College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: 3/27/15
1. Division: Student Learning Support Services
2. Course ID and Number: EDUC 220
3. Course Title: Career and College Foundations
4. Please select the distance education method that describes how the course content will be delivered:
Online-internet based - Delayed Interaction: Students and instructor interactions are not simultaneous,
but are delayed or distributed over time.
Online-internet based - Simultaneous Interaction: Students and instructor interactions are
simultaneous, with immediate opportunity for exchange among participants.
Hybrid online-internet/classroom based: Students and instructor interactions are both classroom and
internet based, with classroom time reduced and replaced by required online participation.
5. What perceived need will this distance education course address?
This course will be offered to those who cannot attend on-site noncredit EDUC 220 to prepare for college
classes or career development at College of the Redwoods. Offering this course online will address the needs of
those who need to explore options and discover what they need to learn to be successful in credit-bearing
courses. Students may require review of the core academic subjects at the secondary level or need additional
help preparing for the placement tests for the English and Math sequence. The goal is to allow students to
build confidence and target instruction according to individualized need.
6. Will approval of this course offer a certificate or degree program with 50% or more of its curriculum delivered by
distance education?
no
a. If yes, has this certificate or degree program been approved by the Curriculum Committee for 50% or
more delivery by distance education?
7. Describe in detail how the course design will ensure Regular Effective Contact (refer to Regular Effective Contact
Policy) and include:
b. Threaded Discussion Forums (or equivalent)
c. Weekly Announcements (or equivalent)
d. Instructor-Prepared Materials (e.g., text-based, video &/or audio files) in addition to publisher-created
materials to create a virtual equivalent of the face-to-face class.
a. Threaded Discussions: Instructors will create, monitor, and participate in weekly discussion threads. For
example, students may post their weekly goals or work in small study groups within the forums on specific
content according to need. The instructor will also create a FAQ discussion forum where students can ask
questions about the course or assignments; instructors should respond to this forum within 24 hours (or 48
hours if a holiday or weekend).
b. Announcements in the Learning Management System: the instructor will send out a weekly announcements
throughout the course, and as needed, to keep students informed of course expectations.
c: Instructor-prepared materials: Materials will be available for students in a variety of formats including brief
lectures (videos or podcasts),software modules, and written material. Students will be able to access the
materials according to need. Some materials will be released on a weekly basis, whereas some software modules
will be released to students based on individualized need.
d: Course Calendar: the instructor will post all due dates on the course calendar.
Curriculum Approval: 03.14.14
Academic Senate Approval: 04.04.14
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e: Email/Messages: Faculty will check email/messages daily and respond to all communications within 24 hours
(except weekends and holidays). Students will also be encouraged to post in the FAQ forum for possibly quicker
answers from peers and to keep others informed who may also not be clear on an assignment or task.
f: Feedback: Instructors will provide timely feedback through quizzes and short online assignments. A rubric will
be provided and used to grade assignments in the Gradebook and give timely feedback to students.
8. To illustrate the description in #7, describe what students in this course will do in a typical week of this course.
Students will take a series of assessments and complete a survey to determine need. Students will watch, read,
or listen to instructor-prepared materials such as brief videos or brief text-based lectures. Students will then
practice skills and interact with the content by completing modules with different software according to
individualized need. They will complete quizzes, brief online assignments and participate in discussion forums
depending on the needs of students.
9. What is the course “statement of expectations” to be included in the syllabus for instructor frequency and
timeliness of instructor-initiated contact and student feedback? (refer to Regular Effective Contact Policy)
Instructors will access the class regularly and will respond to messages normally within 24 hours, but no
longer than 48 hours (excluding holidays and weekends). The instructor will read all discussion posts and
participate in the discussion threads as needed. Students can expect a weekly announcement from the
instructor. Students will receive feedback on assignments in a timely manner.
10. How is this course designed to address Student Authenticity? Preventive measures may include: multiple
assessment techniques, written assignments, threaded discussions, exams based on randomly drawn test bank
items, timed exams, and raising student awareness of the College’s Code of Conduct.
Students will be assessed by their participation in the modules with software, online assignments, and brief
quizzes or surveys.
11. This course will have proctored exams. (refer to College Proctoring Policy)
No
Yes
Optional
12. Describe how assessments are used in this course to ensure that the student work is evaluated effectively,
accurately, and in a timely manner.
Students will be assessed on their ability to complete assignments according to a rubric developed by the
instructor. Students will complete a brief end of course survey to self-assess their ability to successfully
transition to college or a career. They will complete quizzes and post-assessment tests following completion of
modules of learning.
13. Describe the contingency plan for this course if there is an unexpected instructor absence (refer to Regular
Effective Contact Policy).
Notifications in the Announcements will be made if the instructor needs to be out of contact briefly for an
unexpected reason. The announcement will contain information about when students can expect the instructor
to resume regular effective contact.
14. Both state and federal law require community colleges to design courses to ensure access for students with
disabilities, including compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Please indicate the steps taken to
ensure accessibility by checking the Yes, No, or NA boxes below. For further assistance with accessibility and
assistive technology, please contact DSP&S.
Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
1. The course delivery provides a text equivalent for all non-text elements such as images,
animations, applets, audio/video files and art. This will enable a screen reader to read the
text equivalent to a blind student.
2. The course delivery provides descriptions for important graphics if they are not fully
described through alternative text or in a document’s content. The description would
inform a blind student of what a picture represented.
Curriculum Approval: 03.14.14
Academic Senate Approval: 04.04.14
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3. The course delivery ensures that information conveyed by the use of color is also
understandable without color. For example, so a blind or color-blind student could
understand a color-coded representation of DNA.
4. The course delivery provides textual equivalents to audio information (captioning). The
text will enable deaf students to know what others are hearing.
5. The course delivery provides an alternative audio description for multimedia
presentations. The sound will enable blind students to know what others are seeing.
6. The course delivery ensures that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or
pages may be paused or frozen. The movement can be distracting for students with certain
disabilities.
Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
7. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
identifies, by labeling or other appropriate means, row and column headers. The
identification will enable screen readers to discern the headers, which disclose the
purpose of the data in the rows and columns.
8. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
provides title frames and includes sufficient information as to their purpose and
relationship to each other. This will help blind students understand the organizational
purpose of the frame.
9. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the instructor
has ensured, through HiSoftware’s “Cynthia Says” http://www.cynthiasays.com/ or other
appropriate verification, the usability of pages, and will attach to this proposal evaluation
printouts of Section 508 and WCAG—Priority 1 compliance.
10. If interactive software for homework/instruction is used, the company has provided a
current 508 statement of compliance ensuring accessibility to students needing the use of
a screen reader. This ensures that publisher provided programs to supplement or augment
textbooks are as accessible as the class website.
11. My course syllabus recommends that students who require accommodations for a
disability, such as accessible formatting of course materials, contact me immediately.
Example: “In compliance with equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate
academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students
are encouraged to contact Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) for disability
verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations.”
Submitted by: Elizabeth Carlyle
Tel. Ext:
Date: 3/27/15
Approvals:
Distance Education Faculty Appointee Mark Winter
Division Dean or Director: Julia Peterson
Review Date: 4/22/15
Review Date: 4/10/15
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Academic Senate Approval Date: 05.15.15
Curriculum Approval: 03.14.14
Academic Senate Approval: 04.04.14
Yes
Date: 05.08.15
Board of Trustees Approval Date:
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