|
Please
click a link below for info about official DE policies: The newness of distance education means that many policies governing it are in the development stage or are under construction by the UNLV Distance Education Policy Committee. However, there are several areas where precedents have been established and which are well articulated: the UNLV Intellectual Property Policy on distance education materials, including an agreement for online courses; a policy assigning to the Distance Education Program all responsibility for Distance Education Course Offerings, and faculty compensation. Similarly, UNLV's policy is that all materials created by others are subject to the copyright law. If you want to know whether you can use such materials in your distance education class, check out Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia and/or consult with the instructional designer in our office. These guidelines have been adopted by UNLV as the most appropriate interpretation of the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act. While only the courts can decide whether a particular use of copyrighted works falls within the fair use exemption, these guidelines provide a reasonable standard as determined by a consortium of college and university media centers. In March of 1997, the UCCSN Board of Regents adopted the Principles of Good Practice as the criteria for producing and providing quality educational programs at a distance. These criteria are the product of a Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications project, supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Distance education course sections should be identified for placement at the “high” support level if they meet all of the following conditions: This prospectus was submitted by the Provost's Office to NWA. a. Nature and purpose of change The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) delivers mediated classes and programs to students off-campus using a variety of electronic delivery systems, including but not limited to compressed video, computer networking and internet, audio teleconferencing, pre-recorded video tapes, and ITFS. The impetus for integrating distance education technologies into the delivery format is to increase educational access for students unable to attend classes on campus, to improve instruction, and to better utilize the resources of the university. Such change is consistent with the University and Community College System of Nevada's mission to increase the number of Nevada residents who participate in higher education and with UNLV's mission to become a premier urban university. b. Evidence of formal authorization Formal authorization to initiate distance education has been granted by the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) Board of Regents. Title 4, Chapter 14, Section 9, of the Handbook states, "Community college or university credit and non-credit courses may be offered through use of electronic telecommunication." Furthermore, the 1995 Nevada Legislature allocated funding in the amount of $5,000,000 to "enhance the system's educational information network for the purpose of improving access for university and community college students, public school pupils and other residents of this state to information and educational programs through INTERNET and interactive video." c. Descriptive information of educational offering(s) and evidence of approval by the appropriate academic policy body of the institution The educational offerings consist of approved university courses offered on an ad hoc basis depending on availability of appropriate instructors and demand. These courses are part of the standard university curriculum and may count toward a degree. The only exception is a category of teacher education classes, also available on campus, designed strictly for recertification credit. Course numbers for recertification-only classes may be distinguished by an "E" indicating they are not to be used in graduate degree programs. A complete list of courses offered so far is attached. To date, the only discipline in which sufficient courses have been offered to support completion of an academic degree is Nursing. However, it is the intent of the university that other degree programs now available on campus also will be offered using distance education technologies. Requests to offer specific courses and/or programs may be initiated by anyone (potential students, faculty members, departments, colleges, the distance education office, members of the business community), but final approval resides within the department and the college. If a new course or program is proposed, the appropriate curriculum approval procedures stipulated in the university by-laws must be followed. d. Plans and descriptive materials indicating evidence of need for the change... There are three reasons why UNLV wants to conduct distance education. First, distance education is one of the many ways UNLV plans to meet the educational needs of the rapidly growing population in Nevada. Las Vegas and its immediate vicinity is the fastest growing region in the United States, while Nevada is one of the fastest growing states. At the same time, large parts of Nevada remain isolated and rural. This combination precludes solely relying on traditional, site-based education. If Nevada residents are to have access to institutions of higher education, educational opportunities must be available despite barriers of time and place. As one of the two four-year universities in the state, UNLV faces the dual challenge of responding to the needs of a dynamic, growing metropolis and to the needs of its oft-neglected counterpart, the rural areas. Second, Nevada