Distance Education Policy

NACC recognizes distance education as a delivery system for instruction. Distance education is 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. The goal of these courses is to help fulfill the NACC mission of providing available, accessible, and affordable courses for transfer and career programs for students.

All of the present policies that apply to on-campus or “traditional classroom” education will apply to the area of distance education. This includes admission, prerequisites, grade requirements, etc.

The following policy statements apply to distance education at NACC:

1. Distance education courses must be of the same quality and rigor as those presented on campus as demonstrated through the following procedures:

• Application with the accompanying course syllabi provided to the division director for review and approval by the Curriculum Committee and Dean of Instruction prior to course implementation;
• Submission of scheduled student learning outcomes reports to supervisors for review;
• Review by the Curriculum Committee of annual institutional effectiveness reports, including reports relating to course evaluations and the comparability of distance education and traditional courses.

2. Instructors must demonstrate how student work is monitored to assure integrity through the following procedures:

• Each instructor or an approved proctor will (1) administer at least one significant on-campus examination or assignment per course OR (2) require at least one significant examination or assignment per course be completed by the student through the LMS online monitoring system, Respondus Monitor. The choice of completing the examination or assignment on campus or through Respondus Monitor shall be at the discretion of each student.
• Each instructor will require students to present a formal ID prior to all video monitored exams or proctored exams.
• Each student will be required to use a unique user name and password to access the course management system and other online instructional interfaces.

The date(s) of any required online conference/meetings or on-campus meetings (if any) must be announced to students at the beginning of the semester.

3. Distance education instructors must support continued communication with and amongst students by

• incorporating into the course a discussion board or other shared communication tool whereby students and the instructor have the opportunity to regularly communicate;
• sending weekly emails to students in order to encourage course progress, make announcements regarding the coursework, etc.

4. Appropriate library/learning resources are made easily accessible for distance education students through access points within the course management system (Canvas) and through the Library/Learning Resource Center web page.

5. Student services must be easily accessible and relative to distance education students. Access to such services is provided within the course management system and through the Distance Education and Student Services web pages.

6. Faculty approved to teach distance education must meet the following requirements:

• Completion of orientation to distance education instruction session through the NACC Technology Learning Center prior to teaching a distance education course;
• Participation in at least two annual training sessions through the NACC Technology Learning Center or through Canvas or other digital content training modules;

The Director of the Technology Learning Center is responsible for maintaining records of orientation sessions and of participation and assessment of training sessions.

7. The NACC Intellectual Property and Distance Education Course Ownership Policy govern issues pertaining to ownership of intellectual properties and is to be employed in conjunction with the Distance Education Policy.

8. Distance Education faculty members must deliver accurate and current information. Faculty shall not include in the content or delivery of a course any information which he or she knows to constitute libel, invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright or other literary rights, or otherwise violate the legal rights of others. (See the TEACH Act.)

Using any computer or information technology resource of Northeast Alabama Community College signifies that the user agrees to comply with the following NACC policies:

• Computer Acceptable Use Policy
• Peer to Peer Policy
• Wireless Internet Access Policy

Full policies of Northeast Alabama Community College are published in the Faculty and Staff Handbook (employment policies), or the Catalog (academic and student policies), or can be obtained from the Office of the President. While this website attempts to present information accurately, it does not constitute the complete statement of policies of Northeast Alabama Community College. Contents are subject to change without notice.