Definitions
What is distance education?
The National Center for Educational Statistics, US Dept of Ed's Title 34 Education: C.F.R.600.2, IPEDS, and the Federal Student Aid Handbook, all define distance education as:
"Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously. Technologies used for instruction may include the following: Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices; audio conferencing; and video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.” See http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/glossary/?charindex=D
US Dept of Ed's Title 34 Education: C.F.R.600.2 and the recent Federal Student Aid Handbooks - define a correspondence course:
(1) A course provided by an institution under which the institution 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, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student. Correspondence courses are typically self-paced.
(2) If a course is part correspondence and part residential training, the Secretary considers the course to be a correspondence course.
(3) A correspondence course is not distance education. (And correspondence courses are not eligible for Federal Financial Aid unless they have been accredited by an agency recognized by the Department for accreditation of correspondence education).
SACS defines distance education as:
For the purposes of the Commission on College’s accreditation review, 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. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. A distance education course may use the internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices; audio conferencing; or video cassettes, DVD’s, and CD-ROMs if used as part of the distance learning course or program. See the most current Distance and Correspondence Education policy from this Index of SACSCOC Policy documents.
USG Defines Distance Education as:
Board Policy Manual 3.3.3: Distance education is defined as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place and the instruction is delivered using technology.See http://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section3/policy/C338/#p3.3.3_instruction_offered_externally
USG Academic and Student Affairs Handbook 2.3.7:
According to BOR Policy 3.3.3, the Board recognizes two categories of external degree offerings, off-campus instruction and distance education.
a) Off-campus instruction is defined as traditional face-to-face classroom instruction that occurs at a location away from the home premises of the institution.
b) Distance education is defined as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place and the instruction is delivered using technology. See http://www.usg.edu/academic_affairs_handbook/section2/C731/#p2.3.7_external_degrees
What's an online course?
Many times someone will ask: How many online courses do you have?
The answer depends on if you want the # of sections offered or # of unique courses. Most Board of Regents' reports use # of sections.
It also depends on how your define an online course. The BOR defines an online course as one in which more than 50% of instruction occurs online, even though these courses are coded as Partially Online in Banner.
USG BOR Instructional Method: Officially, according to the Board of Regents' Data Element Dictionary, courses are to be coded in line with these definitions for Instructional Method.
E: Entirely at a distance - This course is delivered 100% through distance education technology. No visits to campus or designated site are required.
F: Distance delivery - More than 95% of class sessions are delivered via distance education technology. This course may require that students travel to campus or other designated site to attend an orientation, take an exam, or participate in other on-site experience.
P: Partially at a distance - More than 50% and up to 95% of class sessions are delivered via distance education technology, but some visits to a classroom or designated instructional site are required.
H: Hybrid delivery - Up to 50 percent of class sessions are delivered via distance education technology. At least half of the class sessions meet in a classroom or at a designated instructional site.
T: Technology enhanced - Technology is used in delivering instruction to all students in the section, but no class sessions are replaced by technology.
USG defines an online course as any course in which more than 50% of instruction occurs via distance technology. Therefore, courses with an E, F, or P instructional delivery code, are all "online courses" by USG BOR definitions.
UWG's Instructional Method definitions have evolved to use more specific language, based on USG's Data Element Dictionary (above) and follow-up communications asking for clarification from the BOR:
E (100% online = Entirely at a Distance) The course must NOT require students to meet on campus at all during the course of the semester. The student can NOT be required to attend a proctored exam at one particular site; proctored exams must be allowed at any approved testing site worldwide. Sections with this designation will be marked with an "E" or "G" in the Section code (E01, E02, etc.), with eTuition and fees varying by program. Other eCampus' courses for which UWG students are not allowed to enroll may be marked with an "F" , a "Z", or a "P" in the section code but should not be visible or available for registration for UWG students - and should not be counted in UWG data reports.
F (95-100% online = Fully at a Distance) The course may require only one face-to-face meeting and perhaps a proctored exam. Using distance technologies for more than 95% of instruction time (only one face-to-face meeting and perhaps a proctored final) will impact the student's tuition and fees. Sections with this designation are marked with an N in the Section Code, with eTuition and fees varying by program.
FC (95-99% online = Fully at a Distance with one meeting on the Carrollton Campus)
FN (95-99% online = Fully at a Distance with one meeting at the UWG Newnan)
FD (95-99% online = Fully at a Distance with one meeting at the Douglasville site)
P (51-94% = Partially at a Distance) Those which meet at least 51% - 94% through videoconferencing, online, or other technologies, instead of face-to-face) are marked with a D in the Section Code in the bulletin on BanWeb.
