Richland College of the Dallas County Community College District
Teaching, Learning, Community Building
Vice President for Teaching and Learning, Administration, Alamito Building
Subject: Procedures to Verify the Identity of the Distance Learning Student
Purpose and General Information:
Under Federal Requirements compliance, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
(SACSCOC) requires that: The institution that offers distance or correspondence education demonstrates that the student
who registers in a distance or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and
completes the course or program and receives the credit by verifying the identity of a student who participates in class or
coursework by using, at the option of the institution, methods such as (a) a secure login and pass code, (b) proctored
examinations, or (c) new or other technologies and practices that are effective in verifying student identification.
As such, the purpose of this document is to outline the steps Richland College takes to effectively provide this verification.
This policy applies to all credit distance learning courses and programs offered at Richland College.
This approach to teaching is consistent with the vision and mission of Richland College. The vision and mission guide our
practices in promoting student learning:
Vision: Richland College will be the best place we can be to learn, teach, and build sustainable local and world community.
Mission: The mission of Richland College is teaching, learning, community building.
Richland College issues each student a seven-digit student identification number at time of initial registration. This student ID
becomes the unique identifier for the student throughout his/her academic career at Richland College. The student ID is
required to access all college resources including eCampus which is the Richland College virtual campus. eCampus is
housed within the Blackboard Learning Management System. When a student registers for a distance learning class, his/her
student ID is systematically tied directly to the corresponding class shell in eCampus.
Procedures for Assuring Distance Learning Student Identity:
(a)
Secure Login and Password: Each distance learning student enters his/her seven-digit student ID into the eCampus
system and creates an eight-digit, alphanumeric password that uniquely identifies him/her to the eCampus learning
environment. This combination of user ID and password identifies the student to the system on each subsequent course
visit.
(i)
The student accepts responsibility for the security of their passwords
(ii) The eCampus system requires students to create a new password every ninety (90) days
(b)
Proctored Examinations: Departmental policies or expectations from receiving institutions may require distance learning
courses to implement supervised, proctored examinations. Students must identify themselves to the remote testing
center with a current picture ID card. A Richland College ID is preferred. Authorized testing centers are subject to
instructor approval and may include:
(i)
Testing Centers at other colleges or universities
(ii) Professional testing centers (Sylvan, Kaplan, etc.)
(iii) Other environments approved by the instructor
(c)
Other Practices:
(i)
The Richland College Speech department allows students to deliver recorded assignments through electronic
storage media or postings on Internet sites such as YouTube. The student delivers a photocopy of a valid
picture ID card to match with the person performing the recorded assignment.
(ii)
All Richland College distance learning courses undergo a stringent design and review process that assures
strong faculty/student interaction. Through this teacher/learner connection, a strong student voice is
established that authenticates personal work. Authentic relationships allow faculty to identify times of student
need and warn against outsider assistance.
New techniques or technologies intended for distance learning student verification must be reviewed and approved by the
Coordinator of Technology Enhanced Learning prior to implementation of the process.