Distance Education

2. The USDE defines Distance Education as follows:

1. Education that uses one or more of the technologies listed in paragraphs (2)(a) through (d) of this definition to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor or instructors and to support regular and substantive interaction (see USDE definition) between the students and the instructor or instructors, either synchronously or asynchronously. 
2. The technologies that may be used to offer distance education include:

          a.  The internet;

          b.  One-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices;

          c.  Audio conference; or

          d.  Other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed above.

   3.  For purposes of this definition, an instructor is an individual responsible for delivering course content and who meets the qualifications for instruction established by the institution’s accrediting agency.

   4.  For purposes of this definition, substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following:

          a.  Providing direct instruction;

          b.  Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework;

          c.  Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;

          d.  Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or

          e.  Other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency.

   5.    An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors by, prior to the student’s completion of a course or competency:

          a.  Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and

          b.  Monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.

 

Related Terms
Distance Learning; E-Learning

Source Information
NWCCU

United States Department of Education’s (USDE) regulations [34 CFR 600.02] on Distance Education -