H (1-50% = Hybrid) Technology is used to deliver 50 percent or less of class sessions, but at least one class session is replaced by technology.
NEW 3/2/2021 per J. Drake:
● (Banner Code H) Hybrid (Traditional Hybrid) - Technology is used to deliver 50% or less of class sessions. All students enrolled will meet in the classroom on both days assigned to the course, but at least one class session will be replaced by technology.
○ Both days are listed in the Schedule of Classes (i.e. M/W 11-12:15).
○ No notes are needed about f2f or online dates
● (Banner Code H1) Hybrid 1 (Split Roster) - Technology is used to deliver 50% or less of class sessions, and students meet minimally one time per week in a face to face class setting. Segments of the class attend the classroom on a regular scheduled rotation based on classroom capacity with social distancing.
○ Both days are listed in the Schedule of Classes (i.e. M/W 11-12:15)
○ Notes will need to be added to the Schedule of Classes letting the students know they will only be meeting f2f once per week based on how the instructor divides the class.
○ The professor will need to send email notifications to the students letting them know which day to attend class.
● (Banner Code H2) Hybrid 2 (Once per week) - Technology is used to deliver 50% or less of class sessions. Students will meet face-to-face on one of the course days and online either synchronously or asynchronously on the other day.
○ The course will need to be displayed similar to the two examples below so that it is clear to students which day they are required to attend class in person:
T (Technology Enhanced) Technology is used in delivering instruction but no class sessions are replaced by technology. (As explained further by a BOR rep - ask yourself if the students could live without it/ perform well in the class without it? If the answer is no, then you're class is T (Technology Enhanced).
Each course section is also assigned a Campus Code. The ones currently being used for online courses are as follows:
O eCore
NET Distance Learning Technology (our homegrown Fully or Entirely online courses and European Union)- these are the only ones generating UWG eTuition; EU uses U section code Fall 2017 forward
EC eCampus (only used when we are Receiving institution)
EM eMajor (used for BS in Org Leadership because we are the Sending institution; also used for GSW's BBA courses and many others, See exceptions below. They joined eMajor as a single-institution program as of spring, so we build the courses as the sending institution, however, they are not visible or available for registration for UWG students. KSU cyber-security will be joining in the Fall but it has not been decided whether we will build the courses as the Sending school)
EM eCampus: EXCEPTIONS
(Aug 29, 2018 email from AReece): For Summer 2016, you could exclude all eMajor courses.
(Sept 4, 2018 email from AReece): For Fall 2016, you will need to exclude any CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC.
(Aug 29, 2018 email from AReece): exclude POLS 0100 from Summer 2016 – Summer 2017 and exclude BIOL 1011K Spring 2017 forward.
FALL 2017 Data: (Oct 9, 2017 email frm AReece): exclude CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC and also ORGL 1100, 1500, 2100, 2601, 2800, & 2900 for now. Also all Z sections.
SPRING 2018: (June 11 email frm BMiles): Still exclude CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC, but you can now include all ORGL courses. Exclude BBA &
ETECITEC courses (F and P part of terms); F section codes.Summer 2018: same as Spring 2018, no changes
Fall 2018: same as Spring 2018, no changes
Spring 2019: same as Spring 2018, but also exclude NURS 3191, 3192, 3194, 3195, 3293, 3555, 4192, 4292, 4698; see exceptions for new V coded RN-BSN program
Summer 2019: (email from AReece) also exclude:
FTA 4001 – Foundations of Fintech
FTA 4002 – Financial Technologies
FTA 4003 – Commercial Banking in Fintech
FTA 4005 – Introduction to Financial Data Analytics
FTA 4100 – Intro to Information Security for Fintech
V WebMBA
Each course section is also assigned a Section Code. The ones currently being used for online courses are as follows - but note that there could be duplication here so data reports ran using a section code should also include logic for the appropriate Campus Code.
