Distance Education vs. distance education

The capitalized term “Distance Education” is used to designate programs at UH West O’ahu possessing WSCUC approval and students majoring in those programs. The lower case term “distance education” is used when referring to distance education used by external agencies such as accreditors, state and federal agencies, and professional organizations.

Distance Education Students

“Distance Education students” are those students who reside in the United States and are accepted for enrollment in any UHWO Distance Education program as defined above and further defined as to not include in-person contact hours nor hybrid instructional methods.

Distance learning

The term “distance learning” is used when referencing distance education in a generalized manner that encompasses both Distance Education students and online learners.

Face-to-Face (F2F)

F2F refers to courses that are taught in person on the UH West Oʻahu campus. This is the traditional mode of delivery of courses. Face-to-face courses are often web enhanced with the use of technology such as Laulima.

Instructor

The term “instructor” is used in this document as a generic reference to the instructor of record for a UH West Oʻahu course. In this case, instructor includes faculty in various ranks (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor) and lecturers who are hired as adjunct instructors.

Online Learners

The vast majority of UH West Oʻahu students take courses through distance modes of delivery. The term “online learner” is used in reference to all UH West Oʻahu students who take some or all of their courses online in any given semester.

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.

Here-or-there (HOT) Hybrid

A HOT Hybrid courses is designed for some student to attend class sessions in person at a UH location, while other students attend class sessions online synchronously. All students enrolled in a HOT Hybrid courses must attend at least one class session in person.

Students can opt to attend all sessions online synchronously, a DCO section of the course should be cross-listed with the Hybrid (or HOT) courses. Offering combined sections of Hybrid and Online courses connected through a cross-listed group code is referred to at UH West O'ahu as a "Blended" course.

Distance Interactive Video (DIV)

DIV refers to a distance education course offered to students in assigned video conference rooms at locations other than the offering (or main) campus. DIV courses may have additional instructional activities online (both scheduled/synchronous or unscheduled/asynchronous). DIV should be used as the instructional method code regardless of the section located at the offering campus.

DIV should be used even if the course is offered in HYB format, except for the section located at the offering campus.

A Distance Interactive Video (DIV) class combines students who are face-to-face with the instructor with students participating synchronously through Hawai’i Interactive Television (HITS), Polycom, Mediasite, or through Video Conferencing software such as Zoom or BlueJeans. Students at designated UH distance sites must attend class from a particular location on another UH campus for DIV courses. The standard time block for a HITS (B157) class reservation is once a week for 2 hours 45 minutes. However, if two courses will be splitting their HITS schedule to meet twice a week, the maximum in-person instructional time would be 75-minutes to account for the transition period between both classes. In order to meet the required number of contact hours, a course that is scheduled for 75-minute class sessions must include 2.5 hours of online asynchronous instruction listed in the course activities. This is a hybrid component of the course to account for the 5-minute reduction in the time for each class session. Classes scheduled in the HITS room require a contract between the Division and UH System Information Technology Services. Contracts for HITS time blocks are granted for a 3-year term. These classes are coded as DIV in Banner.

Web-Enhanced Courses

A web-enhanced course is not considered to be an online course but uses online activities to complement class sessions without reducing the number of required class meetings. This may be any course tied to the traditional classroom but involving some sort of computer usages, such as a software simulation, or online design software for art, or instructional applications. Traditional courses and web-enhanced courses are very similar, indistinguishable in most cases, and therefore not designated differently in course publications.

Distance Education (DE) is an integral part of the history of UH West O’ahu. The BA degrees in Business Administration, Public Administration, and Social Sciences have been approved by WASC Senior Colleges and University Commission (WSCUC) since UH West O’ahu was initially accredited in 1981. In addition to these three degrees, the BA degrees in Creative Media and Humanities are also approved to offer DE programs.

UH West O’ahu does not offer any degrees completely online. Rather, the concentration which represents the upper-division portion of the degree is offered as a DE program. Select concentrations under the DE approved degrees are considered Distance Education Programs. In addition to concentrations, select certificate programs are also approved as DE programs. Visit the UH West Oʻahu Distance Learning Microsite for the current list of DE programs.