has extraordinary educational needs. The history of Nevada is such that many people found their way to and succeeded in Nevada without much education. For example, Nevada has the second lowest rate of high school students who pursue higher education opportunities. The ability of these students to fare well will diminish as successful living depends more and more on access to protracted educational opportunities. Distance education provides a mechanism for reaching these students before they quit school and for reaching adults who have interrupted their education and are now unable to come to campus due to work or family commitments. Finally, education itself is changing. Increasingly, technology is viewed as a vehicle for enhancing learning and understanding. The same technologies used for distance education may be used to improve pedagogy, to appeal to different students' learning styles, or to increase motivation for some students. the student clientele to be served... Four groups of students are or will be targeted through distance education technologies: (1) qualified high school students; (2) teachers; (3) adults whose education has been interrupted; (4) and professionals other than teachers who are required to participate in continuing professional education. the procedures used in arriving at the decision to change... Action by the 1995 Nevada State Legislature provided funds to support the development of distance education courses and programs throughout the state. A portion of the funds were distributed to UCCSN institutions on a competitive basis. UNLV, together with the Clark County School District (CCSD), the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN), and KLVX Communications Group (the local public broadcasting station and part of CCSD) formed a consortium to begin to develop distance education courses and programs for students primarily in southern Nevada. The funding opportunity as well as growing interest on campus to meet the educational needs of rural students and teachers in the local school district led to increased attention to distance education opportunities. A campus committee was formed to assist with emerging issues related to policies, instruction, and resources. Staff were hired to implement the programs funded by the state legislature, and steps are being made to develop a fully integrated distance education program into the infrastructure of the university. A new Distance Education Policy Committee is addressing integration and policy development, assessment plans, and broad implementation issues to ensure sound program development. the
organizational arrangements that must be made within the institution to
accommodate While it is the goal that distance education students be integrated into ongoing campus programs and that the only distinction be one of how their coursework is delivered, the paradox is that it is necessary at first to create a separate unit to make this happen. Accordingly, UNLV has hired a Director of Distance Education and a staff, consisting of an instructional designer, a graphic artist, a management assistant, a technical assistant, and a part-time student liaison. This unit provides the following: Technical support to install, maintain, and troubleshoot the compressed video equipment at the system level as well as access and assistance at the remote sites. Assistance to students in the form of services supporting learning and guaranteeing the quality of the courses and programs offered. In most cases this is more complicated than simply tapping into campus services. At times it means providing parallel services. Administrative functions including: recruiting faculty to teach; scheduling approved courses; ordering and distributing textbooks and course materials; recruiting, advising, registering, and evaluating students; and tracking and evaluating programs. Training and support services specifically related to teaching via electronic delivery. The Distance Education unit is housed under Academic Computing Services, but also works collaboratively with other units on campus, especially the College of Extended Studies and the Enrollment Management office. a timetable for implementation By virtue of the 1995 legislation funding distance education, the following timetable was established. 1995-1996 Secure funds, build technology infrastructure, work within university community to garner support. Establish consortial relationship with other entities in southern Nevada. 1996-1997 Hire director and staff, appoint Distance Education Policy Committee, initiate first classes for high school students and teachers. Evaluate progress, secure permanent funding. 1997-1998 Expand programs to include classes for adults who have interrupted their education. Build toward full-fledged degree programs available entirely off campus. Establish consortial agreements with UCCSN schools. e. The budget projections (revenue and expenditures) for each of the three years including: revenue
and expenditures associated with the change itself, and institutional
