Policies & Standards

A cornerstone of distance education requires ensuring regular and substantive interaction between instructors and students. This policy was introduced in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Education for any institution that receives Title IV funds. We are currently at work on our own policy, which will outline the frequency and nature of interactions required to maintain compliance with accreditation standards. This will include guidelines on synchronous sessions, timely assignment feedback, active discussion board participation, weekly office hours, and regular announcements to keep students engaged and informed.

Accessibility is a priority in online education to ensure all students have equal access to learning materials. We are currently at work on accessibility guidelines which will provide information relevant to the design of course content compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This will include incorporating alt text for images, captioning for videos, and ensuring that all digital materials are accessible to students with disabilities. For now, we encourage faculty to use the Accessibility Checker feature in Canvas to give their courses a comprehensive review.