See also Credit Hour and Class Meetings , Attendance and Final Examinations (Credit Hour Policy)
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to address the following concerns:
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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 Credit Hour and Class Meetings , Attendance and Final Examinations (Credit Hour Policy)).
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.
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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:
- Distance education program - A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.
- Distance education course - A course in which the instructional content is delivered exclusively via distance education. Requirements for coming to campus for orientation, testing, or academic support services do not exclude a course from being classified as distance education.