financial support to be reallocated to accommodate the change Similar funding for 1997-98 has been requested and appears to be forthcoming, having been included in the governor's base budget. The consequence of the latter is that the allocation will be ongoing. This funding ($720,000, with the possibility of an additional $200,000 in competitive funding) is sufficient to support the proposed expansion of the distance education program for the next biennium. Should unanticipated growth warrant additional funding, the university is prepared to augment the budget with a portion of the income generated by the additional FTEs. Copies of the IPEDS financial report, the SB204 1995-97 budget report, and the proposed 1997-99 budget are attached. f. Provision for student services and implications for the rest of the student body Currently the following student services are provided through the Distance Education office in conjunction with the corresponding units on campus: registration; advising; marketing; academic counseling and assistance; and acquisition of textbooks and other course materials. As more campus units move toward electronic facilitation of services, accommodating distance education students will become more routine and the lines between on and off-campus students will be blurred. At that point the Distance Education office will assume less responsibility for some of these activities. Then the responsibility of the office may be less to provide the services than to ensure their provision. g. Provision for physical facilities, equipment Space was made available to house the Distance Education staff within the TeleMedia Services facilities located in the Classroom Building Complex at UNLV. This is a natural location due to the overlap in technological functions between TeleMedia and Distance Education. Joint use of facilities in this manner promotes collaboration and decreases redundancy. In addition to office space, laboratory space was set aside for creating, editing, and duplicating curricular materials. Also, UNLV dedicated and equipped two classrooms in the Classroom Building Complex for the compressed video system. Each room has a codec, at least two monitors, standard cameras, an Elmo camera, an overhead projection system, microphones, a touchpad, a VCR, and a computer. Beginning Fall Semester, 1997, these rooms will be moved to more permanent locations and remodeled to better accommodate mediated instruction. Part of this remodeling will entail creating a set for prerecording videos. During the peak hours for distance education students (between 2:30 PM and 9:00 PM, Mondays through Thursdays) the compressed video classrooms are used constantly. In all instances except one, on-campus students are using the classrooms simultaneously. Friday afternoon and Saturday usage is light, but increasing. When necessary overflow classes have been scheduled for rooms in facilities owned by other members of the Nevada Distance Education Consortium, the Desert Research Institute, and the UCCSN System Computing Center. Clark
County School District and Nye County School District have cooperated
by allowing classroom space for compressed video units at the following
sites: Advanced Technologies Academy, Bonanza High School, Eldorado High
School, Laughlin High School, Pahrump Valley High School, and Valley High
School. Despite the fact that all of these institutions are experiencing
a shortage of space, they have found suitable rooms for the equipment
(purchased with and library and information resources; Access to library facilities currently is not a problem. Given the restricted geographical range of the off-campus program, students can if necessary arrange to come to campus to use the library at any time during its open hours (105 hours per week). Interlibrary Loan and document delivery services can be arranged on an ad hoc basis. With expansion of the distance education program, this informal, ad hoc system will change. To accommodate this change, UNLV is taking distance education needs into account in its plans for enhanced library services and facilities. The library will make every effort to ensure that off-campus students have access to all on-line electronic services that are being provided to on-campus students, including the availability of databases, tutorials, and internet links offered through the library website as well as an expanding array of full-text information, reference by e-mail, and instructional assistance. The library will establish consortial agreements, wherever possible with other UCCSN, public and school libraries to facilitate students' access to the necessary on-line connections. Students enrolled in the off-campus program would also be able to access electronic reserves when that system, currently in the discussion phase, is full realized. Additionally, the Lied Library, opening spring 2000, will have classroom space designed to accommodate the instructional needs of the distance learner. It will also have ample space to meet any in-library use or access needs these student may have. At present the provision of services to distance learners is being absorbed by current library staff and current resources. Expansion of the program will require that additional attention be paid to the level of mediated services that can be provided and the level of library resources that must be duplicated and delivered off-site if equal access is to be ensured. It is anticipated that the Library's Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery will serve as the conduit for handling the physical delivery of the resources while the off-campus students themselves would identify and retrieve electronically based resources. Extensive instructional and reference consultation services will be done on an as needed basis by appropriate section staff. It is likely, should the anticipated growth of the program be realized, that an additional librarian or support staff will be required to coordinate the program. and the impact on the institution's resources as a whole Expanding UNLV's distance education program will require increasing resources. However, this need not have a negative impact on the on-campus program. To the contrary, the facilities have been used by a number of non-distance education entities on campus, and the on-campus program has benefited by increased interest in integrating technology into on-campus teaching. In the short term, the distance education program may drain some resources from the campus. In the long run it is anticipated that new resources will be available to the campus as a result of the off-campus programs. One example is the purchase of computers. Whereas these are essential for the production and delivery of classes off campus, they also are available for use in conjunction with other campus activities including teaching and research. Distance
