College of Southwest Kansas

Distance Education Policy

I. Scenario
The College of Southwest Kansas is a fictitious school offering completely online and hybrid
classes for the students in the area that find taking traditional classes difficult. These classes
fit into the busy schedules of the1500 students enrolled at the college pursuing a bachelors
degree program. Position is as dean of academics at the college.
II. Governance
a. The distance education policy will be set by the Board of the College of Southwest
Kansas as the governing body of the institution.
b. The distance education policy will be maintained and enforced through the office of the
Dean of Academics at the College of Southwest Kansas to provide a central location for
questions or concerns related to this policy.
c. Tuition rates and course fees will be established by the Board of the College of
Southwest Kansas as the governing body of the institution.
III. Academic
a. The College of Southwest Kansas is an accredited college with North Central Association
of Colleges and Schools.
b. Academic rigor appropriate for college level work will be maintained in all class offerings
to ensure the development of graduates ready to enter society as a productive citizen.
c. Students engaging in academic dishonesty including but not limited to plagiarism,
cheating, and submitting another persons work as their own shall be dismissed from
the college.
d. All classes will be offered through the eCollege Classroom Management System (CSM) in
order to provide familiarity of functions between courses.
e. All class sizes will be limited to 20 students to provide the best academic interaction for
students.
f. Course offered through the College of Southwest Kansas will have a duration of either 8
weeks or 16 weeks for long semesters and 5 weeks or 8 weeks for summer sessions.
Significant dates in a semester to be posted on an approved academic calendar for the
semester.
IV. Faculty
a. All faculty must possess a minimum of a bachelors degree with 24 hours in the
instructional field in which they teach.
b. All faculty must complete a distance education course design professional development
workshop before instructing a hybrid or distance education class. Additional
professional development workshops must be completed at least once in a three year
period following the initial training to keep current on technology changes and compare
instructional delivery methods among colleagues.
c. Full time faculty will be required to instruct 12 credit hours and maintain a minimum of
five office hours a week. Office hours may be on campus or virtual where students will
have ready access to faculty member.
d. Part-time faculty may teach up to 9 credit hours a semester and are required to keep
one office hour a week per course they are instructing where students may have ready
access to faculty member.
e. Student evaluations of courses and instructional faculty will be sent to students two
weeks before the end of a full semester course and one week before the end of a
summer course. Faculty will have access to a summary of the evaluations one month
after completion of the course but to protect students no individual information will be
provided in the evaluation summary.
V. Student Support
a. Students can receive academic advising by visiting the Advising Resource Center (ARC)
on campus or scheduling a virtual appointment with the ARC.
b. All students will have full access to the Library resources both on campus and through
the online resources from the Library home page.
c. The Instructional Technology (IT) department will provide network access to all students
and maintain the integrity of the network. Students having problems accessing courses
should contact IT for assistance. Students who can access the course but have problems
accessing course materials should first contact the course instructor and if the situation
cannot be corrected then contact IT.
d. Assistance with tuition and course fees may be possible through the Financial Aid
department.
VI. Accessibility
a. Students needing special accommodations under the American Disabilities Act for
course work should contact the department of Student Services on the main campus.
b. Students who wish to take online or hybrid classes but lack the resources should visit
the Student Support Services office for assistance options.
c. English language learners who might struggle with content delivery in English should
visit Student Support Services for assistance options.