DE Courses

Distance Completely Online (DCO) "Online"

DCO (Distance Completely Online) refers to a distance education course that is available to students at any location. This includes all distance learning courses for which the mode of delivery is through the use of personal computers or similar devices that access the Internet. DCO courses can apply to scheduled/synchronous and/or unscheduled/asynchronous approaches. The student is never required to visit campus or a UH site (e.g. for testing, instructional activity or orientation).

• DCO courses cannot require in-person proctored exams.

• DE classified students are eligible to enroll in DCO courses (WOP 5.102)

• DE classified students are exempt from Health Clearance & some student fees (EP 6.208)

Hybrid (HYB)

HYB (Hybrid) refers to a course that includes instructional activities both online and in-person at a UH designated site (when not covered under another definition). The online instruction may be scheduled/synchronous or unscheduled/asynchronous but the in-person requirement(s) is always scheduled/synchronous and at a UH designated site.

• HYB courses include some in-person instructional activities, in addition to exams.

• HYB courses cannot only include in-person proctored exams at a UHWO or at a national testing center.

• Only students classified as on-campus students can register in Hybrid. DE students will not be allowed to register in HYB courses.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are the foundation of any course. They describe the knowledge or skills students should acquire by the end of a particular activity, task, assignment or course. Most student learning objective will need to be measured for assessment purposes, so making them observable and measurable are key.

The UH West Oʻahu Assessment website provides more detailed information about the essential elements of learning outcomes and how to write measurable learning outcomes for a course, certificate or degree.

Course SLOs are aligned with Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) for certificate or degree concentration level, along with Degree Learning Outcomes and Institutional Learning Outcomes. Changes to the Course SLOs are made by submitting a course modification in the Kuali Curriculum Management System . (Tutorials for course modification in Kuali are available on the OPDAS Laulima site.)

When designing an online course, it is best to start with the "big picture" of what will happen during the semester/session and design the blueprint for how online learning will occur. Week by week (or module by module), note the topic, the student learning outcomes, and activities. Later on, as you are building each week, the plans might change, but this is a good "outline" from which you can start drafting and designing your course.

If your course is already organized by weeks or modules, and the learning activities are well-defined, this process may be fairly easy. Nevertheless, it is always good practice to evaluate and reflect how well each activity might work in an online modality and engage your students in the course. You may ask yourself, what do I need to add, change, or delete in order to take advantage of being online? How will I deliver my PowerPoint lecture online, synchronously or asynchronously? How will the students have group discussions in an online class?

Use this Semester Planner Worksheet (the Google doc will prompt you to make a copy) and start planning your online course. (Adapted from Kapiʻolani Community College TOPP to Go training.)

After planning the semester, the next step is to think carefully about each learning activity and related deliverables or assessments and their connections to SLO's. For example, you may want to think about how you will determine whether a student is achieving the learning outcomes? You will want to consider how you will formatively assess students to afford them opportunities to practice, gain feedback and improve. Think about how these activities scaffold students in preparing them for the summative assessments. What weight will these tasks carry and how will they add up in the final grade?

Use the Online Course Activity Planner (the Google doc will prompt you to make a copy) and start planning your online course activities. (Adapted from Kapiʻolani Community College TOPP to Go training)

Once you have planned out your course, and aligning the course SLOs to the assessments and learning activities, the next step is to design your course materials and build your Laulima course site. To ensure that your course is well-designed according to evidence-based standards, make a copy of the UHWO Online Course Design Rubric, and use the rubric as a checklist as you design and build your online course in Laulima. View the rubric in this guide.

Instructional design support is available through the Office of Distance Learning if you need assistance designing your course in Laulima. Submit a UHWO Instructional Design Request, and you will be contacted by Instructional Designer, Char Hopela to schedule a consultation.

Ensuring that your course design is accessible is essential. On the Distance Learning Compliance page of this Guide, the "habits" that will help you develop the basic skills are outlined under Accessibility. These accessibility habits will support the accessible design of course materials. The following checklist will guide you through the process of ensuring that your course design meets accessibility guidelines that have been outlined by Federal and UH System policies.