education activities have the potential to augment campus resources by
increasing the visibility (and therefore the funding) of the university,
by attracting students and providing for Evidence of the synergistic relationship between on-campus and off-campus interests is provided in the proposal to be submitted for the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Teaching Excellence and John S. Wright Hall Renovation. The proposal calls for a 37,000 gross square foot teaching facility housing 15-20 technology intensive classrooms, the Teaching Excellence Center, the Distance Education Teaching Center Support Facilities, and a 200 seat state-of-the-art auditorium with distance education capabilities. Clearly, UNLV recognizes the link between integrating technology into on-campus programs and using technology to deliver educational opportunities to individuals off-campus. In articulating this relationship in this proposal, UNLV is demonstrating its commitment to long-term support of distance education initiatives. h. faculty and staff needs, qualifications, and anticipated sources At present there is no need for additional faculty to support the distance education program. A sufficient number of faculty are teaching in the program as part of their scheduled workload or have been willing to teach as an overload to meet the demands of the program. Some economies in faculty assignments are met by the fact that the off-campus classes are integrated into on-campus sections. This model is not appropriate for all classes, however, and steps are being taken to identify those instances when separate sections are desirable. In the foreseeable future it is expected that this dual model will prevail. UNLV is committed to staffing the distance education program with full-time tenure track faculty. If part-time faculty are used they must meet department and college standards. In most cases, any part-time faculty who teach in the distance education program also will have taught on campus. Another source of qualified faculty may be tenure track faculty from collaborating universities. Distance education technologies make possible the efficient use of all resources, including personnel from other accredited colleges and universities. UNLV has initiated talks with some UCCSN institutions regarding sharing faculty. Such faculty also would be subject to approval by departments and colleges. Sufficient professional and classified staff have been provided through SB204 funding for the present. As the program grows there will be an impact on staff who currently provide student services to on-campus students. It is assumed that increased FTEs will warrant the hiring of additional staff members to accommodate the growth. UNLV INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY 2/16/97 Section
1. Preamble 2. Inventions and copyrightable works often come about because of activities of UNLV personnel who have been aided wholly or in part through the use of funds, facilities, and/or other resources of the University System. It becomes significant, therefore, to ensure the utilization of such inventions for the public good and to expedite their development and marketing. The rights and privileges, as well as the incentive, of the inventor or author/creator must be preserved so that the abilities of the inventor or author/creator and those of other UNLV personnel may be further encouraged and stimulated. 3. The UCCSN Board of Regents acknowledges that faculty, staff and students who are employees of the Board regularly prepare for publication, usually through individual effort and initiative, articles, pamphlets, books and other scholarly works which may be subject to copyright and which may generate income. Publication may also result from work supported either partially or completely by the institution. With the advent of innovative techniques and procedures the variety and number of materials which might be created in a university community have increased significantly, causing the ownership of such copyrightable works to become increasingly complex. 4. The foregoing considered, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, does hereby establish the following policy with respect to inventions or intellectual property resulting from the work of its faculties, staff and students. This policy is in accordance with UCCSN policy, Title 4, Chapter 12, of the Board of Regents Handbook. Section
2. Definitions 2. The term "inventions" shall refer to all inventions, discoveries, computer-based programs and media, processes, methods, uses, products or combinations whether or not patented or patentable at any time under the Federal Patent Act as now existing or hereafter amended or supplemented. 3. "Copyrightable works" shall include the following: (1)
books, journal articles, texts, glossaries, bibliographies, study guides,
laboratory manuals, syllabi, tests and proposals; (3) films, filmstrips, charts, transparencies and other video or audio broadcasts; (4) programmed instructional materials; (5) computer-based programs and media; and (6) other materials or works which qualify for protection under the copyright laws of the United States or other protective statutes whether or not copyrightable thereunder. 4.