Students who are admitted and classified as Distance Education (DE) students are eligible to enroll only in courses offered through distance education modalities. This does not include those offered via hybrid instructional methods.

DE students shall have priority registration for select DE-designated courses. Instructional divisions shall endeavor to identify and prioritize sections of courses for the registration of DE students.

Prospective applicants with sixty (60) transferable college-level semester credits from a regionally-accredited institution with a minimum 2.0 GPA are eligible to apply to a Distance Education (DE) degree program at UH West O‘ahu.

Currently, classified DE students may submit the University Change of Major form to change their enrollment student status from DE to on-campus at any time.

The manner by which DE student designation is established and maintained shall be done to facilitate accurate reporting of all students completing their course of study fully online at UHWO.

For further details about DE Student Classification and Admissions, please see UH West Oʻahu Policy 5.102

SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) is an agreement among the member states that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education programs and courses. It is intended to make it easier for students to take distance learning programs and courses offered by postsecondary institutions across state lines.

SARA is overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Agreements (NC-SARA) and administered by four regional education compacts. Members of NC-SARA are states, not institutions. Membership is voluntary; therefore, not all states are SARA members. The state of Hawaiʻi is a member of NC-SARA through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). State Authorization in Hawaiʻi is managed through the State of Hawaiʻi Post-Secondary Education Authorization Program (HPEAP)

A list of member States and participating Institutions, may be found at the NC-SARA website.

• California is not a SARA member. However, public institutions are not regulated by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and are able to offer distance education to California residents.

• American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands are not members of SARA. Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are sovereign states in free association with the United States and are not members of NC-SARA

As an approved, NC-SARA participating institutions, UH West O'ahu enrolls students who are located in NC-SARA members states and US territories that are members of NC-SARA (Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands). Additionally, UH West O'ahu enrolls students who are located in California.

Additional information about State Authorization across the UH System can be found on the UH Online State Authorization website.

International Students

UH West O'ahu does not currently enroll students who are located in U.S. territories that are not members of NC-SARA, or students located internationally in Distance Education programs.

The key question to consider when deciding the best mode of delivery for your course is to determine if the activities you are designing for the course contact hours are best suited for synchronous learning, asynchronous learning, or a combination of both.

Synchronous learning

Learning that takes place in real-time, where the instructor and students engage in teaching and learning simultaneously. Although learning occurs at the same time, the students and the instructor do not all need to be in the same location. Synchronous learning enables students to ask questions and receive answers on the spot, instructors can ask questions to gauge the level of understanding of the content being taught, and students have opportunities to collaborate with other students during class sessions.

Examples of synchronous course activities in distance modes of course delivery include:

• Video conferencing

• Live webinars

• Virtual classrooms

• Instant messaging chats

Asynchronous learning

Asynchronous learning is more student-centered. It enables your students to complete courses without the constraints of having to come to campus or participate in course activities at a particular time. Students have autonomy over when and where they engage in learning the course material. As long as the student has access to the internet, asynchronous learners have the freedom to complete course materials in a location and at a time that fits their schedule or works best for their learning style, while meeting due dates.

Examples of asynchronous course activities in distance modes of course delivery include:

• Pre-recorded video lessons or webinars

• Online learning modules with readings, videos, and interactive online activities

• Communication through email

• Blogs

• Online forums and discussion boards

The method of learning you choose for your students should be based on the learning objectives, the type of course content you create, how you deliver the course content, and the availability of your students. Often times, a combination of both synchronous and asynchronous learning is ideal.

For example, a course could be primarily asynchronous with supplementary live sessions offered via video conferencing scheduled for varying days and times. Synchronous sessions ensure that students have the additional benefit of interacting with each other and with the instructor. Hybrid courses offer a combination of in-person synchronous learning and online asynchronous learning.

Some courses may offer HOT Hybrid synchronous sessions where some students attend class in a classroom on campus while other students in the class join synchronously through video conferencing. The instructor teaches students in-person and online simultaneously. Read 7 Things You Should Know About the HyFlex Course Model (Educause, 2010) to learn more about this model of flexible course design.

