Online Course Standards of Quality
Standards of quality in online courses at York Technical College align with instructional expectations and standards for traditional courses, including the following:
- faculty involvement in course design
- course structure and assessments
- direct instruction
- learning outcomes
- selection and training of qualified faculty
- accessibility
- substantive interaction
The Institute for Teaching Excellence (ITE) provides leadership and guidance for the distance education program, collaborating closely with academic divisions and student support services to provide a best-in-class educational experience to online learners. The ITE publishes and maintains a Distance Education Guide, intended to provide distance learning guidelines to full-time and adjunct faculty and staff who teach online courses. The guide aligns with York Technical College policies and procedures for instruction and online education as well as accreditation requirements. Specific online course quality measures are outlined in the Online Course Expectations; this document contains four sections that cover consistent online course design, implementation, and facilitation: course layout, course content, course setup, and teaching excellence. The Distance Education Committee provides input in the development and implementation of both the Online Course Expectations and the Distance Education Guide, and both the Quality Learning Council (QLC) and the Council on Academic and Student Affairs (CASA) approve the documents prior to implementation.