"Net income" is defined as income received by UNLV from a UNLV
owned invention or copyrightable work less all payments or obligations
directly attributable to patenting, copyrighting, marketing, licensing,
protecting or administering the invention or work. 6. "Work for Hire" is defined by the copyright laws of the United States, and is used herein, as a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. 7. "Textbook" is to be construed in a broad sense to include computer-based programs and media with information content which synthesizes knowledge in specified academic disciplines and subdisciplines. 8. "Computer-based programs and media" include software or computed code or their representation in forms such as CD-ROM, video disk, compressed video, web-based material, and the like. Section
3. Significant Use 1. For the purposes of developing inventions or copyrightable works, UNLV does not construe the provision of office or library facilities or traditional desktop personal computers as constituting significant use of UNLV space or facilities, nor does it construe the payment of salary from unrestricted accounts as constituting the significant use of UNLV funds, except in those situations where the funds were specifically paid to support the development of inventions or copyrightable works. 2. Textbooks developed in conjunction with class teaching are also excluded from the "significant use" category, unless such textbooks were developed using UNLV administered funds paid specifically to support textbook development. 3. Generally, an invention or a copyrightable work will not be considered to have been developed using UNLV funds or facilities if: (a)
only a minimal amount of unrestricted funds have been used; and (c) only a minimal amount of time has been spent using significant UNLV facilities or only insignificant facilities and equipment have been utilized; and (d) the development of the invention or copyrightable work has been made on the personal, unpaid time of the inventor or author/creator. Section
4. Inventions 2. Determination of rights and equities in inventions (patentable or not) shall be as follows: a.
Except as otherwise specified by UNLV in writing, inventions shall belong
to UNLV if conceived or reduced to practice: (3) through the significant use, by any person, of UNLV resources such as facilities, materials, equipment, personnel, funds, or other resources under the control of or administered by UNLV. b.
Inventors acquire ownership in inventions which are: c.
In the event there is a question about an invention as to whether UNLV
has an ownership claim, the UNLV Intellectual Property Administrator will
review the invention disclosure and determine ownership. Such disclosure
is without prejudice to the inventor's ownership claim. In determining
ownership interest in an invention, a designated official may determine
that UNLV has no property interest in the invention because its conception
and reduction to practice was unrelated to the inventor's UNLV duties,
involved only insignificant use of institutional resources or for such
other reasons as may be set forth in the guidelines. Section
5. Copyrightable Works It is the policy of UNLV that all rights in copyright shall remain with the author/creator unless the work is a work for hire (and copyright vests in UNLV under copyright law), is supported by a direct allocation of funds through UNLV for the pursuit of a specific project, is commissioned by UNLV, is created with the significant use of UNLV administered resources, or is created in the performance of a sponsored project. 2. Except as may be provided otherwise in this policy, UNLV does not claim ownership of books, articles and similar works, the intended purpose of which is to disseminate the results of academic research or scholarly study. Such works include those of students created in the course of their education, such as dissertations, papers, and articles. Similarly, UNLV claims no ownership of popular nonfiction, novels, poems, musical compositions or other works of artistic imagination which are not institutionally commissioned works or which were not created with the significant use of UNLV administered resources. If title to copyright in works defined within this paragraph vests in UNLV by law, UNLV will, upon request and to the extent consistent with its legal obligations, convey copyright to the creators of such works. 3. UNLV shall retain ownership of works created as institutional rather than personal efforts that is, works created for UNLV purposes in the course of the author/creator's employment. For instance, work assigned to staff programmers is "work for hire" as defined by law (regardless of whether the work is in the course of sponsored research, UNLV sponsored research or other activities), as is software and computer-based media developed for UNLV purposes, and UNLV owns all rights, intellectual and financial, in such works. 4. Except as excluded under Section 3, UNLV owns all rights, intellectual and financial, in copyrightable works created in the course of scholarly projects specifically funded by UNLV sponsored agreements or other UNLV funds. Prior to execution of any agreement with a nonUNLV sponsor that may result in or which deals with copyrightable works, where any UNLV time, facilities, materials, personnel or resources are involved, the agreement will be reviewed for appropriate intellectual property provisions. If necessary, modification to these provisions will be negotiated with the sponsor. 