Administrative Procedures

How to Create a New Distance Education Program

To create a new Distance Education degree program, fill out the appropriate form, linked below. If you need assistance, please contact the Office of Teaching and Learning with Technology at 940.898.3409.

• New DE Masters Degree Program [This form is currently under review.]
• New DE Doctoral Degree [word]

State Authorization to Offer Programs Out-of-State

DE Program Coordinators can view the status of approval for each state by viewing the Status of State Approvals to Offer Distance Education. [portal log-in required]

How to Determine if a Course is Distance Education

As courses are added to WebAdvisor and the TWU Schedule of Classes, academic units are responsible for indicating to University Scheduling whether the course is distance education and, if so, the classification of the DE course. The simplest method to determine the classification is to look at the amount of time students and the instructor(s) will be required to meet in the same physical location. Please note that optional class meetings/orientations or synchronous, electronically-delivered class meetings by televideo, Wimba, etc. should not be included in this calculation. Upon determining the amount of time spent in face-to-face (F2F) instruction, please consult the table below. Table [pdf]

Course Semester Credit Hours	TWU Minimum Class Time	Distance Education Course Designation (Time in F2F Classroom)	Hybrid DE Course (Time in F2F Classroom)	Fully DE Course (Time in F2F Classroom)
1 SCH	14 hrs	Less than 7 hrs	More than 2 hrs but less than 7 hrs	2 hrs or less
2 SCH	28 hrs	Less than 14 hrs	More than 4 hrs but less than 14 hrs	4 hrs or less
3 SCH	42 hrs	Less than 21 hrs	More than 6 hrs but less than 21 hrs	6 hrs or less

Definitions

Distance Education Course - A course in which over 50% of the instruction is delivered via electronic means (i.e., interactive video conferencing, Internet, etc.) to the home or to any other remote location where students and the instructor(s) are not in the same physical location. All DE courses must meet these minimum criteria.

There are two types of DE courses—fully distance education and hybrid.

• Fully Distance Education Course - A course in which 85 percent or more of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place.
• Hybrid Distance Education Course - A course in which a majority (more than 50 percent but less than 85 percent), of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place.