USC Academic Senate

Resolution: 00/01-01

Procedure:

1. A motion should be typed or hand-printed.
2. A motion should first be offered to the Executive Board for review and advice on editing and parliamentary implications.
3. If changes are necessary, the motion should be recopied on another form. Amendments may be indicated in the margin or on the reverse of this form.

Distance Education and Distributed Learning

WHEREAS, the Internet, World Wide Web, and other new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are helping to deliver a proliferating range of ‘distance education’ courses and ‘distributed learning’ activities in universities, corporate training, life-long learning, and other educational arenas;

WHEREAS, individual faculty, departments, schools, and the University Administration have launched a variety of ICT initiatives to take forward USC’s decades-long experience in distance education to complement and extend learning opportunities within the classroom and in distributed locations;

WHEREAS, the University Administration and faculty have studied the key issues, as discussed by a Senate White Paper Committee on distance education, and a USC Presidential Commission Report, recommending that USC develop new initiatives;

WHEREAS, the University cannot rest on its laurels if it is to remain in the forefront of innovation which exploits the potential of true technological advances in higher education and learning, and that a lack of innovation in these areas could actually undermine the role of established universities such as USC;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT,

1. The Academic Senate and the Office of the Provost establish a joint Senate-Provost committee on Distance Education and Distributed Learning to advise the Provost and the Senate on designs, implementation strategies and policies for distance education and distributed learning, to provide a faculty overview of all distance education and distributed activities conducted by USC schools, colleges, and departments directly or through other public or private organizations, and to work with all relevant faculty and administrators to foster innovation while maintaining and enhancing high standards of academic quality, at a level appropriate to the students for which the content is developed.

2. The Committee should be a sounding board and help the University develop a clear strategy designed to build and sustain an imaginative and effective long-term program for distance education and distributed learning. A prime aim of this strategy should be to enhance the quality of education for campus-based students, while also seeking to reach new audiences for our teaching and research, such as students whose location, career paths, or other life circumstances mean they would otherwise be unable or unlikely to attend courses offered on one of our campuses.

3. The Committee should work in collaboration with the chair of the University’s Distance Learning Committee, a subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee, which includes tenure-track faculty, to further develop and refine USC standards and procedures for reviewing, approving and evaluating distance education and distributed learning initiatives.

4. The Committee should refine and build upon the Senate White Paper Committee on distance education, USC’s Presidential Commission Report on Distance Education, and the set of guiding principles outlined by the Senate’s Task Force on Distance Education and Distributed Learning.Action taken: Passed unanimously.

Notes

1. Distance education refers to the use of ICTs, ranging from mail to the Internet, that enable students to complete courses or degree programs remotely, without necessarily being physically present at a particular time and place, such as in a classroom or on a college campus. Distributed learning usually refers to the use of ICTs in ways that enhance learning within the classroom, such as by permitting students to interact with an author at a distant location, or to use a simulation, or to extend the classroom, such as by allowing students to communicate with their instructor or fellow students outside of class hours, such as by e-mail from their dormitory residence. While anchored in similar technologies, distance education and distributed learning have been focused on distinctly different audiences, and have been organized through different institutional arrangements.

2. A chronology of USC events related to distance education or distributed learning is at: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/issues/distance_ed/dl_chronology.html

3. Chi Mak, John Silvester, and others (1998), Distance Learning at USC: A Report of Discussions of the Senate White Paper Committee on Distance Learning, held during July and August 1998. See: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/about_senate/whitepapers/

4. USC Presidential Commission on Distance and Distributed Learning (1999), Final Report, June: See: http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/distance_learning/

5. The document outlining ‘Guidelines for Preparation of Proposals to the Distance Learning Committee’ (March 19, 1999) is on the Web at: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/issues/distance_ed/ddl-eval.pdf, and USC’s ‘Evaluation Criteria for Distance Learning Programs and Courses’ (March 2, 1999) are available on the Web at: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/issues/distance_ed/ddl-eval.pdf

6. Chi Mak, John Silvester, and others (1998), Distance Learning at USC: A Report of Discussions of the Senate White Paper Committee on Distance Learning, held during July and August 1998. See: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/about_senate/whitepapers/

7. USC Presidential Commission on Distance and Distributed Learning (1999), Final Report, June: See: http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/distance_learning/

8. The guiding principles are outlined in: The Academic Senate Task Force on Distance Education and Distributed Learning (2000), Distance Education and Distributed Learning: Guiding Principles (Los Angeles, CA: USC’s Annenberg School for Communication, University Park Campus, and the Doheny Eye Institute, Health Sciences Campus, 14 April). Available on the Web at: http://www.usc.edu/academe/acsen/issues/distance_ed/ddl-principles.pdf