Distance Education Procedures and Practices
All online instructors should understand important regulations around
distance education at the local, state, and federal level.
For your convenience, the Distance Education Committee has gathered important guidelines and practices below.
Policies and Procedures
- CCCCD BP 4014
- Contra Costa Community College District Board Policy 4014 outlines key differences between distance education and correspondence education as well as protocol around course review, approval, and certification of DE courses.
- ACCJC Policy on Distance Education and Correspondence Education
- The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges policy clarifying distance education definitions and best practices.
Federal and State Regulations
- California Title 5 – 55204
- State regulations mandate regular and effective contact between an instructor and students and among students.
- US Department of Education Act 122 Stat. 3078
- Federal regulations mandate regular, substantive interaction between the instructor and students.
- Revised Section 508 standards, including WCAG 2.0
- Federal codes outline our mandate to make materials accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.
- FERPA
- The US Department of Education’s Family and Educational Privacy Act outlines policies around student privacy rights. Learn more about FERPA training for colleges. (Instructors need to agree to practices ensuring FERPA compliance when combining sections on Canvas. See the pop-up on InSite under Resources –> Canvas Combine Sections for more details.)
- Copyright and Fair Use
- Learn more about copyright and fair use policy.
Best Practices
- Canvas
- All online classes offered within the California Community Colleges have a common entry point to authenticate students through Canvas.
- CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric
- DVC is one of the California Virtual College – Online Education Initiative Consortium Colleges, and our Academic Senate approved the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric as a guide to best practices in the spring term of 2019.
Important Forms
- Canvas Shell Request (coming soon)
- Note: shells are automatically created for all class sections and can be found in the instructor of record’s dashboard. Use this form to request any additional Canvas shells for use as a course design sandbox or for other non-instructional purposes (Committees, Departments, etc.)
- Canvas LTI Request (coming soon)
- Please fill out this form to request LTI integrations within Canvas.
- UF Online Evaluations
- Under the new contract, faculty teaching online must have successfully completed approved training in online teaching.
- Updated online evaluation forms are on the UF website for convenience.
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Success Stories
- Nicole Scianna
- Claudia M. Jimenez
- Willie Mitchell Jr.