Accessibility Checklist

• • Real text vs. text within graphics. All typography is rendered as text so that it can be enlarged, magnified, and or parsed by a screen reader.

  • All documents and text content use structured, sequential heading styles.

  • Tables are used exclusively to display data and structured in an accessible format.

  • San Serif fonts are used in all documents when appropriate.

  • Color is never used as the only factor to convey information about text.

  • Use a color contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text or 3:1 for large font (18 point or larger, or 14 point and bold).

  • Closed captions (displaying text on a visual display to provide additional or interpretive information) are provided for all video content.

  • Transcripts are provided for all video and audio files.

  • Alternative "Alt" text descriptions are included for all non-text items like images.

  • Blinking and/or flashing animation features are not used in any digital course content.

  • Page structure: All interactive content such as tests, quizzes, polls, etc. can be controlled using the keyboard. There are no features that require the use of a mouse or touch screen.

  • If time limits are used for assessments, the time can be adjusted to accommodate students with disabilities who require extended time for exams.

  • Information on how to request accommodations and how to access help with accessibility challenges is provided in both the syllabus and on the course site. UH West Oʻahu Office of Disability Services

The Accessibility Checklist - When you submit a proposal for a DE designation in Kuali, our curriculum management system, the proposer will be required to verify that the course they are proposing meets the accessibility requirements in the checklist above, or they may provide an explanation for any items on the checklist that does not meet accessibility guidelines.

NOTE: Any instructor teaching a course through a distance mode of delivery, even if they were not the initial proposer of the course, is also responsible for ensuring that these accessibility features are provided in their course.

Syllabus Template

A syllabus is an important document in any course. For online learners it's usually the first point of contact with your students and typically continues to be an important reference point throughout the semester. We highly recommend that you begin with the syllabus template (linked below) and customize it for your course, as it is fully ADA compliant and includes the essential sections and information. Another option is to update your existing syllabus with information found in the template.

UHWO Syllabus Template (the Google doc will prompt you to make a copy) and then you can develop your course syllabus using this accessible template.

Syllabus Components

While using the syllabus template is strongly encouraged, faculty can decide to create their own syllabus without using the template. An online syllabus should include three main elements: the contract, map, and schedule.

• The Course Contract is the core of the online syllabus, it provides students with information about academic policies and expectations. In short, the syllabus states everything a student needs to know in order to access the course content, understand course and institutional policies, identify assignment, instructional activities and grading criteria.

• The Course Map explains the navigation pane which helps students understand the organization of the site. For example, you can include instructions in your syllabus such as; “You can respond to the Discussion Board by clicking the DISCUSSIONS link on the Navigation Pane.” or "Content is organized weekly in the form of MODULES link on the Navigation Pane."

• The Course Schedule in an online syllabus is similar to a face-to-face syllabus. It includes a description of weekly lessons, readings, activities, discussions, projects and assessments. Because there is so much additional information in an online syllabus, it is also particularly helpful to call special attention to important dates in the semester. It is also useful to give students a general weekly timeline for when lessons are released and activities, discussions and assessments are due.

University of Hawaiʻi System policy, as well as U.S. federal regulations and WSCUC guidelines indicate that a student logging into distance education courses no longer counts as student participation, and students must provide evidence of academic engagement.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “...institutions [need] to take steps to ensure that students are academically engaged prior to distributing student aid funds.” If students do not academically engage in their course, Title IV funds must be returned (34 CFR 668.21(a)).

UH West Oʻahu must be able to provide documented evidence of regular and substantive interaction and student participation in learning activities, such as a posting in the discussion forum, a syllabus quiz or other form of formative and summative assessment with instructor feedback in order to provide evidence of academic engagement.

If students do not complete a documented assignment that academically engages them within the first week of instruction, the student will be involuntarily withdrawn from the class as part of the student participation verification process. A student emailing the instructor from a personal email address or verifying log-in to the LMS as “attendance” does not fall within these guidelines. (This was previously discussed in the Student Participation Verification section of the Distance Learning Compliance page in this guide. For more information regarding the Student Participation Verification processes you may visit the UH System Participation Verification site.)

