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Volume 2 Issue 2February 1998

Cristina Mora-Lopez
CCPAI, Distance Education, CCCCO

A hearing was held in Sacramento at the January meeting of the Board of Governors (BOG). This was the first reading of the Distance Education Title 5 Regulation board item. The second reading will be heard in March of this year. It is hopeful that the revisions will be adopted by June 1998.

A public hearing was also held to hear comments regarding the regulation changes. Henry Burnett, representing The Association of California Community College Administrators, presented comments to the Board in support of the revisions, as did Bill Scroggins, Statewide President of the Academic Senate.

The following excerpt is from the Distance Education Title 5 Regulation board item of the Board of Governors California Community Colleges January 12-13, 1998

Issue
Revisions to Title 5 Regulations on distance education, for the duration of the evaluation period, are being recommended by the Distance Education Technical Advisory Committee (DETAC). In 1994, the Board of Governors revised the Title 5 Regulations pertaining to Distance Education. The regulations initiated an evaluation period for distance education. The DETAC is the consultative advisory committee formed through Board of Governors Standing Order 409, which is responsible for the overall evaluation of distance education between 1994 and 1999. Pursuant to current regulations and standing orders, the DETAC is scheduled to make overall recommendations to the Board of Governors on the long-term status of distance education within the California Community Colleges by December 1999.

The recommended changes are required to evaluate distance education programs throughout the system completely and accurately. The recommendations are supported by a significant number of community college organizations and have been reviewed through the Consultation Process.

One of the recommended changes addresses a substantial and critical issue for the California Community College system: the relationship between the student and faculty, and how effective it is to deliver education at a distance without regular “personal contact.” This aspect of the regulations has been the most debated and contested component of the changes during the evaluation period. A true and accurate evaluation of distance education cannot be conducted under the current regulations.

The DETAC is promoting the revisions to enable faculty to choose the most effective method to deliver instruction to students at a distance. The proposed removal of the regular personal contact requirement from credit transferable courses will provide the system and committee with the appropriate data to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of faculty-student contact models for the remainder of the evaluation period.

Other proposed recommendations for changes to the regulations and guidelines address the extension of the evaluation period, separate course approval, and the submittal of reports to District Board of Trustees and the Chancellor’s Office.

Background
The current Title 5 Regulation charges the DETAC with reviewing and evaluating distance education programs throughout the system in a pilot period from 1994-95 through 1998-99. The DETAC is to report to the Board of Governors by December 1999, on the findings and recommend changes to the Title 5 Distance Education regulations. The sections that most affect the review during the evaluation period are:

• 55316.5 (b), Additional Courses
• 55317 (b) and (c), District Reporting
• 55376 (a) and (b) Instructor Contact and related guidelines subsections (a) and (b)
• 55378 Separate Course Approval

Title 5 regulations currently require that each district offering distance education courses report annually to their board of trustees and submit a copy to the Chancellor’s Office on July 1 (Section 55317 (b)). The regulations also require that courses offered for transfer require instructor and student to have “regular personal contact” (Section 55376 (a) and (b) and related guidelines). Sections 55316.5, Additional Courses, and 55317 (c), Ongoing Responsibilities of Districts, are to become inoperative on July 1, 2000, unless a later adopted regulation deletes or extends this date. Recommended changes would extend the date by 18 months to January 1, 2002. Section 55378, Separate Course Approval, would require review of courses with specific emphasis on regular effective contact between instructor and student.

Three public meetings were convened in November 1997 to allow public comment in support or opposition by individuals, in person, via facsimile, e-mail or regular postal service. The meetings were held in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.