5. Under the copyright laws of the United States, commissioned works of nonemployees are owned by the author/creator and not by the commissioning party, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. UNLV personnel should, therefore, require UNLV commissioned contractors to agree in writing that ownership to copyrightable materials is assigned to UNLV. Examples of copyrightable works which UNLV may commission nonemployees to prepare are: a. Illustrations or designs. b. Artistic works. c. Architectural or engineering drawings. d. Forwards and introductions. e. Computer software and computer-based media. f. Reports by consultants or subcontractors. g. Videotapes and CD-ROM disks. 6. Any videotaping, broadcasting or televising of classroom, laboratory or other instruction, and any associated use of computer-based equipment or media, must be approved in advance by the appropriate institutional administrators, who shall determine the conditions under which such activity may occur and resolve questions of ownership, distribution, and policy. 7. In the case of course materials created and/or packaged in conjunction with Distance Education for electronic delivery of UNLV courses to remote sites, UNLV shall retain ownership. In the absence of a written agreement at or prior to developing materials for a Distance Education course, any income from the sale or distribution of such materials outside of UNLV classes taught by the author/creator(s) for which the author/creator(s) is(are) remunerated in the course of his/her(their) duties shall be distributed as provided in Section 7. 8. UNLV in all events shall have the right to perform its obligations with respect to copyrightable works, data, prototypes and other intellectual property under any contract, grant or other arrangements with third parties, including sponsored research agreements, license agreements and the like. 9. Except as provided in Section 3, UNLV resources are to be used solely for UNLV purposes and not for personal gain or personal commercial advantage, or for any other nonUNLV purposes. Section
6. Administration a.
The UNLV Intellectual Property Committee (IPC) is appointed by the President
to develop policies and procedures for handling inventions, copyrightable
works and intellectual property. UNLV's IPC is comprised of a subcommittee
of the University Research Council plus a representative from Finance
and Administration. This committee makes recommendations through the UNLV
Intellectual Property Officer (IPO) to the President regarding procedures,
guidelines, and responsibilities for the administration and development
of inventions, copyrightable works, intellectual property and such other
matters as the President shall determine. The committee reports annually
through the IPO to the President and to the Chancellor on inventions and
copyrightable works disclosed and the disposition thereof. c. When income is to be shared, all net income received on inventions and copyrightable works subject to this policy shall be divided with the inventor(s) or the author(s)/creator(s) on the basis stated in Section 7, it being understood that if there should be a plurality of inventors, the portion accruing to the inventors or authors/creators will be distributed on an equal share basis unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing by all the inventors or authors/creators. The inventor(s) or author(s)/creator(s) at or before the time of filing a patent application or copyright must agree in writing to any other terms and conditions negotiated with the institution. In the case of a plurality of inventors or authors/creators, all individual inventors or authors/creators must sign the same agreement. d. With respect to inventions, the Intellectual Property Officer may pursue any combination of the following courses of action: (1)
To develop and manage a licensing program through an independent patent
assistance organization so as to secure competent evaluation of inventions
or discoveries, expeditious filing of applications for patents and aggressive
licensing and administration of patents; or (3) To develop and manage independently an institutional licensing program; or (4) To release an invention to which the institution has title or an interest to the inventor for management and development as a private venture after the execution of an agreement providing for the division of income. 2. In the event of a disagreement as to the ownership and use of an invention or intellectual property, decisions may be appealed to the Intellectual Property Officer, through the IPC, to the President. Section
7. Distribution of Income UNLV
Intellectual Property Policy AGREEMENT FOR DE COURSES UNLV Intellectual Property Policy, Section 5.7 In the case of course materials created and/or packaged in conjunction with Distance Education for electronic delivery of UNLV courses to remote sites, UNLV shall retain ownership. For all such materials, royalty sharing agreements shall be prepared by the Office of Sponsored Programs to provide for distribution of any net income resulting from the sale or distribution of such materials, as provided in Section7. Royalty Sharing Agreement Per section 5.7 of UNLV's Policy on Intellectual Property, UNLV retains ownership for course materials created and/or packaged in conjunction with Distance Education for electronic delivery of UNLV courses to remote sites. However, for online courses offered over the Internet, ownership is stipulated as follows: a) for cases where the faculty member creates all material and imports it into WebCampus, ownership is retained by the faculty member b) for cases where the faculty member creates all material in WebCampus with minimal assistance from staff in Distance Education, ownership is retained by the faculty member. c)
