14.3 Comprehensive institutional reviews

The institution applies all appropriate standards and policies to its distance learning programs, branch campuses, and off-campus instructional sites.

Judgment

x Compliance o Non-Compliance o Partial Compliance

Narrative

UL Lafayette applies the same standards and policies, and devotes the same attention to quality and integrity, to courses and programs regardless of location or mode of delivery. All educational programs maintain the same academic expectations, student learning outcomes, and academic accountability.

Curriculum and Instruction

During AY2010-2011, the University Council adopted a set of Guiding Policies for Distance Learning that includes a policy statement on the University’s commitment to the rigor of academic programs and the quality of instruction:

Commitment to Academic Quality and Rigor in Electronic Environments
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette places great emphasis on the consistency, continuity, and integrity of the learning environment. All electronic academic courses at the University are considered equivalent to traditional courses, are taught by regular faculty, as well as approved adjunct faculty, and adhere to all the same standards, prerequisites, and requirements as traditional sections of identical courses. Equivalency means the “totality of learning experiences for each learner should cover the same area, even if individual experiences might be quite different” (Simonson, 2007). Regardless of the delivery format, LEARNING is the primary aim, with achievement of stated course and program learning outcomes as the primary assessment measure.

The Office of Distance Learning’s complete set of Guiding Policies are posted online.

Academic and Student Support Services

Students have access to a range of services appropriate to support the programs offered through distance education. These include services such as:

· Online orientation

· Online tutoring

· Web-based library services

· Career services

· 24/7 technical support

The University also provides a learning management system (Moodle) for sharing electronic communications including the delivery of files, assignments, videos, and other course content.

Faculty and administration

For distance learning, the departments and full-time faculty assume primary responsibility for oversight of program rigor and quality of instruction. The academic departments are responsible for hiring and assigning faculty to all modalities of courses, including distance learning courses. The Office of Distance Learning provides mandatory training for all faculty teaching distance learning courses on best practices for online teaching.

For off-campus cohorts in the MEd in Educational Leadership program, the Program Coordinator schedules and oversees the cohort. Courses held off-site are taught by qualified, full-time UL Lafayette MEd faculty. The off-campus teaching assignments are a regular part of the program’s faculty teaching assignments.

Reporting

All off-campus and distance learning offerings are included when assessing expected student learning outcomes, and student learning outcomes are regularly assessed in online programs.

Physical resources at external sites

Cohorts for the MEd in Educational Leadership program are taught under an agreement with regional school districts. The Educational Foundations and Leadership department schedules classes at sites within the school districts served. The facilities are provided by the district, and classes are held in school buildings or at central office facilities, such as board rooms, conference rooms, or staff development centers. School districts ensure that each of the assigned classrooms has extensive computer technology available.

Dual Enrollment

Courses offered at local high schools are taught by teachers who are credentialed by Academic Affairs according to the same standards as regular UL Lafayette faculty. Dual enrollment instructors are hired as adjunct faculty and follow the same guidelines as other adjuncts. Each academic department is responsible for training adjunct dual enrollment instructors.

Out-of-State Authorization

UL Lafayette is legally authorized to provide post-secondary distance education programs to out-of-state students. Many of these state laws and regulations also apply to online, distance, and correspondence education instruction offered in that state. Authorization information is available on the University’s website (Degree Granting Authority for Distance Education Programs to Out-of-State-Students: by degree program and by state). The University is also a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), a voluntary agreement among member states and U.S. territories establishing comparable national standards for interstate offering of post-secondary distance-education courses and programs, which authorizes the offering of distance education courses to students in other member states. All of UL Lafayette’s online programs are approved and regulated by the BOS.