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Distance Learning Faculty Information
Austin Community College is dedicated to excellence in the teaching and learning environment. The mission of Distance Learning is to develop and operate the College's distance education programs by working with faculty and staff members to ensure delivery of quality DL courses and provide necessary faculty and student support.
Developing a DL CourseIs Online Teaching For You?DL faculty play a vital role in developing and delivering effective distance education courses. Because DL faculty and students are usually separated both physically and temporally, successful distance educators must possess unique skills to facilitate quality interaction with students and provide a creative, supportive learning environment. Even well-seasoned classroom instructors may find the transition to distance teaching a challenge. Before deciding to teach a DL course, ACC instructors should assess their own readiness for distance education. The following online survey provides an opportunity for you to examine your teaching style, communication strategies, and technical skills to help determine if distance teaching is right for you. [top] Best Practices for DL CoursesACC's Distance Learning Office is committed to providing the highest quality distance education courses to our students. The DL course approval process is designed to ensure that all ACC Distance Learning courses, certificates, and degree programs adhere to distance education "Best Practices" as established by the accrediting agencies and educational organizations that govern Austin Community College. Additional standards may be addressed by the ACAC in order to implement and maintain good distance education practices. These standards may be approved as long as they do not conflict with ACC Administrative Rules and Board policy. Faculty members developing and teaching DL courses should refer to the resources below for information on the standards and best practices ACC Distance Learning courses must follow.
[top] All Austin Community College distance education courses for credit are offered through the Distance Learning Office. Proposed new DL classes not already in the College course inventory must go through the new course approval process. The appropriate Department Chair, Instructional Dean, and the Director of Distance Learning must approve all intended DL courses. Additionally, the Vice President of Academic or Workforce Education Programs must approve entire degree or certificate programs offered via Distance Learning. DL Course ApprovalFaculty members interested in creating or adapting new DL classes should initiate the process by completing the DL Course Approval Form and submitting it to the Department Chair, Instructional Dean, and Distance Learning for approval. The form provides DL with a description of the course's intended objectives and activities, the instructional mode and technologies to be used, and the rationale for offering the course. The form also details the support services and materials to be developed by the faculty member, the resources to be made available, and the office(s) designated to provide them. The form must be completed before offering a DL course for the first time, or to update basic requirements of an existing DL course. [top] Instructional Development ServicesFaculty members are strongly encouraged to work with Instructional Development Services and other applicable college departments to develop Distance Learning courses. ID Specialists are available to help faculty adapt courses for DL delivery, assist with the design of new DL courses, and develop course materials including instructional websites or multimedia and video productions. ID Specialists can also work with departments interested in delivering entire degree or certificate programs through DL. This collaborative process leads to innovative courses and college-wide cooperation facilitating the long-term success of the Distance Learning program. [top] Copyright GuidelinesFaculty members must comply with ACC's Copyright and Fair Use Administrative Rule and federal law when duplicating print materials and periodical publications, and when including video or broadcast programming, software materials, digital materials, music, or web-based materials in their courses. For detailed information on copyright law, faculty members should consult ACC's Copyright & Fair Use website. [top] Intellectual PropertyACC actively encourages faculty members to develop and improve instructional materials. Because there may be varying levels of college support in the development of a course materials (e.g.; use of facilities, personnel, equipment, funds, etc.), equity and ownership can vary for the college and the faculty member. The Copyright Ownership Administrative Rule defines intellectual property and outlines disclosure procedures, royalties and proceeds participation, equity and management, infringement, and production of properties by students. Faculty are strongly encouraged to work with their supervisors to complete a Copyright Ownership Agreement Form before starting any property development. [top] Syllabus DevelopmentThe course syllabus is an essential resource for all students to maximize their time and efforts and complete any course