SOLANO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

DISTANCE EDUCATION 6115

PROCEDURES

# Definitions

#

Distance Education: Distance education means education that uses one or more of the technologies listed below to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor(s) and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and instructor(s) either synchronously or asynchronously. Technologies that may be used to offer distance education include: (1) the internet, (2) one-way and two-way transmission through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices, (3) audio conference, (4) other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in this definition. Distance education does not include correspondence courses.

Online courses can be scheduled as either synchronous or asynchronous. In synchronous courses, instruction happens in real-time, like a live video conference. In asynchronous courses, learning occurs at different times, without immediate feedback, often at times that fit the students’ schedule

Correspondence Education: Correspondence Education means education provided through one or more courses by a community college or district under which the college or district provides instructional materials, by mail or electronic transmission, including examinations on the materials, to students who are separated from the instructor. Interaction between the instructor and student is limited due to separation, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student. Correspondence courses are typically self-paced, although a regular cycle of assignment submissions and delivery of feedback should be established for facilitated learning. If a course is part correspondence and part residential training, it is considered a correspondence course. Correspondence education is not distance education.

Hybrid courses. Hybrid courses are defined as any course that has some face-to-face instruction time replaced by some online instruction time.

Note: In alignment with federal definitions, recognition of correspondence as an approved modality was removed from the distance education regulations. Title 5 §55260-55266 define correspondence education as an alternative method of instruction. At Solano Community College, correspondence education is reserved for a limited number of course offerings as part of the Rising Scholars program for incarcerated students.

Consistent with federal regulations pertaining to federal financial aid eligibility, the District must authenticate or verify that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence education course is the same student who participates in and completes the course or program and receives the academic credit. The District provides to each student at the time of registration, a statement of the process in place to protect student privacy and estimated additional student charges associated with verification of student identity, if any.

Solano Community College utilizes a secure Single Sign-on (SSO) login and password system to meet this requirement. Each student must verify identity at the time of registration to obtain a login ID and password. Online courses can only be accessed through the SSO.

Online instructors have the option of administering proctored examinations in the classroom (in-person) or online. Classroom space on campus can be used for these examinations. In addition, in-person Proctored Examinations for individual students are arranged through the instructor.

# Course and Instructor Approval

Instructors must submit one course shell offered by distance education to the DE committee for review. Upon approval by the DE committee, the instructor will be certified to teach online.

The review and approval of new and existing distance education courses follow the curriculum approval procedures outlined in Board Policy 6100: Program, Curriculum, and Course Development. Distance education courses are approved under the same conditions and criteria as all other courses.

According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), all online instructors must meet the following initial training requirements and yearly training to maintain currency:

- 40.0 hours of training through @One Solano Community College Distance Education Committee (SCC DE), or equivalent course
- 40.0 hours of Accessibility training through @One, SCC DE, or equivalent course
- Training scores should be 80% or higher
- Maintain currency with the current learning management system (LMS) and online pedagogy by doing the following:
  - At minimum, 6 hours of training each year.
  - Suggested courses include @One, SCC FLEX courses specific to Canvas, Online Learning, and other online sources.
  - Hours must be tracked through Professional Development. (CBA, Article 19.4.1.D.).

# Certification

When approving faculty to teach in the distance education modality, the Distance Education Committee certifies the following:

Course Quality Standards: The same standards of course quality are applied to the distance education offerings as are applied to traditional classroom offerings.

Course Quality Determinations: Determinations and judgments about the quality of the distance education components of a course were made with the full involvement of the Distance Education Committee approval procedures.

Instructor Contact: Each section of the course that is delivered through distance education will include regular and substantive interaction between instructor and students, as well as among students, as described in the course outline of record, either synchronously or asynchronously, through group or individual meetings, orientation and review sessions, supplemental seminar or study sessions, field trips, library workshops, telephone contact, voice mail, e-mail, or other activities.

For purposes of this definition, 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:

- Providing direct instruction;
- Assessing or providing feedback on a 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 institution's or program's accrediting agency.

An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors by, prior to the student's completion of a course or competency:

- Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and regular basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; 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.

A distance education course is defined as a course in which instruction takes place as described above, exclusively using technology to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction. A course is still considered to be distance education even if it includes in person non-instructional requirements, such as orientation, testing, other academic support services. (Code of Federal Regulations, §600.2)

Correspondence Education: Each section of a course conducted through correspondence education will be established through a cycle of assignment submissions and comprehensive, responsive feedback, as determined by the Curriculum Committee. Instructors will be responsible for ensuring that each student will receive ongoing support toward making meaningful academic progress. Students who participate in correspondence education will have access to student support services, including counseling, library searches, research assistance, and tutoring or other learning support through mail, email, telephone or in-person contact, as determined by the Curriculum Committee.

Course Outline of Record or Addendum to Course Outline: The course outline of record or an addendum to the official course outline of record for any new or existing course provided through distance or correspondence education must address the following:

- How course outcomes will be achieved in a distance education or correspondence education mode;
- For distance education, how the portion of instruction delivered via distance education meets the requirement for regular and substantive interaction;
- For correspondence education how the portion of instruction delivered via correspondence education documents and facilitates learning progression through a cycle of assignment submissions and feedback; and,
- The course design and all course materials must be accessible to every student, including students with disabilities.

Duration of Approval: All faculty approved under this procedure to teach in the distance education or correspondence education modality must annually complete six (6) hours of professional development reasonably related to Canvas, online learning, or other online sources to remain eligible to teach online unless there are substantive changes of the course outline.

Each faculty member’s eligibility to teach online is approved by the Distance Education Committee after meeting the requirements listed above.

Faculty Selection and Workload: Instructors of course sections delivered through distance education or correspondence education are individuals responsible for delivering course content who meet the qualifications for instruction established by the District’s accrediting agency. Instructors will be selected using the District’s same procedures for determining other instructional assignments.

Correspondence Education Students: A student is considered to be “enrolled in correspondence courses” if correspondence courses constitute 50 percent or more of the courses in which the student is enrolled during a financial aid award year.

In order for a correspondence education student to be considered a full-time student at the District, at least one-half of the student’s course work must be made up of non-correspondence coursework that meets one-half of the District’s requirement for full-time students.

- For a program that measures progress in credit hours and sues standard terms, 12 semester hours or 12 quarter hours per academic term.

Linked to Board Policy 6100: Program, Curriculum, and Course Development.

REFERENCES/

AUTHORITY:Title 5 Sections 55200 et seq.;

34 Code of Federal Regulations Part 602.17 (U.S. Department of Education regulations on the Integrity of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended)

Collective Bargaining Agreement Between SCC and CCA/CTA/NEA, Article 19.4.1.D. (2023-2026)

ACCJC Policy on Distance Education and on Correspondence Education (June 2025)

ACCJC Accreditation Standard 2.6, Required Documentation 2.xi

ADOPTED:September 28, 2016

REVISED:November XX, 2025

1