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The purpose of this policy is to establish address the following concerns:

1. Verification of distance education student identity
2. Protection of privacy of distance education students
3. Accurate reporting of distance education headcount enrollment
4. Establish criteria for appropriate educational activities in non-traditional and distance

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1. education contexts.

Definition of Non-Traditional:

The non-traditional learning context includes intensive courses, accelerated learning in the cohort model, and other delivery modes that differ from the traditional face-to-face classroom context; distance learning refers to online course delivery.

Policy Statement

Beliefs that underlie this policy:

• While time spent should be a consideration in granting credit, more important is achievement of outcomes.
• There are many ways to achieve the same outcome.
• Different students have different learning styles, all of which are legitimate ways of learning.
• Courses ideally accommodate a variety of learning styles so that each student can use their preferred learning style some of the time while also being challenged to develop their non-preferred styles.

Criteria for activities in non-traditional and distance learning courses:

• The activities lead to the achievement of the course objectives or expected outcomes.
• Achievement of outcomes can be evaluated.
• The level of cognitive achievement is appropriate for the level of the course.

Principles related to time and credit allocation for activities:

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Definition of Distance Education:

Distance Education is defined as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction (interaction between students and instructors and among students) in a course occurs when students and instructors are not in the same place. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. A distance education course may use the internet, audio conferencing, or video conferencing. Interaction between the instructor and the student is regular and substantive.

Policy Statement

1. Verification of Student Identity:  The institution verifies the identity of a student who participates in class or coursework and notifies students of any projected additional charges associated with verification of student identity.
2. Protection of Privacy:  The institution protects the privacy of students enrolled in distance education courses or programs.
3. Institutional Reporting: The institution accurately includes distance education headcount enrollment on its annual Institutional Profile submitted to the Commission.
4. The institution applies the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation to all programs of the institution, regardless of mode of delivery. Guidelines for Equivalent Instructional Activities for Non-Traditional and Distance Education Programs are included in Appendix I of this policy. Guidance on formally classifying course instructional mode is provided in Appendix II, and incorporates definitions from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to which EMU reports data annually.

Approved by President’s Cabinet, November 7, 2000
Approved by Academic Cabinet January 29, 2013; reported  to President’s Cabinet, February 11, 2013
Updated and approved by Provost's Council, March 2020

Responsible Party

The Provost is responsible for this policy.

Policy Review

This policy is to be reviewed every three years or sooner as necessary.

Distribution

Faculty/Staff Handbook

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Appendix 1: Guidelines for Equivalent Instructional Activities

A semester hour represents a unit of curricular material that can normally be taught in a minimum of 14 hours of classroom instruction, plus outside preparation of equivalent as determined by faculty.  (See Class Meetings, Attendance and Final Examinations (Credit Hour Policy)).

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Assignments in distance learning courses are similar to those in classroom-based courses and typically consist of reading in preparation for online work. Assignments that are graded in distance learning courses are similar to those graded in classroom-based courses:  papers, projects, exams, participation in discussions (quantity and quality), etc. In order to comply with federal requirements, it will be verified that each student enrolled in a distance learning course is the same student who participates in and receives credit for the course. 

Thus, a 3-credit non-traditional or distance education course should have 42 hours of classroom instruction or its equivalent, not including final examination or homework.

Equivalent Instruction Activities should be:

1. Directly related to the objectives of the course/program
2. Should be measurable for grading purposes
3. Should have the direct oversight or supervision of the faculty member teaching the course
4. Should in some form be equivalent to an activity conducted in the classroom

Below is a chart defining activities that are considered equivalent in the classroom, non-traditional, and distance learning contexts. All activities have a one-to-one relationship in terms of time.

Responsible Party

The Provost is responsible for this policy.

Policy Review

This policy is to be reviewed every three years or sooner as necessary.

Distribution

Faculty/Staff Handbook

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Appendix II: SCHEV Classifications of Course Instructional Mode

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) provides guidance to inform EMU's mandatory reporting on course instructional format. That guidance is provided below along with further details as it pertains to the EMU context.