E Entirely Online (UWG, UWG's eMajor Org Leadership degree, Ga WebMBA, European Union before Fall 2017)
U Entirely Online European Union (still uses NET campus code); effective Fall 2017 forward
N 95-100% online
D 51-94% online
For eMajor - use campus code EM but in combination with the following section codes EM eCampus: EXCEPTIONS
EM courses with an E in their section DO need to get listed unless they are one of the courses listed as an ECampus Exception for a specific term they are part of UWG's Org Leadership program and DO count in UWG data reports
EM courses with an F in their section DO NOT get listed (GSW's BBA program - hidden, UWG students cannot register. DO NOT count in UWG data reports)
EM courses with a P in their section DO NOT get listed (POLS-0100 Georgia Government Review - hidden, UWG students cannot register. DO NOT count in UWG data reports)
EM courses with a V in their section DO NOT get listed (RN-BSN program - hidden, UWG students cannot register. DO NOT count in UWG data reports)
For eCore "non-affiliate" - use campus code O but in combination with the following section codes:
O courses with a Z in their section code DO NOT get listed (they are non-affiliate eCore courses using our Banner system. DO NOT count in UWG data reports).
Reference eCampus Course Build sheet
EM eCampus: EXCEPTIONS
(Aug 29, 2018 email from AReece): For Summer 2016, you could exclude all eMajor courses.
(Sept 4, 2018 email from AReece): For Fall 2016, you will need to exclude any CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC.
(Aug 29, 2018 email from AReece): exclude POLS 0100 from Summer 2016 – Summer 2017 and exclude BIOL 1011K Spring 2017 forward.
FALL 2017 Data: (Oct 9, 2017 email frm AReece): exclude CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC and also ORGL 1100, 1500, 2100, 2601, 2800, & 2900 for now. Also all Z sections.
SPRING 2018: (June 11 email frm BMiles): Still exclude CRJU, LEAS, HADM, or OATC, but you can now include all ORGL courses. Exclude BBA &
ETECITEC courses (F and P part of terms); F section codes.Summer 2018: same as Spring 2018, no changes
Fall 2018: same as Spring 2018, no changes
Spring 2019: same as Spring 2018, but also exclude NURS 3191, 3192, 3194, 3195, 3293, 3555, 4192, 4292, 4698; see exceptions for new V coded RN-BSN program
For more info on campus codes and other related codes in Banner, see this Banner Code Guide
Also, see the BOR's Data Element Dictionary (Feb 2021)
What's an online student?
The answer depends on how you (or the person for whom you are gathering the info) defines an "online" student:
Will you define an online student as one that takes at least one online course (by the USG definition of an online course being one in which more than 50% of instructions is online)?
Or will you define an online student as one that takes at least one Entirely or Fully online course, according to the Instructional Method definitions explained above?
Or will your definition be more restrictive, counting only students who are enrolled exclusively in either?
Do you need enrollment numbers (enrollments in online courses, by your selected definition) or headcount numbers (the number of unique students)?
UWG - currently has no one standard way of defining an online student, though as of 2015, the Undergraduate Admissions application allows students to self-identify as "taking online courses exclusively" and codes these students with a NET student code. A cohort code was also tested in early Fall 2015 but was not utilized going forward.
US Dept of Ed's IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - Uses the term "enrollment" but actually means unique headcount of students; separates students into 3 categories:
Enrolled Exclusively in Distance Education Courses.
Enrolled in Some (But Not All) Distance Education Courses.
Not Enrolled in Any Distance Education Courses.
What's an online program?
Both USG BOR and SACS define an online program as one in which a student could earn more than 50% of the required credit hours via online courses (courses more than 50% online), though typically most people think of a 50-94% online program as a partially online one and ones 95-100% online as true online programs. According to Dr. Middleton of the BOR (Nov 4, 2015): Faculty who teach in undergraduate programs have control over the major and Area F, not the remaining courses taken in the core. Therefore the "greater than 50% threshold" should be based on those courses that are in the program's major and Area F. Although this approach is not codified in the BOR Academic Affairs Handbook, Dr. Middleton views this as a sound approach that is well within the authority of the Provost to determine for our campus. Dr. Crafton supports this approach (email from Dr. Gantner).
A program in which a student could earn more than 50% of the required credit hours via online courses (and wishes to market itself as Partially, Fully, or Entirely Online) is required to:
Provide notice to the UWG Faculty Senate
Have the VPAAs office send notice to the USG Board of Regents
SACS notice or approval is no longer needed unless the program is a brand new one at UWG
Once the above steps are taken, UWG Online can help market in the following ways:
Courses and the program can be marketed online at htp://www.westga.edu, http://uwgonline.westga.edu, http://www.georgiaonmyline.org, in the SREC (Southern Regional Electronic Campus database). We can discuss other marketing/program needs with which we could possibly assist. For example, we might be able to provide banners and table cloths for conference displays, as well as rack cards or other items. In addition, we work closely with University Communications and Marketing to promote our online offerings via Google adwords, Pandora ads, and more. Contact jgubbins@westga.edu/ 678-839-0630
Dr. Jason Huett and his instructional design/ faculty development team, led by our Director of Faculty Development, Dr. Beth Roepnack, are available for program planning, instructional design consultation, faculty development, and other related tasks. The team can customize training for your program needs. As funding allows, we may be able to sponsor QM certification or similar opportunities. Contact broepnac@westga.edu or call 678-839-5289, for more details.