Welcome Announcement

In the face-to-face classroom, a large part of the first class meeting is spent introducing the course, going over the syllabus, getting to know the students and answering any questions that arise about the course content or assignments. Since online learners do not have this type of contact with the instructor or with classmates in fully online courses or may be limited in face-to-face contact in Hybrid courses, they may often feel isolated and uncertain of what they need to do. In order to establish a good rapport with online learners and to incorporate general best practices for distance learning, instructors must introduce the course and log-in information with a welcome announcement emailed to all students enrolled in the course before the course begins. It is important to also include your waitlisted students with a brief explanation of how they can add your course, should space become available.

Timing of the welcome announcement: All Hybrid and online courses must have a welcome announcement emailed to students enrolled in the course no earlier than 5 business days before the first day of instruction, and no later than 11:55 pm(HST) on the first day of instruction.

Welcome Announcement and Online Syllabus Differences: The welcome announcement is generally written in an informal tone, briefly introducing the course, describing the first week, and explaining how to log in to the Laulima (LMS). The syllabus is generally written in a formal tone, documenting policies, detailing course learning objectives and student learning outcomes. The syllabus describes the entire semester and is posted on the LMS.

Purposes for the Welcome Announcement

• Helps online learners who are unfamiliar with the distance learning environment understand course expectations.

• Instructs online learners on how and where to log-in to the course.

• Informs online learners where and how to access technical help and support.

• Establishes good rapport and promote regular and substantive interaction (RSI) with the student early on.

• Alert students to the check-in assignment.

Check-in Activity

Faculty are required to assign a “Check-in” activity and post it by midnight of the first day of instruction. This activity will be due no later than the first week of instruction, or by the last day of registration for students who enroll in the course during the late registration period. However, it is strongly suggested that this activity be due much earlier, e.g., the third day of instruction. (Requiring an earlier deadline will allow faculty members to contact and/or flag a student before removing them from the course.) Unless prior arrangements have been made, if a student does not complete this activity in a timely manner, an instructor, using the Student Participation Verification process, should report the student as a “no show,” which could result in the student being involuntarily dropped from the course. (This was previously discussed in the Student Participation Verification section of the Distance Learning Compliance page in this guide. For more information regarding the Student Participation Verification processes you may visit the UH System Participation Verification site.)

The check-in activity can be low-stakes and does not need to be assigned points but can be if you prefer.

For example:

• The student logs in to the course LMS (Laulima) using their UH login credentials and posts in a "Welcome Week" discussion board. They can post their academic goals and a fun fact about themselves or any initial question they may have about the syllabus/course; this is a good for orienting students to discussion boards section of Laulima, they could even be encouraged to respond to one another.

• The student completes an activity that asks them to read and acknowledge receipt of the course syllabus. For example, a student must log-in to the course page in Laulima and access the “Syllabus” tool, where they will read the course syllabus and then post a comment in the “Discussion Board or Forum” stating that they read the syllabus and understand the course policies, and state what topic(s) from the course outline or which assignment they are most looking forward to in the course.

• Another option is to assign a syllabus quiz. This is a good method for orienting students to procedures for online quizzes. Another benefit is reinforcement of important information from the syllabus in an academically engaging and interactive activity. Allow students multiple opportunities to take the syllabus quiz, and include feedback on the correct and incorrect answers.

• An alternative means of requiring the check-in activity is that the check-in activity must be completed before any other assignments for the course will be graded by the instructor.

In order to offer a course through a distance mode of delivery at UH West Oʻahu, the course must first receive approval for a DE designation through the Kuali Curriculum Management System. Through this process courses can be approved for Online (OL), Hybrid (HYB), or HITS designations.

The following is a summary of the DE course designation guidelines based on current procedures of the DE Committee on behalf of the Faculty Senate. For additional details about the DE Committee, visit the DE Committee tab on the UHWO Online DE Laulima site.

DE Course Designation Guidelines:

• DE course designations are proposed through the Kuali Curriculum Management System. Tutorials are available on the OPDAS Laulima site under the Kuali Tutorials tab.

• DE course proposals are reviewed by the Distance Education Committee, and recommended actions are reported to the Faculty Senate via the report submitted by the DE Committee Chair.

