Distance Education
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Illinois State University supports faculty in the design, development, and delivery of high-quality courses and programs offered on campus and through distance education. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) defines a distance education course as one in which 75% or more of the instruction and interaction occurs remotely (i.e., via electronic communication or equivalent mechanisms), with the faculty and students physically separated from each other. The U.S. Department of Education considers a student "enrolled in distance education if the student enrolls in at least one course offered through distance education." The Higher Learning Commission defines a certificate or degree program as a Distance Education program if 50% or more of the courses required in the program may be taken as distance education courses.
Program Modality
Program modality refers to the mode of delivery or the format by which a program is offered by a department/school (on college in the case of the Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN)). Illinois State University offers programs in the three following modalities:
On-campus: programs in this category require that students spend the majority of instructional time (50% or more) attending courses and instructional experiences on campus. While some Online or Online-enhanced courses may be offered or even required, the primary modality for courses in the program will be In-person. On-campus programs may not require students to take more than 50% of their required program courses in the Online and Online-enhanced modality.
Hybrid: Hybrid programs, sometimes called "partially online," require students to take a combination of In-person, Hybrid, Online-enhanced, and Online courses. Hybrid programs will be designated as distance education programs if 50% or more of the required program courses are delivered in Online or Online-enhanced modality.
Online: Online programs, sometimes called "fully online" programs, do not include any required in-person courses or instructional experiences. All courses in Online programs will be delivered in the Online modality. Online programs are designated as distance education programs.
Regardless of the modality, all programs must be approved through the curricular process and have their modality designated in the University Catalog. A certificate or degree program can be delivered in multiple program modalities, but each modality variation must be approved through the curricular process and published in the catalog.
Program Modality Determination
The modality of new programs shall be approved through the curriculum approval process. Changes to program modality shall be approved through the curriculum approval process (i.e., using a Revise Program form). In the event of a program modality change, every effort should be made to create teach-out plans allowing current students to complete a program in the modality in which they originally enrolled.
Course Modality
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Course modality refers to the mode of delivery or the format by which a course is offered by the instructor(s) of record. For purposes of this policy and consistent with federal regulations, an instructor of record is an individual who meets the qualifications for instruction established by HLC (or other applicable accrediting agency) and who has been assigned to deliver the course content by the department chair/school director or the dean for MCN courses; this can include cooperative teachers for professional practice courses or others acting in a similar capacity.
No matter the modality, all courses must be academically equivalent in terms of rigor, learning objectives, and material covered and abide by the established academic calendar (Policy 1.1.1), credit hour (Policy 4.1.19), grading practice (Policy 4.1.6), and final examinations (Policy 4.1.5) policies. Course syllabi should clearly state the assigned modality and delineate what components are being delivered remotely and what components are being delivered in person, if applicable.
In-person instruction is not restricted to the main ISU campus in Normal, IL. It may include HLC-approved additional campus locations, faculty-led site visits, faculty-led study abroad, study-away sites, and clinical experiences.
Course Modality Determination
The modality of a course is determined at the department/school level, at the college level for MCN, and at the provost's level for Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) based on the curricular needs of the department, school, area, or program, and the impact that such a selection would have on prospective and currently enrolled students, both undergraduate and graduate. Not all courses are appropriate for all modalities. Once a department chair/school director, the dean (only for MCN courses), or the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (or designee) (only for IDS courses), has determined the modality of a class offering and this modality is published for a term, course modality cannot be changed without the direct approval of the department chair/school director of the host unit, the dean (only for MCN courses), or the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (or designee)(only for IDS courses). If a course modality changes after the initiation of registration, the department/school, the MCN (only for MCN courses), or the Office of the Provost (only for IDS courses) must notify the Office of the University Registrar, the Graduate School (in the case of a graduate-level course), and enrolled students about the change.
Course Modality Types
In-person courses are courses for which designated course instruction time is conducted primarily in person, with a limited amount of remote course instructional meeting times. At least 75% of instruction must be in-person by the instructor(s) of record; less than 25% of instruction may be remote.
Hybrid courses combine in-person instruction and remote instruction. In hybrid courses, at least 25% of instruction must be in-person by the instructor(s) of record; less than 75% of instruction may be offered remotely. Hybrid courses are not designated as distance education courses.
Online-enhanced courses are conducted primarily remotely but also include some required in-person events or instruction. At least 75% of instruction must be remote; at least one percent and less than 25% of instruction must be in-person by the instructor(s) of record. Online-enhanced courses are considered distance education courses.
Online courses are offered completely (100%) remotely with no in-person components. Any course advertised as "fully online" is categorized as an Online course. While Online courses do not require students to attend in-person instructional activities, they may require synchronous remote class meetings. If an Online course requires synchronous meetings, the timing and frequency of those meetings must be publicized at the time of registration and included in the course syllabus. Online courses are considered distance education courses.
HyFlex course offer students the flexibility to select their modality. In HyFlex courses, students can choose from one of three modalities of participation:
- Synchronous class sessions in-person (e.g., in a classroom)
- Synchronous class sessions in-person via video conference (e.g., Zoom)
- Fully asynchronously via the university's learning management system.