successfully. For DL classes, the syllabus is especially important since faculty contact with students is less frequent than in traditional classes. Faculty members should make an extra effort to prepare a complete and extensive syllabus for DL courses, including not only the standard ACC syllabus components, but also appropriate information to help DL students navigate the college "at a distance." The link below provides additional information about ACC and DL syllabus requirements. [top] Putting a DL Course on the ScheduleThere are two scenarios for scheduling Distance Learning sections: one for scheduling new DL Courses and one for adding sections of existing DL courses. Each scenario requires forms and processes for getting the section into the schedule. The following links explain the procedures for each scenario, and provide information about the section-specific details that appear in the ACC Course Schedule. [top] Delivering a DL CourseDL Course OrientationsFaculty are required to provide students with an orientation for each DL course. The orientation is essentially the first day of class—it should offer students an overview of the course's objectives and components, describe the instructional materials and technologies to be used, and provide information about ACC and DL support resources. Whether online or on site, a well-structured orientation establishes the foundation and sets the tone for faculty-student communication for the entire semester. The link below provides DL Course Orientation guidelines, requirements, and scheduling information. [top] Communicating With DL StudentsThe course orientation is only the first point of contact; DL faculty must ensure that quality interaction—between the faculty member and students, and among students—occurs regularly throughout the semester. Good communication is a key factor in student retention and success, and relies on meaningful educational activities assigned by responsive faculty members. Students who feel engaged are more likely to complete the course and enjoy their distance education experience. Therefore it is important to consider the methods of interaction that will be used. [top] Early Intervention ProgramDL's Early Intervention Program focuses on DL students who may need additional support in a non-traditional learning environment, and assists faculty in keeping those students in their DL courses as active participants. By reaching out to at-risk students as early in the semester as possible, we can increase their opportunities for success in distance education courses at ACC. Faculty should use the Early Intervention Request Form to contact Distance Learning for assistance in reaching students who have missed orientations, fallen behind in coursework, neglected to submit assignments or exams, or if we can provide student services referral information to you or your students. [top] BlackboardBlackboard is the online course management system used to supplement the delivery of many of ACC's Distance Learning and on-campus courses. DL faculty are strongly encouraged to use Blackboard—its features can help provide students greater access to course information, including the syllabus and faculty contact information, and instructional resources through one convenient portal. Faculty should refer to ACC's Blackboard Support website for essential information on getting started using Blackboard. Please note: Beginning in the fall 2007 semester, all faculty, staff, and students will use their new ACCeID to access Blackboard. Instructions for getting started and activating your ACCeID can be found on the ACC website. [top] Online ServicesACC Online Services provides an online interface to Datatel. Faculty may use Online Services to check teaching schedules, generate current class rosters, and submit student final performance grades. [top] Testing Options for DL CoursesDistance Learning course exams may be administered on campus through the ACC Academic Testing Centers. DL faculty with students living outside the Austin-area may choose to allow those students to complete examination requirements at another designated testing facility through DL's Distance Testing Program. In addition, Distance Learning is working with two applications for developing and delivering secure online tests to provide DL students the opportunity to use computers for completing exams. The link below provides additional information about these testing options, as well as recommendations for developing DL course exams. [top] DL Administrative PoliciesFaculty members teaching Distance Learning courses follow the same College policies, procedures, and Administrative Rules as faculty members teaching on-campus courses. DL instructors should refer to the ACC Faculty Handbook and the DL Faculty Handbook Office HoursThe number of on-campus office hours held per week equals the number of hours stated in ACC Administrative Rule #4.03.004, Section 7, and an additional number of hours equal to the time that the DL section would have met on-campus. (For example, a class meeting for 2.5 hours per week requires 2.5 hours of additional posted office hours per week.) For Distance Learning courses with extensive student contact via email, chats, or other electronic communications, the required number of on-site office hours may be reduced. Approval for