Distance Learning

A. Definitions

1. For the purpose of this Article, Distance Learning (DL) is defined as follows:

Distance learning is a formal mode of interaction which uses one or more technologies to

deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and which supports

regular and substantive interaction between the students and instructor, either synchronously

or asynchronously.

2. Course development includes creating a new course or adapting an existing course to use

distance learning as the primary delivery mode.

3. The same quality standards applied to face-to-face courses shall also apply to DL courses.

B. Colleges offering DL courses shall:

1. Follow agreed upon curricular development, quality standards and approval processes as

developed by the college academic senate in consultation with the administration.

2. Form a DL committee or its equivalent that will serve the function of communicating with

and advising the college on its decision making regarding distance learning issues. It should

report to the college’s Educational Planning Committee or its equivalent and should include

equal representation of AFT and Academic Senate DL faculty, administrators, and

information technology staff involved in DL course development and delivery. The college

curriculum committee and the DL Committee or equivalent should address DL efficacy as it

relates to the total instructional program. The DL Committee shall have the responsibility of

determining proficiency in a CMS and shall serve as a resource to the college on distance

learning issues. Making assignments and evaluating faculty remain the responsibility of the

department chairs.

3. Provide, as necessary, ongoing training and technical and instructional support including

technological assistance regarding the college’s course management system (CMS), services

and equipment to assure successful delivery of the course in any DL mode. When temporary

adjunct faculty are required to undertake additional DL training in the teaching and learning

of a new DL platform in order to receive an assignment, the District will provide such

training.

4. Plan DL course offerings in the same manner as regular college/department course offerings

by using the departments schedule development process as carried out by the department

chair in conjunction with the administration

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LACCD & AFT Agreement 2011-20145. Ensure that faculty who are preparing to teach DL courses at the college for the first time

demonstrate proficiency in DL instructional delivery methods. Proficiency in DL shall be

determined by a method formulated by the college DL Committee Faculty may use training

hours as part of their Professional Development (flex) obligation.

a.  No faculty member may be assigned a DL course until proficiency requirements set by the

college DL Committee are met.

b.  The college DL Committee must determine CMS proficiency through training taken prior

to the offer of any DL assignment.

c.  Proficiency gained in the CMS at any District college is portable to any other District

college which uses the same CMS.

6. Evaluate DL instructors as specified in Articles 19 and 42 and Appendix C.

C. Class Size, and DL Assignments

1. Article 12, Class size, with the exception of 12.B.2. In addition, the first time an instructor

teaches any DL class the maximum class size shall be 25 students, unless the assigned faculty

member permits the class size to reach a maximum of 35. Thereafter DL class size shall not

exceed 40 students unless the assigned faculty member permits additional students to enroll

after the first day. These class size limits (25 for first time or 40) apply to the registration limits

so that the number of students permitted to enroll cannot exceed these limits.

2. Large DL Class Authorization and Compensation. At the written request of a particular faculty

member and, subject to the agreement of his/her department chair, at the stage of schedule

planning, the chair and instructor may submit a recommendation to the appropriate vice

president or designee, for authorization to set the DL class size limit for a particular course

(other than the first time offering) and that particular instructor to 80 students. (Such

authorization may be based on enrollment history, retention rates, high student demand, etc.)

Only one such large DL class is permitted per instructor per semester. The instructor of the

class will be compensated for the large class as follows:

a. If the large DL class has an enrollment of 50 to 59 at census (or the appropriate

apportionment date), the instructor will receive a Large DL Class Stipend of $500 per

Standard Hour for that semester.

b. If the large DL class has an enrollment of 60 to 69 at census (or the appropriate

apportionment date), the instructor will receive a Large DL Class Stipend of $1000 per

Standard Hour for that semester.

c. If the large DL class has an enrollment of 70 to 80 at census (or the appropriate

apportionment date), the instructor will receive a Large DL Class Stipend of $1500 per

Standard Hour for that semester.

Any larger classes still count as one class for 67% limit purposes. The retirement contributions

for the amounts of the stipends reported to CalSTRS would go into the DBS account for full

time faculty and for adjunct faculty participating in the CalSTRS DB retirement system (as

opposed to adjunct faculty members in CalSTRS CB or Social Security or PARS).).

3. Article 13, Table A, applies to DL classes

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4. Assignment to DL classes shall be voluntary.

5. The DL faculty member may meet his or her DL class office hour obligation in part or whole

by internet consultation.

6. Any faculty member who is assigned a DL class as an extra or adjunct assignment shall be

assigned in seniority order as described in Article 16, except that the DL proficiency

requirement in section B.3 above shall also be met. To assure that both DL proficiency and

adjunct seniority requirements are met, faculty DL proficiency shall be noted on all seniority

lists. Only instructors with such notation shall be offered DL classes. If the faculty member so

designated declines the DL assignment, that decline is counted as a refusal for the purposes of

calculating seniority as described in Article 16. Should a faculty member no longer desire to

teach DL classes, he/she may request in writing that such notation be removed from the

seniority list. The request to change one’s DL designation will be effective the next term and

declining a DL assignment in the next and subsequent terms will not be counted as a refusal.

The DL designation can be reinstated by written request of the faculty member, effective the

next term.

7. Experienced DL instructors selected to mentor or train others may be compensated at the

non-teaching hourly rate.

D. Instructional Television

1. The assignment of faculty to Instructional Television courses shall be considered 0.4 FTE for

the fall and spring semesters and 1 FTE in any intersession.

2.  Courses with fewer than 80 enrollments as of the close of the tenth instructional day of the

semester in which the course appears on TV may be cancelled and the teaching assignment

terminated. The Instructor shall be reassigned if regular or contract status is held.

3. In the event an ITV course official enrollment exceeds 240 students, a second section shall be

created.

4. All ITV assignments shall first be offered to regular faculty.

5. If regular faculty members are not available to accept ITV assignments, assignments may be

offered to temporary adjunct faculty as ITV instructors in accordance with the District’s rules.

6. The ITV evaluation process shall parallel the process for part-time instructors with the director

of ITV acting as the department chair.

7. District and AFT approved discipline-specific ITV faculty selection rosters may be used to

select its temporary adjunct ITV faculty in lieu of conducting a standard selection process. The

ITV program director, the relevant discipline/department chair(s) and the appropriate vice

president must all agree on this alternate selection procedure, which shall be deemed to

comply with Board Rule, Chapter X, Article III, section 10304.2 and any relevant concomitant

local processes