Approval Guidelines for
Delivery of Graduate Courses in Multi-Media Format

April 1999

In recent years, the University has expanded the number of graduate courses and programs offered at off-campus sites be it under the name of distance learning, extended campus, extension, or outreach. Faculty across campus are increasingly adapting courses for delivery using newer technologies, particularly via the Internet/World Wide Web. Participation in the endeavors of the Commonwealth Virtual University will only increase the level of these activities. During this process, it is important to adhere to the reporting and approval procedures established by the University, the State, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) concerning courses and distance-learning activities.

The purpose of this document is to provide faculty and programs Graduate School guidelines for the delivery of graduate courses (400G- through the 700-level) wholly or largely via multi-media format. Clearly, these do not apply to courses in which, for example, material on the Internet, film media, or electronic communication is merely used as a supplement to a more or less "traditional" course.

New or Existing Course?

The first critical factor that must be addressed is whether the course in question is an entirely new one, or it is an existing, "traditional," previously approved course being adapted wholly or largely to multi-media technology.

New Course. If an entirely new course is being developed and designed for use with multi-media technology or with the intention to deliver it off-campus, then it must follow the standard chain of approval processes within the University applicable to any new course. This entails approval by the Graduate Council and then the University Senate, after having first been approved by the appropriate department or program and college councils.

Adaptation of an Existing Course. If an existing, approved (traditional "on-campus" is being adapted to a new "delivery system" such as television, satellite, compressed video (CV or ITV), or Web instructional forms, the adaptation needs to be reported by the program through its college or school council to the Graduate School. The purpose of this reporting is to determine whether the adapted course is "equivalent" to the existing, approved course. This criterion of equivalence is an expectation of SACS.

The minimum documentation required by the Graduate School is a short description of the adaptation, accompanied by representative syllabi of the traditional and the adapted course. The reason for this requirement is to demonstrate that it is the "equivalent" course being delivered via different formats. SACS requires that the students completing such a course have acquired the same skills or knowledge and that there is an equivalency in how students are evaluated.

Graduate School Approval Guidelines

Courses offered at the University of Kentucky for graduate credit (400G- through 700-levels) that are adapted to multi-media technology, whether delivered off-campus or not must meet the following four general guidelines. These guidelines are especially critical for courses that are partly or wholly Web-based.

• The course must be scheduled in the standard manner through the Graduate School and the office of the Registrar.
  Whether for an on-campus or off-campus course, the originating program or department must propose scheduling the course in standard manner through its college, school, or center.

• The temporal length of the course must correspond roughly to that of the term (semester or summer session) in which it is offered.
  This differs from traditional "correspondence" courses for which a rolling time limit of 1 or 2 years is fairly common. If not offered at the same times and dates each week of the term, then the specific times and dates must be conveyed to the Registrar during the scheduling process. The course does not have to begin and end precisely on the same dates as the term in question, nor does it have to be spread evenly throughout the semester. However, according to SACS requirements, the total duration of a graduate course cannot be shorter in weeks than the number of credits earned in that course.

• The course must contain significant student-student and student-instructor interaction – appropriate to the academic discipline and to the nature of the course involved.
  For Web-based courses, the interaction must go beyond synchronous or asynchronous "chat rooms." [See footnote at end.] In many disciplines, Web-based material could be considered tantamount to the reading assignments for the course and, as such, would not constitute contact hours of instruction.

• When an existing, approved course is first adapted for multi-media and/or distance-learning delivery, both University and SACS procedures require that the course must be approved and/or reported prior to its being offered.

The Office of Distance Learning Graduate Programs in the Graduate School is available for advice and assistance to individual faculty or to programs who are considering adaptation of courses (or an entire degree program) to non-traditional technologies or for delivery to extended-campus locations. SACS defines the latter as sites more than 30 miles from the main campus. SACS guidelines are contained in Substantive Change Procedure C: The Initiation of Off-Campus Programs, Branch Campuses, and Other Distance Learning Activities, Commission on Colleges, December 1997. Single copies are available on request. SACS reporting requirements, however, are rather complicated and frequently unknown to many academic units. This Office stands ready to assist programs in understanding and complying with these requirements as they apply to graduate courses and programs.

The Distance Learning Technology Center in the W.T. Young Library offers advice, assistance, training, and some financial support directly to faculty who are contemplating the preparation of courses in multi-media format.

The Teaching and Learning Center in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies offers instructional technology support services to assist faculty in developing course materials. Information on creating or upgrading a Web site; producing Power Point presentations and color overhead transparencies; taking digital photos or scanning images; and using discussion lists or chat rooms to promote interaction is available.

In synchronous communication, students and the course instructor interact simultaneously in time, even though students may still be separated from on-campus resources. Synchronous course delivery to extended-campus sites includes traditional classroom instruction by traveling instructors or on-site instructors, and by compressed video (CV/ITV). With these means of delivery, it is much easier to demonstrate that they are the "same" as traditional on-campus courses.

Asynchronous course delivery can be defined as the situation where course content is not delivered by the instructor and received by the student simultaneously in time, as is the traditional manner in classroom lecture or seminar courses. In asynchronous communication, students experience a separation in both time and place from the instructor, from other students, and from on-campus facilities. Examples of asynchronous delivery include computer media (such as the World Wide Web), printed media, and by satellite and TV media.

Direct questions to grad.webmaster@email.uky.edu
Last updated May 13, 2005