Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Distance Education Committee

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	April 1, 2022
Time	1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Location	Zoom Virtual Meeting

Members Present
Erasmus Addae, Rachel Barrera, Angelo Carlo Caverte, Latoya Childs, Herbert Coleman, Matthew Evins, Michelle Hamilton, Stacy (Liz) Hundley, Jeannette McGowan, Theresa Mooney, Donna Moore, Kathleen Nakasone, Wajma Nasher, Jack O'Grady, Kathleen Park, Allan Purcell, Amy Setter, Larry Stephens, Sarah Strong, April Whalen, Daira Wilson
Guests Present
Stephanie Long, Susan Burkhauser, Thomas Samuel

Item # 1:	Distance Education HyFlex Institute
Presenter	Stephanie Long
Discussion	Notification of the Summer 2022 HyFlex institute, details of how it will be conducted, difference between classroom types, how faculty can sign up.

Item # 2:	Future of ACC Distance Education Discussion
Presenter	Larry Stephens
Discussion	Issue #1: Should we have a formalized designation, certificate, training, for DE faculty? Scope of trainings required of faculty (DLIS, QM, and Blackboard) in order to teach a DE course beginning in Fall 2022. Faculty do not need to meet the requirements prior to the start of the semester: compliance training can be conducted through the end of the Fall 2022 semester. Tracking of faculty compliance is reported to assistant deans and AVCs of workforce and instruction who disseminate this information down to department chairs. 3-year review cycle sees faculty being notified by their assistant dean when their window opens up for recertification. Decision: No action taken. Issue #2: What recommendation would you make regarding the current 60/40 requirement regarding faculty workload for DE courses? Jack O’Grady proposed a recommendation to remove the 60/40 rule. Discussion of the rule’s origin: it is a long standing, outdated rule created by the coordinating board subject to institution interpretation and/or utilization. Some institutions no longer use the 60/40 rule. Jack O’Grady: If the 60/40 rule is to be retained, proposed that it should undergo rewriting or scope reconsideration to meet with modern standards. Erasmus Addae: DE committee can recommend for the editing or removal of the 60/40 if voted for. The 60/40 rule has been brought up in multiple discussions in higher echelons but has not been acted upon. If the DE committee votes and pushed forward a recommendation, higher echelons of ACC could see the recommendation as actionable evidence for evaluation. Rachel Barrera: question about how faculty are assigned based on face-to-face versus online, different in assignments based on modality. Information from DE committee department chairs about the history of faculty assignments to online or FTF courses in their respective departments. Decision: Vote not held, request for department chairs to gather more information from their faculty for input on what action they feel should be taken.

Item # 3:	Ad Hoc Work Groups
Presenter	Larry Stephens
Discussion	Work group: recommendations for best practices led by Donna Moore shared work conducted so far. Drafted a document of best practice suggestions based on DE faculty handbook, practices seen during the COVID19 pandemic. Suggestions presented based on class modality, presentation and type of class work, encouraging student engagement and interaction. Platform (LMS) usage suggested to be determined by the faculty teaching the course and avoid overreliance on technology. Communication about how and how frequently faculty should communicate with students. Course notes should be more clearly told to students in the registration system about the scope of the class and requirements for participation. Introductory post ahead of class start date and when to open the course. Transparency of grading structure. Contacting the student during the first week of the course if there are access issues. Courses should follow QM structure, be easy to navigate, be considerate of pacing and scheduling of assignments to ensure student success. Suggestions compilation are shared for DE committee to review and make committee-level recommendations. Question brought up about citing sources for best practice suggestions. Workgroup: DE faculty handbook updates led by Larry Stephens. Work conducted by Susan Berkhouser and Jack O’Grady compiling update information and comments. Faculty handbook update is shared with the DE committee. Members encouraged to provide comments about substantive additions to add to the draft document. Several more weeks remaining on this project. Workgroup: QM course data led by Rachel Barrera. Brainstorming session conducted in the previous week about what data to compile and how to organize. Rachel Barrera: need to conduct a follow-up meeting with OIRA, Erasmus Addae, Rachel Barrera, and Larry Stephens to discuss data questions and relevant usage. Minutes of the brainstorming session included in DE committee Google Drive materials. Erasmus Addae: OIRA meeting scheduled for 4/7/22. Larry Stephens: comment that work on the project will probably extend for the rest of 2022 calendar year.

Item # 4:	Election of DE co-chair for 2022-2023
Presenter	Larry Stephens
Discussion	Nominations for co-chair for 2022-23 academic year leading the DE committee after Allan Purcell in 2023-2024 academic year. Nominations: Jack O’Grady (seconded, accepted, unopposed). Decision: Call for unanimous consent (seconded), election forgone. Jack O’Grady appointed to co-chair status in 2022-23 academic year.

Item # 5:	Topics for future meetings
Presenter	Larry Stephens
Discussion	Request by Larry Stephens for a DE committee in-person meeting on May 6, 2022 1-2:30pm. Meeting will be to discuss scope of conduct of future DE committee meetings. Additional details to be provided later regarding workgroup discussions and recommendations to bring to faculty senate and ASAC. Stephanie Long: request to make the May 6, 2022 meeting to focus on hyflex development. Herb Coleman: request to leave option open for DE committee meetings to allow for online attendance if possible. Matthew Evins suggest using HLC building 2000 hyflex classroom for the meeting.

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