Explore Policies & Data

• Definition of Distance Education (34 C.F.R. § 602.3.)
  Distance Education means:
  Education that uses one or more of the technologies listed in paragraphs (1) through (4) to
  deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and
  substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, either synchronously or
  asynchronously. The technologies may include:
  1. the internet;
  2. one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable,
     microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices;
  3. audioconferencing; or
  4. video cassettes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassettes, DVDs, or CD-ROMs are used in
     a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in paragraphs (1) through (3).
     
• Commission policy specifies that all learning opportunities provided by accredited institutions must have equivalent quality, accountability, and focus on student outcomes, regardless of mode of delivery. This policy provides a framework that allows institutions the flexibility to adapt their delivery modes to the emerging needs of students and society while maintaining quality.
• Any institution offering courses and programs through distance education or correspondence
  education is expected to meet the requirements of accreditation in each of its courses and
  programs and at each of its sites.
• Institutions which offer distance education or correspondence education must have
  processes in place through which the institution establishes that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence course or program is the same person who
  participates every time in and completes the course or program and receives the academic
  credit (WCET Best Practice Strategies to Promote Academic Integrity in Online Education V.2.0, June 2009). This requirement will be met if the institution verifies the identity of a student who
  participates in class or coursework by using, at the institution’s discretion, such methods as
  a secure log-in and password, proctored examinations, other technologies and/or practices
  that are developed and effective in verifying each student’s identification. The institution must also publish policies that ensure the protection of student privacy and will notify students at the time of class registration of any charges associated with verification of student identity (34 C.F.R. § 602.17(g)).

Kapi‘olani CC Definition of Regular and Substantive Interaction (Approved April 2021)

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is a requirement for Distance Education (DE) classes at Kapi‘olani Community College. In meeting this requirement, instructors are responsible for interacting with students on a predictable and regular basis. They monitor students’ academic engagement and success, and proactively engage in substantive interactions with the students. These interactions occur in at least two of the following ways:

• Providing direct instruction (ie. instructor-created videos, slide presentations, or other instructional materials or meeting with the class synchronously online)
• Providing feedback on assignments (preferably individualized)
• Providing information and/or responding to questions
• Facilitating group discussions (including discussions that utilize Web 2.0 tools such as Padlet, FlipGrid, collaborative creation tools, etc.)
• Engaging in one or more of the following instructional activities:
  • Sending announcements, reminders or nudges to students
  • Holding synchronous group or individual conferences
  • Assigning and facilitating peer feedback
  • Assigning and facilitating group projects
  • Assigning and facilitating student-led instruction (student presentations, student-led discussions, etc.)
  • Sharing individualized course performance, progress, and/or early-alert reports with students

Institutions are asked to verify student identity (“Are your online students really the ones registered for the course?”).

A DE course must take measures to establish that the student who registers in an online course is the student who participates in and receives the academic credit. (Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, 602.17)  See WCET Discussion on Student Authentication.

Online education holds great potential for people with disabilities. Website and online course accessibility is required for public institutions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In some states like California, the state law requires that all online content be accessible from the start, but so far, Hawaii does not have that requirement.  However, when a student requiring accommodation is enrolled, the accommodations must be provided in a timely manner.  Since this can require a lot of time and stress, we highly recommend that the instructors creating new courses plan for accessibility from the start. If you are creating or selecting new multimedia for existing courses, same should be considered.  If you already have a lot of videos or other resources that need to be reviewed for accessibility, enlist the help of DSSO and CELTT to figure out a plan to help you gradually add video captions and web accessibility features.

With the latest series of legal challenges from the disability rights groups against higher education institutions, it is better to be proactive rather than reactive.

Accessible Web Design

Most of Laulima content is a webpage that should meet WCAG 2.0 web accessibility standards.

WCAG 2.0 web accessibility standards also have levels: Level A = Beginner, Level AA = Intermediate, Level AAA = Advanced.  You can find out what’s in each level by clicking on the WUHCAG WCAG 2.0 Checklists website.

Adding alternative text for images is very important and according to webaim.org, the “first principle of web accessibility”.  You will have to add descriptive text for the image but you’ll also have to keep it concise.  Read more about Alternative Text from webaim.org

Please review

• Designing for Website Accessibility Checklist (The Whole Brain Group)
• Web Accessibility Principles (WebAIM)
• Web Accessibility for Designers (WebAIM)

Refer to the Guide for the Section 508 Standards for complete recommendations or Section 508 and 504: Closed Captioning and Web Accessibility Requirements for a summary. See also 2016 Roadmap to Web Accessibility in Higher Education (OPTIONAL reference)