Gavilan College: Distance Education Best Practices Document

Distance Education: Best Practices

2017

Contents

Introduction

Background

The Online Education Initiative (OEI)

Program Infrastructure

Recommended Institutional Responsibilities

Facilities and Finances

Course Management Software Standard

Student Authentication - Institutional Practices

Suggested Best Practices

Load

Recommended Class Size

Curriculum Approval Process

Instructor Readiness

Instructor Incentives

Intellectual Property Rights

Student Readiness

Recommended Faculty Responsibilities

General

Requirements to Teach Online

Instructor Support

Learning Environment

Compliance

Accessibility

Regular Effective Contact

Regular Effective Contact Policy:

Faculty Course Management

Technical Readiness

Best Pedagogical Practices in Distance Learning (OnLine)

Transform Teaching Practice

Know the Students

Authentication Practices for Academic Honesty

Recommended Student Support Services

Online Informational Resources

Forms

Library

Counseling

Support

Email Accounts

Orientation

Early Alert

Financial Aid - Scholarship

Associated Student Body

Disability Resources

Section 508 Compliance

Hardware/Software

Recommended Evaluation and Assessment

General

Program Development

Instructor Development

Student Development

Appendix A – Authentication

Appendix B: Distance Education Approval Process in CurricuNet

Appendix C: Regular Effective Contact

Appendix D: Best Practices to Promote Academic Integrity in Distance Education

Effective Practices for Student Engagement in the Online Environment

Introduction

In the fall of 2001, Hartnell College distance educators gathered and discussed goals and objectives for the new distance education program. Many of these goals have been accomplished. The current Distance Education Committee, formed in the fall 2008, has been tasked with, among other things,preparing written recommendations for guidelines and best practices for the College’s Distance EducationProgram. This includes planning for the anticipated growth of the program while still maintaining a high quality to serve distance education students. The current membership of this committee includes representation from distance education faculty, administration, counseling, information technology, and the library.

This committee has concluded that the following topics will be included in this document, referred to asHartnellCollege Best Practices and Recommendations for Distance Learning:

•Institutional responsibilities

•Faculty responsibilities

•Student support services

•Evaluation

The purpose of this document will be to guide and support the direction of distance education through the best practices recommended within and in accordance with the Distance Education Plan, Educational Master Plan, The Technology Master Plan, and Strategic Planning Goals. This document will be forwarded through the shared governance process to gather input and support from the campus community. Through this process, the College will implement the recommendations after consultation and agreement with appropriate governing bodies, including but not limited toAcademic Senate administrationand pertinent governance councils.

Background

Distance education has been used as a modality to deliver instruction for many years at Hartnell College. Hartnell faculty have been developing and teaching online courses since 1998. These pioneers were innovative in their quest to find and utilize technology tools to deliver education online. Their grass roots efforts helped to create the high-demand, successfulDistance Education Program we have today.

According to a survey conducted in 2009, for a 2010 report[1], growth for distance education has been in the double-digits, with a 22% increase from ‘07-‘08 to ‘08-’09. The college has followed this growth trend, and in the last few years has seen a demand for all instructors to have an online presence and to make course materials and resources available online. This demand has led to,and Academic Senate resolution supporting,the creation of a shell for everycourse section offered through Hartnell College, through the college’s Course Management System (CMS), which is currently Canvas. Instructors are offered training opportunities both on campus and online to incorporate this web-enhancement into their courses.

The Online Education Initiative (OEI)

To ensure full success of online education, OEI has made available a series of resources, such as NetTutor, Cranium Cafe, Quest, Proctorio, etc., many of which have been developed with input from leading online faculty. While research on the impact of these features is still under way, the DEC fully embraces the use of these features.(Appendix D)

Program Infrastructure

The Distance Education Program is responsible for the technology, guidance, training, and support needed to deliver instruction asynchronously or synchronously in an online environment, videoconferencing environment, or other distance learning format for Hartnell College. This support includes the technical needs of distance learners and instructors at all three campuses (Salinas, Alisal, and King City) as well as any other geographic location from which courses are accessed. It also includes orientation to online learning for students, and training to integrate engaging multimedia technologies in an online environment.

The Distance Education Program maintains excellent working partnerships with other instructional and student services departments on campus and is currently staffed with one part-time Distance Education Coordinator and one full-time Instructional Technologist.

Recommended Institutional Responsibilities

To successfully implement an effective Distance Education Program at Hartnell College, there must be a continued commitment to infrastructure needs including staffing, hardware upgrades, software upgrades, training, and support for faculty and students. The administration has demonstrated an initial commitment to distance education by previously funding a CMS.

