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  5. Accreditation

Distance Education

Accreditation

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) oversees accreditation at LPC. Since distance education courses alter many aspects of traditional course delivery and design, it is necessary to be aware of, and understand, the aspects of accreditation policies and requirements as they pertain to teaching at LPC.

Definition of Distance Education

According to the ACCJC, Distance Education means:

  1. Education that uses one or more of the technologies listed in paragraphs 2(a) through (d) to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor(s) and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor(s), either synchronously or asynchronously.
  2. The technologies may include:
    1. the internet;
    2. one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices;
    3. audioconferencing; or
    4. other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in paragraphs (a) through (c).
  3. For purposes of this definition, an instructor is an individual responsible for delivering course content and who meets the qualifications for instruction established by an institution's accrediting agency.
  4. For purposes of this definition, substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following—
    1. Providing direct instruction;
    2. Assessing or providing feedback on a student's coursework;
    3. Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
    4. Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or
    5. Other instructional activities approved by the institution's or program's accrediting agency.
  5. An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors by, prior to the student's completion of a course or competency—
    1. Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and regular basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
    2. Monitoring the student's academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.

LPC does not offer Correspondence Education, which, essentially, provides students with an education at a distance, but does not include regular and
substantive interaction between the students and the instructor.

Accreditation Policy Elements

The following is a summary of accreditation policy as it relates to distance education:

  • Development, implementation, and evaluation of all courses and programs, including those offered via distance education or correspondence education, must take place within the institution’s total educational mission (Standard II.A.1).
  • Institutions are expected to control development, implementation, and evaluation of all courses and programs offered in their names, including those offered via distance education or correspondence education (Standard II.A.2).
  • Institutions are expected to have clearly defined and appropriate student learning outcomes for all courses and programs, including those delivered through distance education or correspondence education (Standard II.A.3).
  • Institutions are expected to provide the resources and structure needed to accomplish these outcomes and to demonstrate that their students achieve these outcomes through application of appropriate assessment (Standards I.B.2, I.B.5, II.A.7, II.A.16, III.C.3, III.C.4).
  • Institutions are expected to provide the Commission advance notice of intent to offer a program, degree or certificate in which 50% or more of the courses are via distance education or correspondence education, through the substantive change process. For purposes of this requirement, the institution is responsible for calculating the percentage of courses that may be offered through distance or correspondence education (Policy on Substantive Change).
  • Institutions must have processes in place establishing that a student who registers in any course offered via distance education or correspondence is the same student who academically engages in the course or program.
  • The institution must also publish policies that ensure the protection of student privacy and will notify students at the time of class registration of any charges associated with verification of student identity.

ACCJC web site

Substantive Change

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