Supporting DE Students
Support for DE students can take many forms. In regards to helping students with technical issues in their DE courses, this is often handled either by the vendor that hosts the college's learning management system, or through an outside support provider. Occasionally, technical support for DE students is provided by the college's own staff and faculty, which might include the DEC.
Other types of support for DE students, such as online tutoring, library reference assistance, and course advising are also handled in different ways by different colleges. Most colleges have some in-house support for academic and advising issues that DE students face. Online tutoring is one service that some colleges might rely on an outside vendor to provide.
It is important to note that provision of such services is not optional. When a college opts to develop an online program, it is required to provide all necessary support services for students in that program.
