SECTION 4.5: DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS

CONTENTS: SECTION 4.5

INTRODUCTION
FINDINGS OF THE REPORT ON DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS
4.5 DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 4.5
COMPLIANCE TABLE: SECTION 4.5
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 4.5

INTRODUCTION

"Distance learning" comprehends a variety of programs. Since some of these are discussed in Section 4.6 of the self-study report (Continuing Education, Outreach, and Service Programs), this section focuses on programs conducted at branch campuses, on external degree programs, and on various degree programs offered geographically distant from the main campus and conducted using electronically based instruction.

FINDINGS OF THE REPORT ON DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS

In the report which follows, the Self-Study Steering Committee addresses "must" statements from Section 4.5 of the SACS Criteria for Accreditation and, in the order in which the statements appear in the Criteria, reports on the University’s compliance or noncompliance with these imperatives. Following the "must" statements and findings, the Committee makes recommendations and/or offers suggestions, according to the University’s compliance status.

4.5 DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS

1. An institution must formulate clear and explicit goals for its distance learning programs and demonstrate that they are consistent with the institution’s stated purpose (Criteria 41).

The Steering Committee determined that the University complies with this criterion.

In the Criteria for Accreditation, the term "distance learning" comprehends the following programs: correspondence courses, classes conducted in off-campus classrooms, programs conducted at branch campuses, external degree programs, and various programs offered geographically distant from the main campus and conducted using electronically based instruction. Some of these types of programs are discussed in section 4.6 of the self-study report, "Continuing Education, Outreach, and Service Programs." In that section, correspondence courses are demonstrated as being consistent with the mission of the University, and study abroad programs are shown to align with the purpose of the University. Academically credited off-campus courses are also discussed in light of the University’s mission statement. However, programs conducted at branch campuses, external degree programs, and various programs offered geographically distant from the main campus and conducted using electronically based instruction are not discussed in section 4.6; these programs are addressed in the paragraphs which follow.

During the 1993-94 academic year, the University became involved in the development of a multi-institutional teaching center involving six different universities (Prairie View A&M University, Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, and the University of Houston-Downtown). Working with the North Harris Montgomery Community College District, these six universities agreed to offer a number of different undergraduate and graduate degree programs at The University Center. The University Center building is located on the Montgomery College campus, which is located in Montgomery County, approximately thirty miles south of the SHSU campus. The courses, faculty, resources, and goals of programs conducted at The University Center are the same as those offered at the main campus: The courses taught at The University Center are the same courses required for undergraduate and graduate degrees offered on the SHSU campus. Faculty teaching the courses are employed by the University; in most cases these faculty are teaching sections of the same courses they teach on the SHSU campus. Instructional materials and resources are the same. The SHSU library provides the same access and services to students enrolled in courses at The University Center. Students receive residence credit for courses taken at The University Center. And the mission and goals of SHSU apply to all courses offered by the University at The University Center.

The Master of Library Science is the only external master’s degree program approved for SHSU by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Courses in this program are taught at the Edinburg campus and the Brownsville campus of Pan American University. The program is offered through the Department of Library Science in the College of Education and Applied Science, and the mission and goals of the department apply accordingly to this external program. The faculty in the Department of Library Science travel to Edinburg and Brownsville to teach the graduate courses as a part of their regular teaching loads. Students complete the same sequence of required courses as those who earn the MLS on the SHSU campus. They have access to the library and to the same services as on-campus graduate students. These policies and practices by which the program operates are consistent with the stated mission of the University.

In the 1997-98 academic year, faculty offered no two-way audio-video conferencing courses. Selected faculty in all four colleges have attended professional development sessions on electronically based instruction. Some faculty members have also used electronically based assignments which students submit from locations geographically distant from the main campus. Electronically based instruction classrooms are being equipped. All of these measures are consistent with the University mission and in particular with the goal to integrate technology into instruction.

2. [A]n institution must demonstrate that it achieves these goals and that its distance learning programs are effective and comply with all applicable criteria (Criteria 41).

The Committee determined that the University complies with this imperative.

The measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs offered at The University Center and of the external Master of Library Science Program are the same measures used to evaluate programs offered on the main campus. Departments evaluate their programs and report on their accomplishment of goals through the departmental institutional effectiveness reports. Using the Faculty Evaluation System Form 2, students evaluate professors teaching the courses and thereby document the effectiveness of content, instruction, and assessment. The programs comply with all applicable criteria.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 4.5

Having determined that the University complies with the imperatives in this section of the Criteria, the Steering Committee makes no recommendations.

COMPLIANCE TABLE: SECTION 4.5

Imperatives	Statement of Compliance	Supporting Documentation
1. An institution must formulate clear and explicit goals for its distance learning programs and demonstrate that they are consistent with the institution’s stated purpose.	Compliance	University Mission Statement The University Center Agreement Institutional Effectiveness Report for Library Science Department SHSU Undergraduate & Graduate Catalogues Academic Policy Manual SHSU 1997-1999 Self-Study for Reaffirmation of Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (Section 4.6)
2. [A]n institution must demonstrate that it achieves these goals and that its distance learning programs are effective and comply with all applicable criteria.	Compliance	University Mission Statement The University Center Agreement Institutional Effectiveness Report for Library Science Department SHSU Undergraduate & Graduate Catalogues Academic Policy Manual SHSU 1997-1999 Self-Study for Reaffirmation of Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (Section 4.6)

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 4.5

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