The University System of Georgia Principles of Good Practice* document is the cornerstone of the System’s distance education efforts. The Principles draws upon the work of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and others. The purpose of the Principles of Good Practice is to identify the expectations in the area of service delivery for distance education courses and programs.
Courses, programs and degrees offered via distance education will be consistent with the institution’s mission.
Institutional planning for the development of distance education programs will reflect input from ongoing course and programmatic assessments. When a distance education program is initiated, the institution will commit to the program for a period of time sufficient for students to complete requirements.
Administrative policies and procedures will allow for an effective and efficient distance education support infrastructure with sufficient resource allocation to maintain the quality of offerings.
There will be an administrative structure for distance education charged with planning and coordinating all distance education activities across multiple departments that will serve as a point of contact for distance education constituents and students.
Faculty developing and teaching distance education courses will be evaluated in a manner similar to faculty developing and teaching traditional courses.
Courses and degree programs offered electronically will provide students with clear, accurate, complete and timely information on the curriculum, course and degree requirements.
Courses will specify the nature of faculty/student interaction, prerequisite technology competencies and skills and equipment requirements.
Course information will clearly indicate the availability of academic resources, student and auxiliary services, costs and payment policies.
Advising, recruiting and admissions materials will clearly and accurately represent the program and services available.
The course or program will ensure that appropriate learning resources and student services are available for students to participate fully in the learning experience.
The institution will ensure appropriate training for faculty who teach distance education or technology-infused courses.
Faculty will be provided adequate equipment, software and electronic communications access to support appropriate interactions with students, other faculty and the institution’s administration.
The institution will provide faculty support services specifically related to teaching via an electronic system.
Academic standards for all courses and programs offered electronically will be the same as those for traditional courses and programs.
The institution will ensure that instructional materials acquired from another organization or institution are evaluated and integrated into the instructional process in a manner that is consistent with institutionally- developed materials.
Qualified faculty will provide appropriate supervision of the course or program that is offered electronically.
Each course or program of study will result in learning appropriate to the rigor and breadth of the certificate or degree awarded.
The course will provide for appropriate interaction between faculty and students and among students.
Student learning outcomes in courses or programs delivered electronically will be comparable to student learning outcomes in traditional courses.
Review and approval processes will ensure the appropriateness of the technology being used to meet course or program objectives.
Programs offered electronically will be reviewed to document academic quality, effectiveness of support services and evidence of intended outcomes.
Course or program announcements and electronic catalog entries will provide appropriate information.
There will be coordination of planning between academic and technology services to ensure that the needs for electronic course delivery and support can be accommodated within the framework of the institutional technology infrastructure.
Qualified technical personnel will be available to maintain, operate and support necessary hardware and software resources.
Instructional development resources will be available to assist faculty with course development and delivery requiring the use of electronic media.
Appropriate technical support will be available on the campus to ensure remote student access to information and resources necessary to support the teaching and learning process.
Institutions will assess the legal implications of the distance education program. Initially each institution will consider the following: accreditation, approval, licensing, contracting, allocation of intellectual property rights, the ADA, FERPA, electronic communications laws, and related institutional business practices.
Institutions will comply with copyright and intellectual property laws and with Board of Regents and institutional intellectual property policies, procedures, and guidelines.
Institutions will develop procedures and mechanisms for the secure transmission of sensitive data, such as social security numbers, grade reports, etc. delivered over electronic networks. Institutions will assess the need for encryption, passwords and other electronic security mechanisms.
Institutions will evaluate the effect of distance education offerings on current contracts, licenses, policies, procedures and practices. For example, software purchases and utilization across electronic networks will comply with the terms of any licensing agreements. (The institution’s licensing agreement only permits the software to be used by computers located on campus.)
The institution will provide for an assessment of student achievement, access to services, technology resources and faculty interaction at the completion of each course.
The institution will conduct an ongoing evaluation of the overall distance education program, including planning, evaluation of program goals, assessment of student learning outcomes, student retention, student and faculty satisfaction, support and technology delivery services.
*Adapted from the Southern Regional Electronic Campus Principles of Good Practices for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs, which draws on work previously completed by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, Denver, Colorado, 1996.
Copyright November 1998 Board of Regents of University of System of Georgia