Once you have determined the type of learning or combination of learning for your course, the next decision is the mode of delivery. There are advantages and disadvantages to consider when deciding on the best mode of delivery to offer a course.

Fully Online Courses

Fully online courses can be 100% asynchronous or may include some synchronous sessions. Online courses that have required synchronous meetings, specific days and times of these sessions will need to be explicitly stated in the schedule of classes before the start of the semester. This provides students with the opportunity to make informed decisions prior to registering for a course.

Advantages

• Opportunity for student autonomy in learning with the flexibility of time management

• Students can engage with the course content at their own pace, regardless of location or time zone.

• Reduce student commute time and resources needed to travel to campus

• Students have significantly more time to reflect on the material they are learning

• Increase course offerings without increased classroom space

• More convenient for students with full-time work and family responsibilities

Disadvantages

• Students may feel isolated and miss the social interactions of learning in a physical community setting

• Answers to questions may not be instantly available, and they may need to wait for a response

• Technology can be challenging for some students

• Students need self-discipline and focus to be successful in completing the course requirements

Hybrid Courses

Advantages

• Easier to establish relationships and build a sense of learning community

• A wider range of learning opportunities to make the best of each modality

• More opportunities to document student learning through verbal and non-verbal cues

• Instructors have the chance to interact with students both face-to-face and online

• Technological problems can be handled in both the face-to-face and online environments

Disadvantages

• Less convenient for students who live off-island or have work, family or other life obligations

• Not a viable option for students who reside on the neighbor islands or do not have the resources to come to the UH West O’ahu campus

Distance Interactive Video (DIV) Courses

Advantages

• Provide flexibility for students to participate face-to-face or virtually and synchronously with the instructor and classmates

• More opportunities to document student learning

Disadvantages

• Technological challenges and connectivity issues must be addressed during instructional time.

• Less convenient for students with work and family obligations that make synchronous class sessions from a designated location challenging.

Laulima is the Learning Management System (LMS) used across the University of Hawaiʻi System. Laulima currently operates on the 19.5 version of Sakai software. Every course record number (CRN) is automatically assigned a course shell in Laulima. When an instructor is assigned to the CRN, the Laulima site will automatically be assigned to the instructor and available to the instructor of record.

While faculty have the academic freedom to select the technology resources for their course management, the following reasons support the use of Laulima as the LMS for course(s).

• Laulima is FERPA compliant

• The UH System Information Technology Services provides 24/7 Laulima support for technical assistance for faculty and staff 365 days a year.

• As a system-supported LMS used on all 10 UH campuses, students are familiar with Laulima.

• UH West Oʻahu Office of Distance Learning and the UH Online Innovation Center provide support and training for Laulima tools. Course templates are also available to facilitate building their Laulima course site.

It is important for faculty to have the following skills when using Laulima:

• Know how to find various sites.

• How to add or delete tools.

• How to upload content to course sites.

• How to create, design and edit course lessons or modules.

• How to make course content accessible and ADA compliant.

• How to create assessments, surveys, and polls.

• How to set up and enter grades in the Gradebook.

• How to upload or embed multimedia.

• How to use email, announcements, and notifications tools.

• How to enter information on the calendar.

It is important to understand that Laulima offers some tools that have very similar functions. This can be confusing. If you need assistance understanding the differences between similar tools, the Office of Distance Learning can provide helpful information to determine the differences between similar tools.

Laulima tools with similar functions include:

• Forums & Discussions and Private Messages

• Gradebook & Gradebook Classic

• Lessons & Modules

• Test and Quizzes & Assignments, Test and Quizzes

Laulima Course Templates

If you are interested in using the UH Laulima course template, complete the Laulima Template Import Request Form for assistance from the UH Online Innovation Center. They will be able to help you with merging the template into your own course on the Laulima site.

Laulima support

• UH West Oʻahu Office of Distance Learning

• UH Online Innovation Center Laulima Resources