• Once a DE Course Designation is approved by acceptance of the DE Report by the Faculty Senate, the DE Committee Chair documents the DE designation on the GEC and DEC Master Designations List.

  • A NEW DE course designation is valid for 3 years.

  • RENEWAL of a DE course designation is valid for 5 years.

  • DE designations are course-based, (not instructor-based). Any instructor can teach a course that holds a valid DE designation.

  • Topics courses are offered with different alphas (a course with the same subject code and number, with a letter after the number) will require an approved DE designation for each alpha.

  • Cross-listed courses (e.g POLS 336/SCFS 336) that use the same syllabus for both subject codes only need to have the primary courses approved for the DE designation.

  • Experimental courses (X98 course number) that are proposed as a DE designation are approved for one offering of the experimental course. (If the course is proposed as a permanent course, the new course proposal should include a proposal for a DE designation for the permanent course.)

  • A course can reduce the amount of contact hours offered online without additional DE approval. However, a course needs approval to increase the number of contact hours offered online.

  • A course that is approved for online (OL) can be offered as Hybrid (HYB) without additional approval (more f2f hours).

  • A course that is approved for Hybrid (HYB) must submit a new proposal to offer the course Online (OL) (more online hours).

  • The proposer will need to identify the contact hours for the online course in general of which hours will be dedicated to the different task, activities and/or assignment for the course. (An example of how to fill out Online/Hybrid Section 2c in a Kuali proposal is outlined in the image below.). Online courses must include 12.5 to 15 hours/credit (37.5 to 45 hours/3-credit course) of work considered appropriate for the contact hours of instruction for the course. These activities generally involve instructor-student or student-student interactions (i.e. reviewing lesson module content, watching instructional video content, taking quizzes and exams, working in small groups, posting, reviewing and responding to asynchronous online discussion forums, conferencing with the instructor, etc). Activities that are typically done outside of the contact hours (studying, reading, researching, writing papers, homework/practice, etc.) do not count toward the required contact hours.

  • Hybrid courses - A hybrid course must include a combination of online and face-to-face activities to fulfill the contact hour requirement. There can be any combination of face-to-face / online to be considered "hybrid". The screenshot image of the "Hours for contact delivery and interactions" from the Kuali Designations Form, DE designation component provides an example of how the combined face-to-face and in-person hours are documented.

Accessibility Checklist - DE course designation proposal in Kuali:

• The Accessibility Checklist - When you submit a proposal for a DE designation in Kuali, our curriculum management system, the proposer will be required to verify that the course they are proposing meets the accessibility requirements in the checklist above, or they may provide an explanation for any items on the checklist that does not meet accessibility guidelines.

• NOTE: Any instructor teaching a course through a distance mode of delivery, even if they were not the initial proposer of the course, is also responsible for ensuring that these accessibility features are provided in their course.

Accessibility Checklist

• • Real text vs. text within graphics. All typography is rendered as text so that it can be enlarged, magnified, and or parsed by a screen reader.

  • All documents and text content use structured, sequential heading styles.

  • Tables are used exclusively to display data and structured in an accessible format.

  • San Serif fonts are used in all documents when appropriate.

  • Color is never used as the only factor to convey information about text.

  • Use a color contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text or 3:1 for large font (18 point or larger, or 14 point and bold).

  • Closed captions (displaying text on a visual display to provide additional or interpretive information) are provided for all video content.

  • Transcripts are provided for all video and audio files.

  • Alternative "Alt" text descriptions are included for all non-text items like images.

  • Blinking and/or flashing animation features are not used in any digital course content.

  • Page structure: All interactive content such as tests, quizzes, polls, etc. can be controlled using the keyboard. There are no features that require the use of a mouse or touch screen.

  • If time limits are used for assessments, the time can be adjusted to accommodate students with disabilities who require an extended-time accommodation for exams.

  • Information on how to request accommodations and how to access help with accessibility challenges is provided in both the syllabus and on the course site. UH West Oʻahu Office of Disability Services

NOTE: Ensuring that your course is accessible is essential. On the Distance Learning Compliance page of this guide, under the Accessibility header there will be an outline of the "habits" and basic requirements for ensuring accessibility.