Facilities and Finances

It is recommended that Hartnell College possess the equipment and technical expertise required for distance education. The Institution’s long-range planning, via the Institutional Effectiveness Council, budgeting, and policy processes should reflect the facility, staffing, and equipment (maintenance and upgrades) needs as well as other resources essential to the viability and effectiveness of the Distance Education Program.

Course Management Software Standard

It is recommended that the Distance Education Committee review the effectiveness of the CMS every 3-5 years, and forward findings to the Technology Development Council.
It is recommended that Hartnell College adopt and support one CMSto ensure consistency among distance education courses,provide a controlled student authentication environment, and comply with the HCFA contract.
CMS products must be in compliance with Section 508 (American with Disabilities Act) regulations and will be reviewed as necessary by the Distance Education Committee and Technology Development Council, and may be changed after consultation and agreement with appropriate governing bodies including , Academic Senate.
Hartnell College will provide training and internal support for the institution’s CMS.

Student Authentication - Institutional Practices

Hartnell uses industry-standard authentication programs that are used by students accessing online courses and other secure Internet information including e-mail. For students in our CMS, Canvas uses a password-based authentication over an encrypted channel. In addition, all students agree to an acceptable use policy that prohibits sharing login and password information. (BP3720). Penalties for academic dishonesty are clear and widely disseminated in syllabi and the Student Handbook. (APPENDIX A)

Suggested Best Practices

Distance education requires ongoing support for faculty and students as well as technical support. Issues of load, class size, technical and teaching assistance, teaching schedules, academic calendar, and compensation are negotiable items, which will need to be addressed in the agreement between the Hartnell College District and the Hartnell College Faculty Association(HCFA).

However, the following recommendations will ensure academic integrity and student success in an online environment:

Load

According to Palloff and Pratt, preparing, teaching, and evaluating for an online class requires approximately three times the number of hours per week compared to a traditional, on-site class. In consideration of this heavier workload, faculty can be presented with various incentives. For example, at Wytheville Community College (Virginia), faculty may be compensated for the development of a distance education course in the form of release time.

The amount of release time assigned varies depending on the nature of the course and the faculty effort required for course development. Typically, release time could be awarded in the following manner:

•Three hours (1 semester) for courses which require substantial faculty preparation of learning materials (video tapes, audio tapes, computer programs, televised lectures, new paper-based independent courses, or other similar learning materials);

•Two hours (1 semester) for courses which require substantial adaptation of externally prepared materials (commercial audio or video tapes, computer programs, etc.).

Recommended Class Size

Palloff and Pratt suggest that:

Groups that are too large can be overwhelming for the instructor and the participants; five to ten is an ideal number. Asynchronous groups, however, can be much larger. As many as twenty or more participants can have a successful experience in an asynchronous setting.

Therefore, the first time a class is placed online, a class size of no less than 15 and no more than 30 students is recommended. In subsequent semesters, it is recommended a class be limited to a maximum of 30 students to allow for expected attrition resulting in an ideal class size of 20-25 students.

In doing so, a more manageable workload will be created for the instructor, the community-building process will be supported, information overload will be minimized, and the perceived quality of the course will be raised as students feel recognized and heard (Palloff & Pratt).

Course Design

The Online Education Initiative (OEI) has made accessible to all community college faculty a statewide design rubric. It is intended to set a standard for course design for a faculty member wishing to teach in an online environment; and can be used to enhance a course that is not fully online.

While the rubric is required to participate in the OEI Exchange, it is only considered a best practice for faculty at Hartnell College. Faculty wishing to teach utilizing a CMS are encouraged to review theOnline Course Design Guide.

Curriculum Approval Process

Any class offered at Hartnell College should strive to provide the best possible learning opportunities for students, regardless of the delivery mode. Distance education is a mode of delivery; the content and objectives of any distance education course should be identical to the content and objectives of that same course delivered traditionally. In addition, the Curriculum Committee requires separate approval for any distance education course, even if its onsite counterpart already exists. (Appendix B)

Instructor Readiness

Because delivering an online class may require skills outside of a faculty's subject matter, faculty wishing to deliver courses online must have satisfied one or both of the following:

•Completed formal coursework in the teaching and delivery of distance education;

•Successfully delivered courses in the online environment.

In addition, faculty who have not used the current CMS at Hartnell College must successfully complete an orientation to the current CMS.It is also recommended that faculty who wish to teach online demonstrate the ability to upload and/or create documents compatible with the CMS that comply with Section 508 of the ADA.

