Issues – "Special" Courses

1. Web-based courses – Is there a standard which we should be applying? Generally, we have applied the standard that 1 credit requires 16 hours of face-to-face instruction and that no more that one credit may be earned per week.

If a course is approved, the Associate Vice Chancellor’s office does not monitor whether it is offered in the approved format.

If a "special" course is proposed, the Associate Vice Chancellor’s office checks to make sure that a course has 16 (50-minute) hours per credit and is conducted over a period of at least one week per credit.

What should be the minimum standards for approval of a Web-based course or a course with "blended" pedagogy?

 

2. Travel Study – should courses be bound by the 16 hours of face-to-face instruction and the limit of one credit per week?

Recently a proposal was received for a 6-credit course that involves one week on on-campus classes (10 hours), three weeks of travel, and 10 more hours of on-campus meetings (one week). The travel portion has instruction in the morning and service activities in the afternoon so the students get 20-40 hours of involvement per week at a minimum.