3.1 Online Regulations

Separate course approval is required if “any portion of the instruction of a course is designed to be regularly provided through distance education.” This section clarifies the so-called “51% rule,” namely, that only those courses with 51% or more DE are reported as DE, but that ANY class with contact hours offered through DE must undergo a separate approval process. For SDCCD, this would include partially online and hybrid courses.

DE instructors should be selected by the same procedures used to determine all instructional assignments. The number of students assigned to any one DE section should be consistent with other district procedures.

All classes reported as DE classes need to maintain records and report data on the number of students and faculty participating in them through the Chancellor’s Office Management Information System (MIS) by August 31 of each year.

The calculation for DE Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES) for credit DE courses can be calculated in one of four ways:

1. Weekly Student Contact (Weekly Census--DE courses that are regularly scheduled)
2. Daily Student Contact Hours (Daily Census)
3. Actual Hours of Attendance (Positive Attendance)
4. Alternative Attendance (Alternative)

For more information on attendance accounting, please refer to the CCC Attendance Accounting Manual Links to an external site. and the full California Community Colleges Distance Education Guidelines, 2008 Omnibus Version Links to an external site..