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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. See Appendix II for guidance on the classification of courses with regard to distance education, and Appendix III for guidance on the classification of programs with regard to distance education.
Policy Statement
- 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.
- Protection of Privacy: The institution protects the privacy of students enrolled in distance education courses or programs.
- Institutional Reporting: The institution accurately includes distance education headcount enrollment on its annual Institutional Profile submitted to the Commission.
- 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.
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Code | Method | SCHEV Description | EMU Notes |
A | Predominant Face to Face; Synchronous | The instructor and learner share the same physical space more than 50% of the time (understood in terms of Carnegie credit hour equivalency). The instructor and learner interact mostly at the same time. | This covers most courses offered by EMU. Note that to be anything else over half of the content must be delivered in some other way, so what faculty might consider a hybrid course may still belong here. |
B | Distance-Hybrid; Synchronous | The instructor and learner share the same physical space less than 50% of the time. Electronic delivery is used for the balance of instruction. During electronic interaction, the instructor and learner interact mostly at the same time. | These courses would almost always be using our specialized technology classrooms. The course type classification is very likely a standard lecture or seminar. |
C | Distance-Hybrid; Asynchronous | The instructor and learner share the same physical space less than 50% of the time. Electronic delivery is used for the balance of instruction. During electronic interaction, the instructor and learner interact mostly at different times. | This covers courses with occasional class meetings and will likely be scheduled in any available classroom. |
D | Distance-Electronic; Synchronous | Apart from a face-to-face orientation or initial class meeting (and possibly testing), for formal instruction, the instructor and learner use electronic means to interact 100% of the time. During electronic interaction, the instructor and learner interact mostly at the same time. | These courses would either need to use our specialized technology classrooms or specific meeting coordination software. The course type classification is very likely a standard lecture or seminar. |
E | Distance-Electronic; Asynchronous | Apart from a face-to-face orientation or initial class meeting (and possibly testing), for formal instruction, the instructor and learner use electronic means to interact 100% of the time. During electronic interaction, the instructor and learner interact mostly at different times. | These are the on-line courses primarily using videos, email, message boards, etc. and would get a course type classification of ID (internet-delivered). |
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EMU classifies instructional programs with regard to distance education using a two-level framework. This classification framework is informed by federal definitions that guide the university's annual reporting to the government's Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). EMU's degree and certificate programs must be classified into one of the two categories described in the table below.
| Distance Education Categorization | Definition | EMU Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Distance education program = Yes | A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance (non-hybrid) education courses (i.e. categories D and E in Appendix II) | Note that required face-to-face orientation, initial class meeting, or testing sessions do not make a program non-distance education. |
| Distance education program = No | A program for which at least some of the required coursework for program completion must be completed via predominant face-to-face or distance-hybrid courses (i.e. categories A, B ,C in Appendix II) | Any program for which there is an expectation that students attend classes in-person with regularity or for an extended period of time is not considered to be a distance education program (even if the program also maintains an expectation of some distance education courses or class sessions). |
Definitions based on IPEDS glossary entries for distance education program and distance education course, updated July 2020.