for cases where the faculty member creates materials in WebCampus with assistance
from staff in d) for cases where Distance Education staff create materials, such as PowerPoint presentations, graphs, charts, illustrations, streamed video, audio recordings, or entire classes where Distance Education has major responsibility for the final product, ownership is retained by UNLV. DE COURSE OFFERINGS All credit courses offered using any type of electronic mediation as a means of delivering the courses off campus and all credit courses offered off campus as part of a technology mediated program must be coordinated by the Distance Education Program Office. Faculty interested in teaching mediated credit courses with off-campus students should contact the Distance Education Office for assistance. Arrangements for scheduling appropriate compensation, instructional design assistance, student registration, and other student services (e.g., textbook delivery, establishing email accounts, etc.) will be coordinated by the Distance Education staff. Assistance with various aspects of the course delivery may come from the department, the College of Extended Studies, the Library, Student Services, and other units on campus whose services will assist in ensuring a successful course offering. Faculty interested in offering mediated off-campus courses for both academic credit and professional development credit should also contact the Distance Education Office for assistance in developing the course. The Distance Education Office will serve as the liaison with the College of Educational Outreach to assist with the non-credit portion of the course. Any questions should be addressed to Judith Osterman, Director of Distance Education at x50708 or judith.osterman@unlv.edu SERVICES FOR THE DELIVERY OF DE COURSES In response to an increasing number of contacts from companies regarding services for providing online courses, the President has recently approved the following policy: "Before entering into an agreement with any publishing company or service provider regarding offering a UNLV course online, it is necessary that the Distance Education Program Office be informed and, to the extent deemed appropriate, that this office participate in the selection of provider services, and that the office assist with any contractual arrangements made with the contracting firm." The purpose of involving the DE Program Office in this process is not to curtail entrepreneurial endeavors on the part of individuals or departments, but is to a. provide consistency for UNLV students taking mediated courses, b. eliminate the expense of redundancy, c. offer assistance in implementing such classes and facilitate the process, d. monitor current and future technical infrastructure support needs (e.g., web accounts for students, network capabilities, web server requirements), e. ensure that legal contractual provisions are met from the perspective of UCCSN, f. ensure that we are adhering to the "Principles of Good Practice for Distance Education Programs" adopted by UNLV and the UCCSN. The latter point is particularly significant since it affects our ability to obtain accreditation for programs utilizing distance education courses. For a copy of the "Principles of Good Practice for Distance Education Programs" or for the procedure to follow to involve the DE Program Office in negotiating online services, visit the DE Program WEB site at http://www.unlv.edu/infotech/Distance_Education or contact the office at extension 0334. PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR ELECTRONICALLY OFFERED ACADEMIC DEGREE AND CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS PREAMBLE These Principles are the product of a Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications project, Balancing Quality and Access: Reducing State Policy Barriers to Electronically Delivered Higher Education Programs. The three-year project, supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, is designed to foster an interstate environment that encourages the electronic provision of quality higher education programs across state lines. The Principles have been developed by a group representing the Western states' higher education regulating agencies, higher education institutions, and the regional accrediting community. Recognizing that the context for learning in our society is undergoing profound changes, those charged with developing the Principles have tried not to tie them to or compare them to traditional campus structues. The Principles are also designed to be sufficiently flexible that institutions offering a range of programs-from graduate degrees to certificates-will find them useful. Several assumptions form the basis for these Principles: The electronically offered program is provided by or through an institution that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body.
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Role and Mission
Faculty Support
Resources for Learning
Students and Student Services
Commitment to Support
|
 |
Intro
to official DE policies