that require substantive changes of the course outline. 

4.    REVISIONS 
The procedures described in this regulation may be reviewed or changed, subject to the mutual agreement of the District Academic Senate and the Chancellor or designee.

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