Operational Policies, Procedures and Positions

 Policy

Students enrolled in courses where instruction is delivered via distance learning technologies will be counted for audit purposes the same as that for students enrolled via traditional methods, with the following stipulation. State appropriations will be awarded only for Internet (on-line) courses that are offered through the Mississippi Virtual Community College using the common software platform. Internet courses may be defined as those that are not classroom based, content is delivered on line, do not require regular campus attendance, can be accomplished from a remote site, and are distinguished from hybrid courses, which are merely internet enhanced. Colleges will be compensated according to their roles as host and/or provider institutions for students and courses.

Position Statement 1 and Procedures:

The goal of the MSVCC is to serve the online course needs of the 15 community and junior college districts in the State of Mississippi and to serve the potential community college students. 

• Online courses are delivered over the Internet with no ground-base component (exclusive of proctored exams). For the purposes of this policy courses with classroom-based components (hybrid courses) are not considered online.
• MSVCC courses are available to all community college students.
• The MSVCC home page will display a “master pick list” of all online courses offered by the colleges.
• The appropriate college dean will choose courses to offer on the local level.
• The appropriate college dean may expand the initial course list from within the master pick list.

 Position Statement 2 and Procedures:

 The SBCJC will support the MSVCC by providing the following support services: 

• Provide a common software course presentation package with software support.
• Maintain a website with MSVCC information and college resources.
• Provide a common enrollment application, which will serve all of the community college districts.
• The enrollment application will minimally address the following:
• Allow provider colleges to announce courses as available.
• Allow provider to set maximum number of students a course will accommodate. The appropriate dean from the provider college may authorize an “over-ride” if a change in the maximum is indicated.
• Allow provider to publish instructor information.
• Allow enrollment of online students.
• Automatically alert all colleges when a course is closed by enrollment.
• Serve to give the host and provider a means of keeping minimal enrollment records.

• Provide a Director of Distance Education with the responsibility to:

• Insure that a list of online college courses is published on the MSVCC web page.
• Insure that a list of all MSVCC courses is provided to the DLC of the community colleges
• Assist in planning policy and procedures of the MSVCC.
• Assess the effectiveness of policy and procedures of the MSVCC.
• Recommend changes in policy and procedures of the MSVCC
• Coordinate with faculty, staff and students.

Position Statement 3 and Procedures: 

The Presidents will adopt an annual statewide calendar for the MSVCC.

• In advance of each calendar year, the Deans will set firm dates for the year. This will be done early enough for the colleges to include the dates into local publications.
• These dates will establish:
• Common statewide enrollment dates for fall, spring and summer,
• A common statewide ending date for semester,
• A common statewide last date to enroll,
• A common statewide last date to contact online instructor,
• Common statewide due dates for grades, and
• Common statewide add, drop and withdrawal dates.

·        When Do MSVCC Students Enroll?

o       MSVCC student enrollment will begin and end on the common dates established within committee.

• Statewide enrollment is open to all community college students at all times.
• The provider district will set the maximum number of students per course.
• Out-of-District Student Numbers.

• The provider must reserve a minimum of 50% of the available seats for out-of-district students. The provider may choose to exercise its option to reserve more then 50% for out-of-district student enrollment or may choose to open the course statewide without limitation or any combination thereof.
• Once the provider district has completed its enrollment period the district will make any other seats available for the enrollment of additional out-of-district students.

• The colleges may, at anytime prior to the statewide enrollment date, enroll local students into their home online courses. Students cannot enroll into courses offered by other colleges until the statewide enrollment period begins.

Position Statement 4 and Procedures:

It is the Responsibility of each community college district to serve the online students and to support the MSVCC.

• The provider college originates the course and supports the instructor.
• The college home page will provide a link to the MSVCC homepage.
• The Chief Academic Officer will insure the quality of the online course(s) offered.
• The provider supports the instructor.
• The provider/Instructor selects the course textbook(s).
• The provider registrar maintains an enrollment list downloaded from the MSVCC enrollment application.
• The provider registrar coordinates the exact reconciliation of his/her enrollment list with the instructor grade book enrollment.
• The host college lists the courses and enrolls the student.
• The local college home page will provide a link to the MSVCC homepage.
• The appropriate Dean may select the online courses that will be listed by his/her college. Online courses are chosen only from the MSVCC master pick list.
• The Dean may choose to increase his/her local college list by selecting additional courses from within the master pick list as the demand dictates.
• Students enroll at the host college for all online courses.
• The host college communicates with the provider DLC to insure accuracy of enrollment figures.
• The host college develops student service procedures to serve online students.
• The host college develops a service to advise and screen potential online students.
• Every college should consider itself a testing site for online courses giving full faith and credit to all other colleges.
• The host college develops a plan to implement a “testing center” to accommodate proctored testing.

o       The existing MSVCC textbook committee from the Deans Association will devise a solution for supplying textbooks to online students. 

