Before diving into the course review process take some time to review important information about instructor and college responsibilities related to Distance Education. It's important to know that all DE modalities are subject to the same regulations, etc. whether fully online or hybrid.

Title 5 Regulations

Title 5 is a part of the California Code of Regulations. It was recently amended in November 2022, so some language is likely to be new to you. Briefly, the sections we recommend reviewing are:

55005. Publication of Course Standards
55200. Definition and Application
55204. Instructor Contact
55206. Separate Course Approval
55208. Faculty Selection and Workload

Search by Title number/Section number to learn more about each.

A couple highlights from the recent Title 5 updates include the addition of a definition of accessible and aligning the language for Instructor Contact to match federal requirements for "Regular Substantive Interaction" (which replaces previous Title 5 language about regular effective contact).

"Accessible" means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as a person without a disability. Although this might not result in identical ease of use compared to that of persons without disabilities, it still must ensure equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of such technology.

In response to federal and state revisions to regulations, Yuba Community College District updated AP4105 in Spring 2023. Please be sure to open the link and review the most up-to-date version of our local policies as they align with the regulations.

DE Addendum

To meet § 55206, the Yuba College DE Committee and Curriculum Committee created a DE Addendum section for course outlines of record (COR). The DE Addendum includes information about which DE modalities are approved for each course and a checklist to be in compliance with federal, state, and local requirements.

DE instructors will complete separate training.
DE courses will adhere to regulations on substantive, regular, and effective contact.
DE courses will meet standards for ADA/section 508 accessibility and compliance.
DE courses will be peer reviewed to ensure alignment with the CVC-OEI rubric.
Any regularly scheduled meeting times will be published in the schedule of classes.

Review CORs and their associated DE Addendums in eLumen.

Instructor Preparedness

For Title 5 compliance and accreditation, faculty teaching DE courses must have preparation ("separate training") for teaching in the DE modality they are assigned.

The Yuba College DE Committee strongly agrees with the CVC-OEI recommendations for instructor preparation for teaching online.

This includes:

Participation in facilitated training to develop core competencies for online teaching and design*
Developing a working knowledge of the OEI Course Design Rubric through ongoing professional development
Engaging in a self-assessment process in conjunction with peer review

*Note: These competencies can be developed through one or more courses offered by @ONE or by completing training courses offered locally through Yuba College. Facilitated formats provide you invaluable experience with being on the learner side of Canvas, receiving feedback on your course design, and opportunities to interact with peers as you develop knowledge and refine your teaching.

Core Competencies

Faculty teaching online courses (any DE modality) demonstrate the ability to:

develop a comprehensive plan for chunking course content into meaningful, distinct units (modules)
use core features of the Canvas LMS to design course components (pages, assignments, etc.)
develop an introductory orientation module to support student success early in the course
develop instructional units with clear objectives aligned to course outcomes
provide direct instruction through a variety of methods, including instructor created and curated materials
design accessible course content
effectively integrate OER or publisher materials into the navigation and content flow of a unit and provide sufficient instructions for working with the materials
design formative and summative assessments to support and measure student learning
use a variety of communication tools to support student success
use technology to facilitate office hours and other support for students, manage course content/files, provide feedback to students, etc.