These Guidelines were approved by the Council of Regionally Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) in March 2001. Designed to reflect “…current best practice in electronically offered programming…” they will be considered by each regional accrediting agency for adoption and implementation. The Guidelines address five areas of institutional activity relevant to distance education. Under each area there are descriptions of essential elements of best practice and questions designed to review distance education activities. Elements are excerpted as follows:
1. Institutional context and commitment
(a) In its content, purposes, organization, and enrolment history,
the programme is consistent with the institution’s role and mission.
(b) The appropriate accreditation commission should be notified
and consulted whether an electronically offered programme represents a major change. The offering of distributed programmes can…have an impact on both the institution and its accreditation status.
(c) The institution’s budgets and policy statements reflect its
commitment to the students for whom its electronically offered programmes are designed.
(d) The institution assures adequacy of technical and physical plant
facilities including appropriate staffing and technical assistance, to support its electronically offered programmes.
(e) The internal organizational structure which enables the
development, co-ordination, support, and oversight of electronically offered programmes will ordinarily include capability to:
• provide the required information technologies;
• provide training and support to participating instructors and students;
• assure that …programmes and courses meet institution-wide standards;
• maintain appropriate academic oversight;
• maintain consistency with the institution’s academic planning and oversight.
(f) In its articulation and transfer policies, the institution judges
courses and programmes on their learning outcomes, and the resources brought to bear on their achievement, not on modes of delivery.
(g) The institution strives to assure a consistent and coherent
technical framework for students and faculty. When a change is necessary, it is introduced in a way that minimizes the impact on students and faculty.
(h) The institution provides students with technical support for
each hardware, software and delivery system required.
(i) The selection of technologies is based on appropriateness for
the students and the curriculum programme documentation should include specific consideration of the match between technology and programme.
(j) The institution observes the legal and regulatory requirements
of the jurisdictions in which it operates.
2. Curriculum and instruction
(a) The institution assures that each programme results in collegiate-
level learning, outcomes appropriate to the degree or certificate, that the programme is coherent and complete.
(b) Academically qualified persons participate fully in the decisions
(c) In designing an electronically offered programme, the institution includes all courses necessary to complete the programme, provides a coherent plan for the student to access all courses necessary to complete the programme, or clearly notifies students of requirements not included in the electronic offering.
(d) Although elements of a programme may be supplied by partners,
the responsibility for performance remains with the institution awarding the degree or certificate.
(e) The importance of appropriate interaction between instructor
and students and among students is reflected in the design of the programme and its courses, and in the technical facilities and services provided.
3. Faculty support
(a) The institution and its participating faculty have considered
issues of workload, compensation, ownership of intellectual property and the implications for the faculty member’s evaluation.
(b) The institution provides an ongoing programme of appropriate
technical design, and production support for participating faculty members.
(c) The institution provides to those responsible for programme
development orientation and training in the uses of the programme’s technologies.
(d) The institution provides to those working directly with students
the orientation and training to help them become proficient in the uses of the technologies for these purposes.
(a) The institution has a commitment to continuation of the programme sufficient to enable all admitted students to complete a degree or certificate in a publicized time-frame.
(b) Prior to admitting a student to the programme, the institution:
• ascertains that the student is qualified to be admitted;
• informs the prospective student concerning required access, technical competences required, programme costs, curriculum design and time-frame, library and other learning services available, other support services, arrangements for interaction with the faculty and fellow students;
• assists the student in understanding the nature and potential challenges of learning in the programme;
• informs the prospective student about the estimated time for programme completion.
(c) The institution recognizes that appropriate services must be
available for students: information, advising, financial aid, secure payment arrangements, timely intervention regarding student progress, tutoring, career counselling and placement, academic progress, information library resources, bookstore services, ongoing technical support, referrals for learning challenges and personal counselling.
(d) The institution recognizes that a sense of community is important
and the programme takes this factor into account.
5. Evaluation and assessment
(a) As a component of the institution’s overall assessment activities,
assessment of student achievement is conducted in each course and, at the completion of the programme, by comparing student performance to the intended learning outcomes.
(b) When examinations are employed, they take place in circumstances that include firm student identification.
(c) Documented procedures assure that security of personal
information is protected in the conduct of assessments and evaluations and in the dissemination of results.
(d) Overall programme effectiveness is determined by such
measures as: intended outcomes, student intent, student retention, student satisfaction, faculty satisfaction, access to students not previously served, library and learning resources are used appropriately, cost-effectiveness to its students.
(e) The institution conducts a programme of continual self-
evaluation directed toward programme improvement.
(f) Institutional evaluation of electronically offered programmes
takes place in the context of the regular evaluation of all academic programmes.
Source: Statement and Guidelines developed by the Council of Regionally
Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC), draft guidelines dated September 2000. The final Guidelines, approved March 2001, include some changes.