What Is Distance Education? Is Distance Education for Me? Identifying Courses Current Course Schedules Student Services Graduate Announcements Undergraduate Announcements
Guiding Principles and Standard Practice
One of the keys to successful distance education programs is quality teaching. Teaching off-campus requires different strategies of interaction, content presentation, and evaluation. The faculty development opportunities and areas of support for the off-campus faculty member continue to expand.
Developing Online Courses
Faculty Workshop
Guiding Principles and Standards of Practice for Online Programs
Syllabus Template for Online Courses
Teaching at the University Center of Greenville
GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR ONLINE PROGRAMS:
The College of Health, Education and Human Development (HEHD) is committed to maintaining a high quality of educational opportunities for our online students. This document specifies the guiding principles and standards of practice for all online courses and programs offered through the College. The standards are organized into the following categories:
- Institutional Context and Commitment
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Faculty Support
- Student Support
- Evaluation and Assessment
In the College of HEHD, an Online Program is defined as any degree or certificate program with 100% of the courses available in an online delivery format. An Online Course is defined as any course with 80% or more of the content delivered online. These courses typically do not have face-to-face meetings with the exception of scheduled annual on-campus activities.
Institutional Context and Commitment
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The content, purposes, organization, and target student enrollment of all online degree and certificate programs will be consistent with the mission statements of Clemson University and the College of Health, Education and Human Development (HEHD).
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Students admitted to a degree program that is listed as “online” will be able to complete the entire program online with the exception of specified annual on-campus activities.
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The College of HEHD is committed to offering all online degree and certificate programs for a period sufficient to enable all admitted students to complete the degree or certificate within a publicized timeframe.
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All online degree and certificate programs will operate on a cost-recovery budget. These self-supporting programs are exempt from the Clemson University Employee Tuition Remission policies.
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The College of HEHD, in collaboration with the Clemson University Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) area, will provide technology and technical assistance to support faculty and students involved in online degree and certificate programs in the form of training programs, student services support, and technical support.
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The development and implementation of a new online degree or certificate program will follow the current College, University, State, and professional accreditation agencies’ guidelines for any new program. Courses will be pedagogically sound and meet the approval of the academic unit.
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Assessment and evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of online degree and certificate programs will follow the current University and College guidelines and procedures for any program.
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Online students will be provided with information on how to access technical support for the use of hardware, software, and delivery systems required in each program.
- The use of course materials will follow all applicable legal and regulatory requirements including copyright, accessibility of web sites, and international restrictions.
Curriculum and Instruction
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All online degree and certificate programs will demonstrate a level of learning outcomes equal to or better than standard learning outcomes of an on-campus program.
- The learning objectives of each course will describe outcomes that are measurable.
- Learning objectives will address content mastery, critical thinking skills, and core learning skills.
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Learning objectives and instructions on how to meet the learning objectives will be clearly stated and understandable to the student.
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The development, implementation, and delivery of all online degree programs, certificate programs, and courses will be guided by a Clemson University faculty member.
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The design of an online degree or certificate program will include a coherent plan for the students to access all of the courses necessary to complete the program within a published timeline.
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Programs will be designed to ensure that all students have access to services equivalent to those offered on-campus, including admission, registration, advising, textbook orders, library resources, technology assistance, and course evaluation.
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The importance of interaction (synchronous or asynchronous) between instructor and students and among students will be reflected in the design of the program and its courses, and in the technical facilities and services provided.
- Students will interact with the course content, teacher, and other students on at least a weekly basis.
- Instructors will respond to all email and telephone messages within 48 hours (except on weekends). Email message responses will be sent to the student’s Clemson University email address.
- Students will receive timely feedback on all course assignments and other forms of assessment. The expected time between receipt of the assignments and feedback on the student’s performance will be specified in the course syllabus.
- In addition to the requirements of the Graduate and Undergraduate Schools, the syllabus for online courses will also include:
- Introduction and short bio-sketch of Instructor
- Opportunity for introduction of each student to the other students in the class
- Minimum technology requirements
- Expected weekly time commitment
- Guide to the organization of the course and how to access the course materials
- Guidelines and netiquette expectations for communicating electronically
- Instructions for submitting course assignments and other forms of assessment including method and format of submission, date and time (including time zone) the assignments are due, and expected time of response from the instructor.
- Students will receive a copy of the syllabus and information on how to order the textbooks at least two weeks before the beginning of the course. Late registrants will be sent a copy of the syllabus and textbook information within 48 hours of registration (except weekends).
Faculty Support
- Issues of workload, compensation, ownership of intellectual property resulting from the program, and the implications of program participation for the faculty member’s professional evaluation process will be negotiated between the faculty member and the academic unit before the course is developed.
- Instructional design and technology support for faculty developing online courses will be provided by the HEHD Office of Distance Education in collaboration with the CCIT area.
- Faculty teaching online for the first time must participate in an orientation program to become prepared to meet the special requirements of teaching at a distance. The orientation will include:
- Characteristics of the online learner
- Introduction to the use of Blackboard, Breeze, and other course management tools
- How to access and use the electronic library resources
- Strategies and skills on communicating with students electronically
- How to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous interactions between instructor and students and among students
- Assessment options, strategies, and management
- All training and orientation programs will provide the participants the opportunity for evaluation. Results will be analyzed and incorporated into future training and orientation programs.
Student Support
- The College of HEHD is committed to the continuation of all online degree and certificate programs for a period sufficient to enable all admitted students to complete the degree or certificate within a publicized timeframe.
- All students applying for admission to an online degree program will follow the Clemson University requirements for admission. The current student affairs policies and procedures will apply.
- All online degree and certificate programs will include the minimum technology and technological competence requirements, the expected weekly time commitment, and any additional requirements for the online program in all publications describing the programs.
- All online students will have the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as on-campus students.
- All students will have access to an orientation program on online teaching and learning. The orientation program will include:
- Use of Blackboard, Breeze, and other course management tools
- Electronic communication strategies
- Time management strategies
- Use of library electronic resources
- Virtual team strategies
- How to access advising, financial aid, Graduate School, technology support, library, registration services, Student Disability Services, textbooks, and VA Educational Benefits
- How to access course invoices, online course evaluations, and grades
Evaluation and Assessment
- As a component of Clemson University and the College of HEHD’s overall assessment activities, documented assessment and evaluation of student achievement will be conducted at the end of each course and at the completion of the program, by comparing student performance to the intended learning outcomes.
- When examinations are employed, they will take place in circumstances that include firm student identification.
- Every effort will be taken to ensure the privacy and security of personal information is protected in the process of conducting and reporting the results of assessments and evaluations.
- Overall program effectiveness will be evaluated in an ongoing manner by the academic area. Results of effectiveness studies will be used in the design and planning of new and existing programs.