Hybrid and virtual courses will begin on the first day of classes for the appropriate semester or summer session.
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 verified their attendance by either method above by the reporting deadline will be designated as non-attending and will be removed from the course.
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 experience or at least five years in online education, including developing and conducting online courses. If a faculty member, the Director should receive a course load reduction each semester.
Duties of the Director include, but are not limited to, serving as a go-to person for questions regarding hybrid and virtual courses; offering training and professional development opportunities for faculty interested in online teaching; working with the Divisional 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.
A University-wide Distance Education Committee should be formed with the Director of Online Programs serving as Chair. It should be a standing committee 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 implementing best practices in virtual courses, determining the minimal training necessary for faculty to offer a hybrid or virtual course, and reviewing assessment data for continuous improvement of virtual and hybrid courses.
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