Distance Education Approval

In order to maintain compliance with ACCJC and with State and Federal regulations, all faculty teaching in a distance ducation modality must be approved to teach online. The approval process consists of three steps.

1. Complete the Online Readiness Training (ORT).
   1. This training is required of all faculty (regardless of modality) in preparation for any potential emergency short-term remote pivots.  This training is sufficient for short-term remote pivots; instructors scheduled to be online for the duration of the course must complete this item as well as the next two.
2. Complete the Distance Education Training (DET)
   1. This is required for any faculty who wants to teach online.
   2. By the end of this training, faculty will be able to:
      • Identify and understand federal and state regulations that impact distance education policies and practices;
      • Design introductory activities that support the development of an online learning community;
      • Develop clear and supportive online course policies.
3. Complete a DE Addendum. 
   1. Instructors will need to complete a DE Addendum for EACH course they wish to teach online (each course, not each section).  The DE Addendum must be approved in order for the class to be scheduled for that instructor.
   2. The DE Addendum:
      
      • Identifies the modality of the class (asynchronous, synchronous, or hybrid).
      • Describes methods, materials, and any other components used to ensure the course meets expected academic standards and instructional quality. 
      • Describes how the instructor meets the Regular Substantive Interaction Requirements (RSI) outlined in AP 4105.
      • Describes the regular substantive interaction among students.
      • Describes how each SLO in the course is taught and assessed.
      • Confirms that the course syllabus meets syllabus requirements.
      • Confirms that the course meets accessibility requirements.

Short-Term Pivot

All instructors, regardless of the modality they teach, are required to complete the Online Readiness Training (ORT) in preparation for a potential need to pivot to remote instruction for a short duration. Instructors who have completed the ORT are approved for the short-term remote instruction; they do not need to complete the full DE approval process.

Approved Lists

If you would like to confirm that you are approved to teach a given class online or if you are approved for short-term remote instruction, you can do so by looking at the Approved DE instructors list.