Online/Distance Education

This institution is committed to utilizing technology in the provision of its educational offerings.  As technology advances and is more fully integrated into the economy it becomes more important for students to be comfortable in accomplishing goals through technology.  Therefore, students may be required to complete a portion of their program of study through online or other distance education modalities courses. Enrollment in distance education courses is at the discretion of the institution. Therefore, for some programs, students have the option to complete a portion of their program of study through online or other distance education modalities.  Additionally, externships/clinicals and certain lab portions of courses cannot be completed online (see the Medical Program Director for more information). Students requesting to take online courses must meet the technical requirements.  (See Resource and Equipment Requirements in this section.) These online courses are specifically designed for the student who will be accessing online courses from a standard home or personal computer.  For more information, contact the College President. 

Distance Education Modalities - Online training differs from traditional on-ground course training. Delivery of course content will occur through various modalities.  Listed below are the various modalities that may be used in an on line course.

• Online Lecture/Demonstration: Online lectures will be presented in a variety of ways. Lecture notes placed on a web page for the learner to review and available for downloaded from the site. Some lectures demonstrations will be presented via audio or video multimedia by using specialized software and hardware to allow this creation.  Links related to resources and other Web sites will be embedded in the online lectures. Short lectures provide enough information to serve as a basis for further reading, research, or other learning activities.  Online lectures are readily available for students to revisit as needed. 
• Threaded Discussion: Instructors will post a topic(s) and the student will complete two tasks: Post a response to a threaded discussion and post responses to two of their classmates’ posts per topic. Academic Discussion Boards are considered classroom participation. The responses should be written in proper English and should be based upon researched fact. Each response should focus on the topic that the instructor has provided. The discussion boards are designed with academic debates in mind. Students should treat the discussions as though they are in a classroom setting and the instructor has posed a question for them to answer. If the student’s research a discussion question and post based on the materials they used, they must cite their sources within the posting.
• Collaborative Learning: Collaborative learning will be when two or more students work together to learn. Some courses will assign small groups composed of participants with different ability levels and will utilize a variety of learning activities to master material initially developed by the instructor, or construct responses on substantive issues. Each member of the team will be responsible for learning what is taught and for helping teammates learn.  Students will utilize a variety of online collaboration tools in and out of the online learning environment to engage in collaborative learning. 
• Multimedia Presentation:  Multimedia as an instructional delivery method uses animation to encourage student interaction with the platform; videos stimulate visual senses to encourage student interaction with the platform; sound stimulates the auditory senses to encourage student interaction with the platform; and concepts are conveyed quickly and effectively to students.  The capabilities of ways to enrich learning are enhanced through the use of multimedia.
• Text Presentation: As stated in the section above under the online lecture/demonstration delivery method, the text will be available for the presentations and available for download.   Chunking will be utilized in the design of the lecture area to help with the text based delivery that is unavoidable in all courses. 
• Online Drill and Practice: As an instructional delivery method, drill & practice promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice. Many courses will utilize flash cards for terms and concept learning. Some courses will have links to site to practice skills such as math, accounting, keyboarding, etc.
• Research: Research is used to help student learn to question, plan, gather information, sort and sift information, synthesize, evaluate, write and document resources properly.  Students will learn MLA and APA properly and be provided with resources to help them learn the process of research as a college student should.  While learning how the use of technology and technology skills and resources to ease the work process.
• Case Study: This instructional delivery method will require learners to draw upon their past experience(s) to comprise solutions to future experience(s). Case studies will be comprised of an appropriate problem situation which is relevant both to the interests and experience level of learners and to the concepts being taught.
• Educational game: Instructional gaming is one method that may increase the performance and motivation of adult learners based on the premise that games generate enthusiasm and enjoyment for the subject matter content. Many of the adopted textbooks for the courses have an educational game component included. Instructional gaming helps the students to maintain focus on the subject matter but to break away from routine structure and instruction.   
• Observation: The instructional delivery method of observation will be utilized when students view a demonstration or how-to process and as a primary means of learning during the externship/clinical experience when they are placed into the job setting to observe, participate and learn.
• Simulation: In an instructional simulation, students learn by actually performing activities to be learned in a context that is similar to the real world experience. Instructional simulation is used in most cases for unguided discovery learning. Students can generate and test hypotheses in a simulated environment by examining changes in the environment based on their input. This particular type of instruction requires students to involve their learning in an active way. The course plan will incorporate this method to improve student learning by emphasizing applied learning skills.
• Problem Solving: The instructional method of problem solving encourages students to work through a situation or problem in order to arrive at a solution to improve their critical thinking and applied learning skills.
• Virtual Conferencing: Virtual conferencing for distance education based on course and instructor preference could be implemented into the virtual classroom.  This networking feature promotes interaction, communication and traditional instruction in a non-traditional capacity.  The networking between instructor and student would allow for greater expansion of course curriculum and enhance relationship building within the online community.

