April 2018 - Comments

Institutional Planning. It is recommended that:

DECOS support annual initiatives to educate and recruit faculty knowledgeable about DE to serve on governance committees. / 9/22/17: 2017-2018 approved DECOS initiative / Ongoing
The District complete the process to determine if a management position should be created and filled to manage the detailed needs of individual units, support accreditation efforts, and advocate for the digital campus as a whole in the larger governance structure. / Reorganization in the spring of 2018 proposed Mary-Catherine Oxford, Director of the LRC, as Director of DE. / DE now reports to the Director
The District complete the process to determine if a full-time computer services Learning Management System (LMS) Administrator position should be created and filled as a classified position. / 9/22/17: New process to use Canvas 24/7 for all faculty and students. New web helpdesk routes Canvas assistance for faculty to Jeremy. / Canvas Admin report to DE Director?
The approved DE Plan be shared District-Wide to support decision making. / 9/22/17: Governance groups, including Instructional Council. DECOS website, COS Online / DECOS/DE Coordinator - Plan for distribution of DE plan report in fall 2018
DECOS review and report on the DE plan annually. / 9/22/17: 2017-2018 approved DECOS initiative / DE Plan reviewed and report generated by DECOS in May 2018.

Access and support for students. It is recommended that the District:

Provide 24/7 access to a Learning Management System (LMS) / 9/22/17: The District has agreed to use Canvas as supported by Chancellor’s Office Online Education Initiative (OEI) indefinitely. The District Technology Services Department maintains access to Canvas through Universal Login. / Educational Technology Committee (ETC)/Suggest periodic meetings to discuss processes
Maintain the synchronization of Banner and Learning Management System (LMS) / 9/22/17: District Technology Services maintains the synchronization. / ETC/Suggest periodic meetings to discuss processes
Assist students who need help with Learning Management System (LMS) / 9/22/17: The student helpdesk supports students with Canvas login and basic navigation issues. Canvas 24/7 technical support is available to students. / ETC/Suggest periodic meetings to discuss processes
Ensure accessibility for students with disabilities / 9/22/17: Generally, Canvas is an accessible platform. The Distance Education Coordinator (DEC) is offering detailed training to all the online instructors to improve accessibility in individual classes. There is no audit system. It may be important to develop a mechanism whereby students can report the existence of inaccessible media. / ETC/Suggest periodic meetings with AAC to discuss needs
Suggest ongoing training
Monitor Last Day of Attendance (LDA) / 9/22/17: The administrative procedure for Distance Education and Student Authentication (AP 4105) defines procedures for instructor monitoring student Last Day of Attendance (LDA). / Staff for dropping students? DOE Audit preparation?
Increase preparedness of students taking DE courses / 9/22/17: In Spring 2017, the District adopted Quest for Success, a readiness and success module for use within Canvas. It has been made available to all instructors for inclusion in their online Canvas courses. / Workshops?
Develop and maintain student services DE students can access online / As reported in the ISER for the 2018 Accreditation Visit. The addition of online counseling has rounded out the availability of student services to all students. / Marketing plan

Professional development for faculty/staff. It is recommended that the District:

Maintain a standard for distance education instruction. / 9/22/17: Instructors must meet a certification requirement to be scheduled to teach an online class. The in-house certification program (OTCP – see below) prepares instructors to meet the certification requirement and begin their professional online teaching practice by understanding regulations and the use of state-wide adopted standards for online teaching developed by the OEI. / Distance Education @ COS (DECOS)/DE Coordinator
Provide Faculty and Staff with the resources required to support our distance education students. / 9/22/17: There are several mechanisms in place to help instructors support online students: 1) Quest for Success; 2) Online Learning Readiness Survey; 3) pre-semester email messages from the DEC; 4) COS Online and the Online Teaching Certificate Program materials and instruction related to accessibility, readiness, and success. / DECOS/DE Coordinator
Support the Online Teaching Certificate Program (OTCP) / 9/22/17: The OTCP is being offered in the fall and spring semesters. Participation has been fairly strong in 2017-2018. / DECOS/DE Coordinator

Curriculum. It is recommended that the faculty:

Analyze the relevance of DE programs / 9/22/17: DE courses and programs are developed within divisions and must demonstrate evidence of relevance during curriculum development and program review. / DECOS/DE Coordinator develop a checklist?
Maintain an ongoing, collegial, self-reflective dialogue about the continuous improvement of student learning and institutional processes through Program Review processes and learning outcomes assessment cycles. / 9/22/17: Course and program learning outcomes are assessed through program review processes and learning outcomes assessment cycles. The District does not apply a different process to DE courses. / Discuss with Outcomes Coordinator
Ensure that DE courses are included in the analysis of student learning in the same way that traditional classes are. / 9/22/17: The Distance Learning Addendum (DLA) to a course outline of record includes the positive assertion that DE student learning will be assessed in the same way as student learning in traditional classes. / DECOS/DE Coordinator
DLA to be reviewed in Fall 2018
Compare assessment measures with comparable measures related to traditional face-to-face classes. / 9/22/17: The Distance Learning Addendum (DLA) to a course outline of record includes the positive assertion that DE student learning will be assessed in the same way as student learning in traditional classes.
Additionally, The DEC annually provides student success rate data to divisions to enable discussion of comparison between DE classes and their traditional face-to-face counterparts. / DECOS/DE Coordinator
DLA to be reviewed in Fall 2018
Monitor program development and assess program outcomes regularly. / 9/22/17: DE program development is monitored by the DEC through Curriculum Committee processes. Program outcomes are assessed / DE programs can now be “tracked” in CourseLeaf CIM. Suggest maintain master list and communicate to students. Programs should probably be listed as DE programs in the catalog.
How are program outcomes being assessed? Discuss with Outcomes Coordinator
Follow approved course outlines and Distance Learning Addendum (DLA) of record. / 9/22/17: Course Outlines of Record (COR) and related DLA are provided to all instructors. Faculty evaluation procedures include monitoring of adherence to COR. / Ongoing
Present course objectives, learning outcomes, and requirements in each course. / 9/22/17: COR contain the objectives, outcomes, and requirements in each course. Syllabi include course outcomes. / Ongoing
Encourage the posting of assignments, due dates, and test dates at the beginning of course or in a way to give reasonable preparation time. / DECOS/DE Coordinator
Describe any face-to-face testing or in person lab situations clearly in the syllabus. / The online class schedule now includes an additional label for those online classes that require in-person testing. / DECOS/DE Coordinator
Encourage the use a variety of teaching strategies, or methodologies, in online classes to support active engagement with content and with each other. / The OTCP includes instruction concerning teaching strategies. / DECOS/DE Coordinator- COS Online Conferences
Review DLA at regular intervals. / The DLA will be reviewed in 2018-2019 / Fall 2018
Review instructional materials regularly to maintain currency and effectiveness as part of the course outline update process. / 9/22/17: The Curriculum Committee established policies ensure the regular review of instructional materials through the COR update process. / Ongoing
Encourage DE faculty to contact students at least one week before the beginning of the course to inform them about how to begin. / OTCP / DECOS/DE Coordinator and Director
Provide information to students about the types and frequency of communication, including feedback to students on assignments, notifying students about how to contact the instructor, notifying students about any unexpected instructor absence or expected delay in communications. / OTCP / DECOS/DE Coordinator
Maintain mechanisms which support communication within classes, including, but not limited to, announcements, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), discussion forums, journals, emails, early warning or alert systems, posted class schedules, due dates, feedback on assignments, course grade or progress, and reminders. / DLA / DECOS/DE Coordinator

Technology. It is recommended that the District:

Provide 24/7 access to a Learning Management System (LMS). / 9/22/17: The District has agreed to use Canvas as supported by Chancellor’s Office Online Education Initiative (OEI) indefinitely. The District Technology Services Department maintains access to Canvas through Universal Login. / ETC/Suggest periodic meetings to discuss processes
Provide 24/7 COS Network access. / 9/22/17: The District Technology Services Department maintains the COS network. / ETC/Suggest periodic meetings to discuss processes
Provide support to students, faculty and staff in use of LMS through on-campus support personnel. / 9/22/17: Technology Services provides second-tier Canvas technical support for faculty. The Learning Resource Center (LRC) provides second-tier Canvas technical support for students? / ETC/Second-tier for students?
Ensure students are aware of the technology requirements of DE courses. / DECOS/DE Coordinator (Catalog?)
Provide training to support faculty with technology use in the classroom and use of the course management system, or other required technologies. / The DEC provides Canvas training. There is no formal classroom technology training process. / ETC/DE Coordinator
Provide technology failure policies and procedures. / ?

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