Review DE State Authorization requirements with the administrators and add their program to various state application updates across the US. This is important, as our geographical reach is expanding quickly. For example, in Fall 2015, we had 1987 students enrolled exclusively in fully online courses; they participated from 38 US states, 4 countries, and 104 Ga counties. Contact jgubbins@westga.edu/ 678-839-0630
Help facilitate test proctoring, so that students from anywhere can enroll, if needed. Contact jgubbins@westga.edu/ 678-839-0630
There are known issues with coding online programs as online programs in Banner:
UWG doesn't have a process for doing it. We code the course sections; we code the students at the point of Admission (but only the ones that self-identify as entirely online via their online admissions application); but, unless the program was created and approved as a solely online collaborative program (like the Ga WebMBA), we do not place a code on a program itself, though others in the USG system apparently do. Others in the USG, we have been told, use the "Program location" field and when students declare their major they are forced to identify the program and their primary location. For example, a student would declare either "BBA in Mgnt - Athens", "BBA in Mgnt - Clarkseville", or "BBA in Mgnt - Online."
The fact that UWG does not code the online programs leaves these programs at a distinct disadvantage - especially when a program like our BS in Crim is offered both online, on-campus, and everything in between (hybrid). By not coding the program's locations there is no way to divvy out students in the online program versus the F2F one - a step that is important when trying to gather data - especially student success data over time or data comparing student success of the online version of a program to its on-campus counterpart. Not being able to report such data is often a detriment to national rankings like US News & World Reports rankings, for example.
What is the DMA?
"Degrees and Major Approved" is the University System of Georgia Board of Regents' official list of degrees and majors approved by the BOR. ( As of 11/3/2016 their backend database is not up-to-date and online offerings are not listed as such). **BUT** in some cases, some Certificates or other offerings may not be listed:
PSC (Professional Standards Commission) certifications should not be listed on the BOR website - they are PSC credentials. So, does the Fac Sanate and/or BOR need to be notified? I would not think so (since they are PSC credentials). But I can't say for sure.
Stand-alone certifications would be listed on the BOR website and would require prior notice to Faculty Senate & the BOR; new ones also require approval through the DOE and financial aid (can take 6-9 mos).
Embedded certifications are part of an existing degree program. Question: IF the program sent previous notice as being online, to Fac Senate and BOR, then are all subsequent embedded certificates covered? Or do they need to send their own notice(s)?
The Board of Regents also maintains a second website listing "Degrees Available via Distance Learning Technologies" - this site may or may not include certificates left off of the DMA.
Credit Hours, Contact Hours, Competency Based Education (CBE), Prior Learning Assessments (PLAs):
All covered in the DOE Financial Student Aid Handbook
Credit hours are a concept set and regulated by the federal government, so you know they’re going to be complicated. Here’s the federal definition, and a bunch of links to how other schools are defining their credit hour standards:
1 credit hour = 1 hour of class time + 2 hours of outside homework x 15 weeks.
Note: 1 hour of class time = either 60 or 50 minutes; most schools adopt the 50-minute standard “clock hour."
Note: the standard for online courses is to accept the total time required as the amount of time expected.
So, we’re looking at: 1 online credit hour = between 45 and 42.5 hours of work.
Example: At University of New England, most of their online courses are 8-week courses. So, for those online 3-credit courses, using the more common “clock hour” standard, that equates to 16 hours of work per week for 8 weeks. This standard has been accepted by their regional accreditor, NEASC.
NOTE: At UWG - Here's how we handle credit hours
Links and others' examples:
Federal Definition of credit hour: CFR Title 34 → Subtitle B → Chapter VI → Part 600 → Subpart A → §600.2
Federal Register discussion of credit hour definition (starts on page 66844)
Blog: Things You Need to Know About Online Courses & The Federal Credit Hour Regulations
Guidance from DOE - General Education, gainful employment
Example: Kansas State University, Global Campus
Example: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (clock hour)
Example: SUNY (clock hour)
Example: National Conference on Allied Health Education (discussion)
Example: Los Angeles Southwest College (60-minute hour + 16-week semester)
Example: Univ System of Florida - Definitions of online courses and online programs, including proctoring questions