virtual office hours must be obtained by using the Conversion of Posted On-Campus Office Hours to Electronic Office Hours Form. [top] Faculty EvaluationsThe Faculty & Staff Evaluation Office coordinates all faculty evaluation activities for Austin Community College, following Board policy, Administrative Rules, and SACS guidelines. The feedback received from the students' evaluation of Distance Learning faculty is vital to the success of the program. Faculty evaluations for DL courses are conducted online during the fall semester, following the same schedule as evaluations for on-campus classes. At the appropriate point in the semester, DL faculty will be notified to explain to their students how to access the DL Faculty Evaluation in Online Services. At this site, students select "Distance Learning Faculty Evaluation" from the menu, and a listing of the student's current DL courses will be displayed. The student selects a course, completes the evaluation, and submits it. Once an evaluation has been submitted, the student is no longer able to evaluate that course/instructor. Students are not able to access faculty evaluations after they have received their final grade for the course. For specific information about evaluation dates, deadlines, and procedures, refer to the Faculty & Staff Evaluation website. [top] Computing LEH & CompensationFirst Section Taught: The first section of a DL course taught by a full-time or adjunct faculty member in a semester earns the same number of Lecture Equivalent Hours (LEH) as the on-campus equivalent. Generally, only the LEH for the first section of a DL course is included in a full-time faculty member's base load, however, two or more DL sections may be combined to form the base load if approved by the Instructional Dean and the AVP of Instructional Resources & Technology. Enrollments from several sessions may be combined in order to generate sufficient enrollment to warrant offering the course as a first section. Additional Enrollments: Faculty are compensated on a per-student basis for enrollments beyond the first section. The per-student compensation is computed by dividing the salary the faculty member receives for teaching a DL course at the adjunct rate by the DL section enrollment limit. Payment for additional enrollments will be paid as a stipend distributed in even payments over the remaining pay periods in the session in which the enrollments are generated. Minimum Enrollments Per Section: The process to determine the minimum number of enrollments that are needed to offer a first section of a DL course is the same as that for on-campus courses. There are no minimum enrollment requirements for sections where faculty members are paid on a per-enrollment basis. Administrative Rules: [top] Student Limit Per SectionThe maximum number of students per DL section is as follows:
Approval for a different limit may be granted in unusual cases. The approval process to obtain an exception to this rule is the same as that for offering a course via DL with the additional required approval of the Academic and Campus Affairs Council. Through the Virtual College of Texas (VCT) arrangement, students taught by ACC faculty who receive course credit from another institution will be counted for loading purposes according to ACC Administrative Rule #4.03.004, Section 5A. [top] Minimum Enrollments Per SectionThe process to determine the minimum number of enrollments needed to offer a first section of a DL course is the same as that for on-campus courses. There are no minimum enrollment requirements for sections where faculty members are paid on a per-enrollment basis. [top] Cancellation of DL ClassesAustin Community College cancels on-campus class sections as well as DL sections with insufficient enrollments. Since full-time faculty members are contractually bound to teach a specific course load, the College may find it necessary and reserves the right to reassign class sections from adjunct faculty to full-time faculty. [top] Faculty Support ResourcesArticles of InterestEach month, Distance Learning identifies articles and other online references that may be of interest to DL faculty. These resources address topics such as distance education trends, developments in instructional technologies, and Distance Learning Best Practices. [top] DL Project UpdatesDL instructors receive reminders throughout the semester of upcoming instructional calendar items, professional development opportunities, events, websites of interest, and support services and resources provided by DL. For adjunct faculty members teaching only DL courses, these project updates are particularly important in providing time-sensitive information. They also create and support a sense of community within Distance Learning and the College. Project Updates are generally disseminated via the DL Faculty Listserv. [top] DL WebliographyA critical guide to distance education articles and resources on the web. [top] DL New Faculty OrientationA brief introduction to Distance Learning at Austin Community College. The webpage provides new DL faculty members with vital information about the program, including the ACC and DL support services that are available to DL faculty and students. [top] Technology Support
[top] Training Opportunities
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