Position Statement 5 and Procedures.

Consistent with planning decisions and with the definition of MSVCC, Blackboard CourseInfo is the common presentation platform to be use by all instructors.

The use of a common platform: 

·        Ensures/allows ease of communication.

·        Enables global broadcast of announcement to MSVCC instructors and students,

·        Provides a means of global software updates,

·        Provides a predictable course look and feel,

·        Facilitates the team development of online courses,

·        Enables the formation of support groups for trouble-shooting and problem solving, and

·        Provides a “campus” look and feel for the instructor and students.

o       Common calendar

o       Common forum areas for discussion 

Position Statement 6 and Procedures: 

The College presidents will identify a person to serve as the Distance Learning Coordinator (DLC). The duties of the Distance Learning Coordinator at the host or provider college where appropriate may include: 

·        Enrollment

§         Correct enrollment problems.

§         Answer questions about enrollment process.

§         Manage the enrollment of students into the MSVCC.

§         Facilitate communication between provider/host registrars.

§         Facilitate transmission of grades between provider/host registrars.

§         Facilitate transmission of grades from the instructors to registrar.

§         Facilitate Sending and Receiving Drop/Withdrawal slips to registrar.

·        Administer MSVCC.

o       Answer questions about online courses.

o       Inform MSVCC of courses being offered by local college.

o       Work with department chairs to identify instructors to teach courses.

o       Inform local college of courses being offered by semester.

o       Set up development teams for courses.

o       Training of faculty –

§         Plan training process.

§         Schedule training times.

o       Training of Staff-

§         Plan training process.

§         Schedule training times.

o       Work with student services to get information to students.

o       Inform students of how to link with Learning Resource Center.

o       Inform students, instructors and staff about MELO.

o       Work with Contract issues.

o       Integrate procedures of the MSVCC with the administrative process of college to address pay issues.

·        The Distance Learning Coordinator is the primary college contact.

o       Communicate with local instructors, staff and students.

o       Communicate with other DLCs from other colleges.

o       Answer questions from other colleges (students, staff, instructors).

o       Work with students to solved problems.

·        Coordinate with MSVCC and college deans to maintain calendar.

Position Statement 7 and Procedures. 

Courses taught online by instructors should be considered the same as ground-based courses for pay purposes.

·        The online course should be part of the normal load for an instructor.

·        The online course may contribute to the instructor’s “overload” if such policy exists at the college.

 Position Statement 8 and Procedures:

             The provider registrar will receive grades for students taking online courses.

·        Instructors give grades to provider registrar.

·        Provider registrar sends grades to host registrar.

 Position Statement 9 and Procedures:

 Each college will take whatever steps it considers prudent to address ADA compliance for online courses.

·        Courses developed through funding from the SBCJC will utilize software designed to check for ADA compliance. 

 Position Statement 10 and Procedures: 

Athletic Eligibility:  All athletes must be enrolled full-time and in attendance within fifteen (15) calendar days from the beginning date of a particular term to be eligible to participate.  To be considered full-time, a student must be enrolled in 12 semester hours.  Students taking on-line courses are considered full-time if registered for at least six (6) semester hours on site at the certifying institution and six (6) or more hours with the certifying institution acting as the host institution for courses taught by other MACJC member colleges.

 Position Statement 11 and Procedures:

 Each college will be responsible for the development of institutional distance education policies pertaining to intellectual property rights, exclusive of those on-line courses developed through funding provided by the SBCJC.  Courses developed through SBCJC funding shall become the property of the SBCJC for the common use of the state’s fifteen colleges.

 Position Statement 12 and Procedures:

 Colleges and SBCJC will market the MSVCC.  Marketing events scheduled by MACJC and SBCJC will be ongoing.