HyFlex courses may have students participating in all three modalities during the same semester; thus, all three modalities should be available to student participants.
Departments/Schools may implement specific restrictions on student participation in HyFlex courses. A student's choice of modality within this designation may impact residency and/or immigration status.
Synchronous and Asynchronous Instruction
The term synchronous and asynchronous refer to the timing of interaction between the students, instructors, and the learning environment.
Synchronous refers to class activities that occur in real time. Students and instructors typically meet at a designated time, usually in a campus classroom or a designated virtual space such as a Zoom meeting. If a course requires synchronous meetings, whether in person or remote, the timing and frequency of those meetings must be publicized at the time of registration and included in the course syllabus.
Asynchronous refers to learning resources that are designed to be accessed at any time, and the learning does not require students to access them at the same time.
Regular and Substantive Interaction
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The U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission require that all courses, even those completed entirely remotely, include regular and substantive interaction between the instructor and student. Failure to provide regular and substantive interaction would classify the course as correspondence education. Illinois State University does not currently offer correspondence education courses.
The U.S. Department of Education defines regular and substantive interaction as interactions that engage students in teaching, learning, and assessment consistent with at least two substantive activities, with scheduled and predictable learning opportunities, and with responsive and proactive monitoring of the student's academic engagement and success. All courses that use distance education (defined above), whether partially or fully remote, must fulfill the "regular and substantive" criterion by federal mandate.
An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors prior to the student's completion of a course or competency by:
- Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis; and
- Monitoring the student's academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.
Substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following performed by the instructor:
- Providing synchronous direct instruction;
- Assessing or providing feedback on student's coursework;
- Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
- Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or
- Other instructional activities approved by the Higher Learning Commission.
Note: Instruction, assessment, grading, or feedback generated by 3rd party applications rather than performed by the instructor is not considered substantive interaction.
Student Academic Engagement in Distance Education Courses
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Federal law requires universities to demonstrate that a student participated in a course or was engaged in an academically related activity during an academic term, whether enrolled in in-person or remote courses. Academic engagement is defined as active participation by a student in an instructional activity related to the student's course of study.
For distance education, documenting that a student has logged into an online class is not sufficient to demonstrate academic attendance by the student.
Examples of acceptable evidence of academic engagement and attendance at an academically related activity in a distance education course/program include, but are not limited to:
- student submission of an academic assignment,
- student submission of an exam,
- documented student participation in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive or computer-assisted instruction,
- posting by the student showing the student's participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution,
- a posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student's participation in an online discussion about academic matters, and
- an email from the student or other documentation showing that the student initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.
Accreditation and Quality Control for Distance Education
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Illinois State University follows regulations and principles for distance education as mandated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the State of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
In accordance with these regulatory requirements, Illinois State University will:
- Ensure that all distance education courses and programs are consistent with the mission of courses and programs offered through distance education.
- Assess distance education in the context of regular periodic evaluation of all academic programs to ensure the same high standards for all courses regardless of delivery method.
- Obtain appropriate authorization in other states, districts, and territories or through a state authorization reciprocity agreement to offer distance education, including individual courses and programs.
- Ensure that credit hours granted for distance education are based on equivalent student work completed in traditional classroom settings.
- Follow the same curriculum and administrative approval process for all courses and programs regardless of delivery method.
- Assure adequate staffing, support, physical plant facilities, and technical assistance for well as adequate technical support to ensure students are able to complete coursework and make steady progress in their programs, regardless of delivery method.
- Ensure that all students enrolled in distance education have been regularly admitted to the university with appropriate verification of credentials and that admission and graduation requirements for distance education programs are the same as in-person programs.
- Ensure there is an appropriate process for review and appropriate action on complaints via a recognized state authorization reciprocity agreement.
- Ensure that appropriate admission processes, policies, and assessments are used to ensure the students are capable of succeeding in an online/remote environment.
- Verify the identity of students upon initial registration through appropriate forms of identification (see policy 2.1.19). Students will be informed of any additional expenses that they may incur as part of the verification of identity.
- Maintain adequate security for systems and assessments of learning, especially exams, in order to ensure academic integrity.
- Offer disclosures for each distance education program as required by law.
- Provide faculty development opportunities on best practices (technical and pedagogical) for distance education and other topics, including:
- Faculty are responsible for using technology appropriately and for informing students about technical skills and software and hardware requirements necessary to complete the course or program, as applicable.
- All distance education courses must conform to the Appropriate Use Policy (9.2) to ensure that distance education courses will be delivered in compliance with copyright standards, particularly with respect to the use of images and third-party copyrighted works.
- Instruction provided as distance education is subject to the requirements that may be imposed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12100 et. seq.) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Student Access and Accommodation Services (SAAS) determines student eligibility for reasonable accommodations. SASS staff are available to consult with faculty on how to implement accommodations in a distance education course. Information regarding the University's commitment to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities, including complaint procedures, is available at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access website.
- The Code of Student Conduct applies to all courses, whether they are offered by distance education or in-person instruction.
Associated Policies
2.1.19 Verification of Student Identity in Distance Education