In this presentation given at the 2016 GICA (Georgia Independent Colleges Association) SACSCOC Workshare Conference, I describe a framework and mindset to use SACSCOC distance education guidelines and best practices to generate institutional improvement.

1. Two Balls, One Bat: The
SACSCOC Fifth-Year Review as a
Motivator For Institutional
Improvement
Jon Ernstberger
jernstberger@lagrange.edu
Twitter: @jernstberger

2. Macroscopic View
• Poll
• Institutional Overview
• Mindset
• SACSCOC
• Recommendations
• Conclusions

3. Poll: Online offerings?

4. About LaGrange College
• Approximately 1,100 students.
• 86 full-time faculty
• Founded in 1831
• Co-ed in 1954
• Pres. Dan McAlexander
• Ed.S. is our highest degree
• Strategic Plan: Vision 2020
• Lots of haunted buildings
• Wesleyan tradition; mostly
Baptist
• 16 varsity teams

5. About LaGrange College, cont.

6. Online Instruction at
LaGrange College
History and Goals

7. Online Instruction: Opportunities
• RN to BSN online
• Adult education
• Academic Certificates (Aging Studies and Business Essentials I)
• Synchronous graduate distance education
• M.S. in Exercise Science
• M.A. in Philanthropy and Development (hybrid delivery)

8. SACSCOC Reviews
Change Your Vantage Point

9. Useful SACSCOC Documents
• Distance and Correspondence Education (Policy Statement, 1997-
2014)
• The Fifth-Year Interim Report (2015)
• Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate
Programs (2000)
• Guidelines for Addressing Distance and Correspondence Education
(2015)

10. Distance and Correspondence Ed (Policy)
• Definitions
• Key policy requirements
• Guidelines (mission, curriculum & instruction, faculty, institutional
effectiveness, student services, finances/facilities)

11. Definition of Distance Education (SACSCOC)
“…A distance education course may use the internet;
one-way and two-way transmissions through open
broadcast, close circult, cable, microwave, broadband
lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communication
devices; audio conferencing; or video cassettes, DVD’s,
and CD-ROMs if used as part of the distance learning
course or program.”

12. Policy Statements, #2
“At the time of review by the Commission, the institution demonstrates
that it has a written procedure for protecting the privacy of students
enrolled in distance and correspondence education courses or
programs.”
http://www.lagrange.edu/resources/pdf/Protection-of-Students.pdf

13. Guidelines
Library and Learning Resources
“Students have access to and can effectively use appropriate library
resources.”

14. Guidelines, cont.
Student Services
“Students in distance or correspondence programs have an adequate procedure for
resolving their complaints, and the institution follows its policies and procedures."

15. Useful SACSCOC Documents
• Distance and Correspondence Education (Policy Statement, 1997-
2014)
• The Fifth-Year Interim Report (2015)
• Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate
Programs (2000)
• Guidelines for Addressing Distance and Correspondence Education
(2015)

16. Fifth-Year Interim Report
• Nine uses of “distance education” or “correspondence education”
• Explicitly/implicitly addressed in 4/5 parts
• Gets you some basics
• Identification verification (III, 15)
• Privacy policies (not FERPA; III, 16)
• Additional Charges (III, 17)
• Gets some not-so basics
• Review of distance learning programs (Part II, 4)
• Documentation of compliance with other accrediting bodies (3.13A)
• Asks for addressable issues. (Part IV)

17. Useful SACSCOC Documents
• Distance and Correspondence Education (Policy Statement, 1997-
2014)
• The Fifth-Year Interim Report (2015)
• Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate
Programs (2000)
• Guidelines for Addressing Distance and Correspondence Education
(2015)

18. Best Practices
1. Institutional Context and Commitment (10 components)
2. Curriculum and Instruction (5 components)
3. Faculty Support (4 components)
4. Student Support (4 components)
5. Evaluation and Assessment (6 components)

19. Best Practices, cont.

20. Best Practices (3)
• Use the SACSCOC document as a
guide
• “Best Practices” - old but not
obsolete
• Improvement by fulfillment

21. Useful SACSCOC Documents
• Distance and Correspondence Education (Policy Statement, 1997-
2014)
• The Fifth-Year Interim Report (2015)
• Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate
Programs (2000)
• Guidelines for Addressing Distance and Correspondence Education
(2015)

22. Guidelines for Addressing Distance or
Correspondence Education
1. Overview of Commission Expectations
2. Definitions, standards, and policies
3. Distance and Correspondence Program Review
4. Application of Findings

23. Guidelines, cont.
"Teaching to the test isn't bad if it's a good test!"
-Don Livingston,
Professor of Education,
LaGrange College

24. Lessons Learned
Free lunches, power tools, & unity

25. Reciprocity Agreements (3rd Ball)
• Individual State agreements (Indiana, Florida, Arizona)
• SECRRA
• GA-SARA/NC-SARA
• International Students

26. Choose the Right Tools
• Document creation/maintenance
• Create deadlines
• File storage
• Simple
Recommendation: Google Drive/Calendar/Whiteboard

27. Interactions
• Include others
• Manufacture clear, straightforward interactions
• Meeting titles
• Deadlines
• Expectations
• Delegate (if possible)
• Communicate

28. Conclusions
1. Change your mindset on the SACSCOC reporting process.
2. Build, respect, and enable your team.

29. References
SREB/SECRRA
NC-SARA
GNPEC
LaGrange College

30. Q&A

31. Contact Information
Jon Ernstberger
jernstberger@lagrange.edu
Twitter: @jernstberger