In order for a student in a hybrid or virtual course to be considered attending for federal financial aid reporting purposes, the student must either: 1) attend a designated hybrid course meeting that occurs prior to the reporting date and complete and sign the acknowledgement page from the course syllabus or 2) log onto the online course management system, such as Blackboard, and complete the acknowledgment page from the syllabus as directed, or complete a course assignment. Note: Logging into the course by itself does not confirm attendance.
Students who have not 1) verified their attendance by either method above and 2) failed to communicate with the instructor by the reporting deadline, will be designated as non-attending and requested to be removed from the course by the university Registrar.
Faculty members are encouraged to indicate on the syllabus any other specific requirements for attendance.
A Director of Online Programs should be appointed. This person need not be a new hire but rather could be a staff or faculty member with extended (at least five years') experience in online education, including developing and conducting online courses. Degree, certification(s) and other required qualifications should be in line with national standards, approved by the Director of Human Resources and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Duties of the Director would include serving as a go-to person for questions regarding all distance education initiatives, including hybrid and virtual courses; offering training and professional development opportunities for faculty interested in online teaching; working with the Chairs to identify areas of growth for online courses or programming; and reviewing courses for completeness before the semester begins, including sharing the results of the review with each instructor.
The Director should establish an office where faculty and students can find help for technology issues related to teaching and learning online. The Director should be given the resources needed (staff equipment, etc.) to support the educational objectives of the university.
A University-wide Distance Education Committee should be formed, and the Director of Online Programs should be the Chair of this committee, in the event this position becomes available. The committee would be added to the University Committee Book. The committee should have faculty representation from each College and appropriate administrative representation. The Distance Education Committee would be charged with formulating guidelines for the implementing best practices in virtual courses, determining the minimal training necessary for faculty to offer a hybrid