Instructor Incentives

Hartnell Collegeshould offer instructors incentives for developing and/or teaching online or hybrid[*] courses, such as:

•Performance-based financial incentives provided during the first semester that the online course is presented;

•Substitution of online student contact for on-campus office hours;

•Release time during the first semester the course is taught online;

•Computer hardware/software provided for use by instructor;

•Any incentive that encourages face-to-face instructors to teach online.

"Faculty do respond positively and express interest in becoming involved in online work when appropriate incentives are put in place. . ." (Palloff & Pratt)

Intellectual Property Rights

Faculty who have created intellectual property such as course materials in all formats shall retain ownership of that intellectual property.Hartnell College and its faculty agree to follow all copyright laws in the use of educational materials. A faculty member’s intellectual property remains his or her own and may not be used without permission.

Student Readiness

It is recommended that distance learners complete one or all of the following before enrolling in a distance education class:

•An online readiness and a technical readiness assessment with a minimum grade of 70 percent;

•An introduction to online learning (onsite, hybrid, or online) course with a grade of “C” or better (this could be at another College, as Hartnell College is finalizing curriculum an introduction to online learning course).

The Online Education Initiative (OEI) currently offers QUEST; which includes a Smarter Measure assessment and readiness modules. QUEST is available to Hartnell College, because it adopted the OEI CMS, Canvas.QUEST is designed to assist California Community College students in developing the skills required to be successful online learners. Students, while they may be savvy smart-phone, tablet, and/or computer users, may not be prepared for the particular challenge of college level learning in the online environment.

The QUEST tutorials, designed in collaboration with a Hartnell faculty member, can be accessed by clicking the Online Student Readiness Tutorials.

Recommended Faculty Responsibilities

General

A quality Distance Education Program is driven by current course content and learning objectives, trained faculty, and institutional support for all involved constituents (students, staff, and faculty). It should be the goal of Hartnell College to provide a high-quality distance education experience for students that adheres to all regulatory and legal guidelines.

While faculty responsibilities are governed by academic and negotiated policies and procedures, faculty can ensure that all distance education classes they teach contribute to a quality learning experience for students by following the best practices suggested in this section, through collaboration and coordination, and by consulting the Distance Education Committee Handbook.

Requirements to Teach Online

Increasing student retention for distance education courses relies heavily on faculty training. Faculty that have completed some form of certification training for teaching via distance education have better retention rates than those that have not completed any certification training. Faculty should recognize that the ability to teach via distance education broadens their marketability and is an opportunity for professional growth.

Distance Education often incorporates technologies such as a course management system (CMS), the Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices; audio conferencing, DVDs, and CDROMs, in conjunction with any of the other technologies.

Because delivering an online class may require skills outside of a faculty's subject matter, faculty wishing to deliver courses online must have satisfied one or both of the following:

•Completed formal coursework in the teaching and delivery of distance education;

•Successfully delivered courses in the online environment.

It is also recommended that faculty update these skills every five years to continue teaching online through continued professional development.

Instructor Support

Hartnell College will provide resources to allow distance educators to develop proficiency in creating and developing distance education courses, such as:

Staff development workshops;
Professional Development Center (PDC)training and technical support.

Further, faculty who are new to teaching online or who wish to explore new technologies to enhance an existing online course are encouraged to contact the PDC to schedule a meeting with an instructional designer to maximize learning and improve teaching processes, using the most appropriate technological tools.

The PDC can provide a course template for developing a quality online course. It is recommendedto use the template as a foundation upon which to build a new course--customizing it as necessary. The template provides the basic course structure and navigation, introductory information modules, and suggestions for content to enhance the course site. Using the template also speeds up development time for any online course.

Hartnell College will provide other resources to allow distance educators to develop proficiency in creating and developing distance education courses, such as:

•Instructional technologist support;

•PDChardware and software;

•Help desk;

•Faculty Mentor;

•Online workshops.

Learning Environment

The content and objectives of the online course need to be identical to the content and objectives of the same course taught in the face-to-face environment. The method of delivery and communication will differ from onsite courses.

The curriculum approval process includes an addendum that identifies how the instructor will ensure that equivalent instruction and regular effective contact will take place in the online environment.

Compliance

Accessibility

It is a federal mandate that all online course materials be designed to be accessible to students who are vision and hearing impaired. Unlike just-in-time accommodation in the face-to-face classroom, online course materials must be accessible at the time they are posted for student use. The following outlines legal requirements:

By law (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act), learning materials, including interfaces, images, sounds, multimedia elements, and all other forms of information, must be made available for use by anyone, regardless of disability.

Detailed information about accessibility guidelines are available at Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).