Distance Education and the Curriculum Committee

Separate Course Approval

Distance Education courses have to be prepared for approval by the College Curriculum Committee.

Title 5 Regulations Links to an external site. require that all distance education courses be separately reviewed as part of the curriculum approval process:

§ 55206. Separate Course Approval.

If any portion of the instruction in a proposed or existing course or course section is designed to be provided through distance education in lieu of face-to-face interaction between instructor and student, the course shall be separately reviewed and approved according to the district's adopted course approval procedures.

Campus Curriculum Office

It is important to work with those who staff your local Curriculum to understand procedures, guidelines, college and state requirements for curriculum. Most colleges use an addendum to the course outline of record to approve a course to be offered via distance education. The Curriculum Committee should develop this addendum with input from the DE Advisory Committee (or equivalent). Working closely with curriculum staff will help DE courses go through the approval process smoothly. Page 60 of the The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide Links to an external site., written by the ASCCC’s Curriculum Committee, details the requirements for including modality of instruction in the course outline of record.

Curriculum Committee Chair

Working with the Curriculum Committee Chair to provide training related to those items necessary to include on course outlines as well as the process for approval is imperative so that guidelines are followed closely. Prospective courses should be evaluated first on the content of the course, and second, to ensure that the method of delivery is appropriate and that all Title 5 guidelines are followed. Training may include the creation of timeline or process guide which could include the major points of Title 5 and possible ways in which those issues may be addressed.