Policies and Guidelines for Online Courses and Programs

Distance Education refers to a mode of instruction in which some or all students are separated from the instructor. A Distance Education course must support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, either synchronously (live but remote) or asynchronously (on demand and remote). Many technologies can be used to deliver Distance Education, including the internet, recorded videos, online audio/video conferencing, online discussion forums, and online Learning Management Systems.

All courses offered at UC San Diego should meet the same high standards in terms of the educational experience they offer to students, regardless of the mode of instruction. Hallmarks of these standards include:

• Active engagement of a qualified instructor who has significant expertise in the subject of the course;
• Frequent instructor guided activity to support student learning;
• A means for students to periodically assess their progress towards achievement of course learning goals.

Courses that meet these standards and employ (primarily or exclusively) technologically-mediated formats may be offered at UC San Diego via Distance Education courses (sometimes also referred to as remote or online courses).

For information on establishing an online master’s degree, see the guidelines for new graduate degree program proposals.

The Online Course Development Agreement pertains to all University-sponsored and distributed online courses, existing or new, whether offered for credit or not.

(as related to Online Course Development Agreements)

Course Creators are eligible for compensation as defined in the guidelines. A Course Creator must hold an active academic appointment (recalled emeriti faculty included; refer to APM 110-4 for the definition of Academic Appointee) with the San Diego campus of the University of California.

For new program proposals if 50% or more of the new program will be offered by distance modality (i.e. online or hybrid). For more information on campus accreditation, see UC San Diego Accreditation.