Distance Education
Mission Statement
The mission and purpose of distance education at the College is to improve access, enable learning experiences that promote student satisfaction and success, and achieve excellence through student engagement. Delaware Tech seeks to provide a high quality student experience by expanding the times and places of program offerings and embracing technological innovation.
Distance Education Course Definitions
Distance education is a formal educational process in which a percentage of the learning occurs when students and the instructor are not in the same location. Distance education courses employ a wide variety of interactive learning technologies to deliver synchronous (occurring simultaneously) and asynchronous (occurring at different times) instruction.
Classroom: Courses offered in this format require on-campus attendance at a scheduled time. Classroom courses are structured so students are scheduled to meet in-person at a specific campus on designated days and times during the semester. While students may have work to complete outside of class time, class interaction is on campus during class time.
Hybrid Course: Courses offered in this format require both on-campus and online attendance. Hybrid courses are structured so students are scheduled to meet both in person on designated days and times during the semester and independently complete online lessons, assignments, and coursework outside of the on-campus class time.
Online Synchronous: Courses offered in this format meet online according to the posted schedule. Students are required to participate in class during the scheduled time and are NOT required to come to campus.
Online Asynchronous: Courses offered in this format follow a schedule for assignment deadlines but DO NOT have any scheduled meeting time. Instructors and students communicate through regular online discussions, learning materials, group work, and other learning activities. The class has no required meeting times, but students may be required to meet with each other and/or the instructor to complete course objectives.
Hyflex: Courses offered in this format allow for the most flexibility. HyFlex courses are structured so that students can decide how to participate. In a HyFlex course, students can choose their preferred mode of course delivery for each class session instead of being locked into one format for the entire semester. In HyFlex courses, students can choose from one of three participation paths.
Distance Education Support Services
Students in online learning programs have access to student services, financial aid, course registration, advisement, library services, technology support, career, and placement counseling as traditional classroom students. Contact information for each of these services is available on the College’s website, portal, and/or learning management system.
Distance education students have access to learning resources including but not limited to the library, research databases, bookstores, laboratories, tutoring centers, writing centers, testing centers, and computer labs. Many library resources are available online.
Computer Access
It is required that distance education students have consistent access to a personal computer with reliable high-speed internet access. Additionally, the student should have a back-up plan should the primary equipment fail or become unavailable. Many public libraries have public use computers, as do the computer labs and libraries at each of the Delaware Technical Community College campuses. For some courses, a cell phone may not meet the minimum technology requirements for performing the work for distance education courses.
Information regarding minimum technology requirements for distance education is available on the College’s website. There may be additional hardware/software requirements that are course specific. This information will be provided to the student by the course instructor at the start of the course.
Learning Management Systems
A learning management system, or LMS, is a web-accessible software application that provides for the administration of course content, delivery of assessments, communication and collaboration between students and instructors, and the ability to track grades and other relevant performance data. To be successful in distance education courses, students must be able to effectively navigate and utilize the LMS for their course.
All students at the College can access their LMS courses through the MyDTCC portal. Students also have access to 24-7 learning management system technology support. Information on how to contact support can be found in the learning management system. Additional information can be found on the College’s Information & Instructional Technology website.
Testing and Proctored Exams
Testing in distance education courses can be conducted in a variety of ways, depending on the course. Some distance education courses may require proctored exams. A proctored exam is one that is overseen by an impartial individual, called a proctor, who monitors a student during the exam. The proctor ensures the security and integrity of the exam. Students may be given the option of taking the proctored exams in an approved testing center (either a Delaware Tech campus testing center or one approved by the instructor) or via the College’s supported online proctoring service (e.g., Examity). Be advised that some proctoring services may charge a fee, which is the responsibility of the student. All distance education exam and proctoring policies will be clearly indicated in the course policies at the start of the course.
Student Complaint Process
Distance education students follow the same process for filing complaints as do traditional classroom students.
This complaint resolution process is applicable to all students, whether Delaware residents or nonresidents, and regardless of the state’s NC-SARA membership.
For online distance education students that live outside of Delaware, all students are strongly encouraged to utilize the internal complaint resolution process established by the College under section IV.B. of the College’s Student Rights And Standards Of Student Conduct.
If an online student who resides outside of Delaware is dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint under the College's Student Rights and Standards Of Student Conduct process, the student may file a complaint with the Delaware Department of Education.
The College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education which also provides a process for complaints against member institutions.