• Other: Narration / IPOD content option / Product application: Many lectures and demonstrations will be narrated and some text may be as well.  Content is being revised and made available to students to download in various formats, print, mobile, and IPOD devices.

  Most activities in the online courses are asynchronous so that students can log in and participate whenever their schedule allows within the allotted timeframe as set by the instructor.  However, the tools to provide synchronous opportunities are available.

Orientation for Distance Education - The institution provides orientation to students prior to the first day of class to acclimate them to the specific distance education learning methodology and technology. Orientation sessions, provided prior to the start of distance education coursework, includes, but is not limited to, a discussion of expectations of participation, navigation of the learning management system or distance other education delivery system, and issues related to academic integrity.

State Authorization - The institution is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). This means that the institution is authorized to deliver distance education to students who live in states that are also members of NC-SARA while they are receiving this distance education.  For the most current list of NC-SARA member states and to determine if your state is a member state, visit http://nc-sara.org/sara-states-institutions. A student’s physical location while enrolled is determined by the student’s answer to question 7 (c) on the signed enrollment agreement.  Should a student move to a state where the licensing or certification requirements for employment are different from the state where the student is living upon enrollment, the student may be at risk for not meeting those licensing or certification requirements; and therefore, may be unable to obtain employment in that occupation.

Dispute Resolution Electronic System – Distance education students may submit a dispute/complaint electronically using our dispute resolution electronic system.  If the complaint is for sexual harassment or sexual violence of any nature please use the following link https://www.wvjc.edu/title-ix-sexual-harassment-charleston/. For all other complaints, use the following link https://www.wvjc.edu/all-other-complaints-charleston/ Students are to refer to their enrollment agreement or the Dispute Resolution section of this catalog for a complete description of the dispute resolution procedures.

Admissions Requirements - Admissions requirements for distance education are the same as those for residential students.

Resource and Equipment Requirements - Online courses take place in a web browser-based virtual classroom. Students can access their courses from just about any computer with an internet connection.

However, there are some minimum requirements that must be met in order to ensure full utilization of online course functions and tools. All online students should have their own personal computer that meets the specifications listed below. 

Additional Fees/Costs - The option to take online courses is included in the standard tuition and fees. Other costs that students may incur to take online classes include:

• Personal Computer - Varies based on specifications 
• Internet Access - Varies based on location
• Microsoft Office Suite - $150 - $500*
  • Word
  • PowerPoint
  • Publisher
  • Excel
  • Access

*Student discounts and free limited trials available.

Last Date of Attendance (LDA) will be defined differently for online courses than residential courses. LDA for online courses will not be defined as a physical or virtual presence in the classroom. LDA for online courses will be defined as the last date in which a student participates in an online course. Participation for determining LDA in an online course will be defined as any activity carrying weight in the course (e.g. posting a comment for a grade or points, submitting work for a grade or points, etc.)

Identity Verification and Privacy Protection – The institution takes identity verification and privacy protection very seriously.   The institution and student have a shared responsibility to ensure that the student’s privacy and the integrity of the program are protected.

In order to secure the private information of the student and the institution, the institution creates a unique username and password (credentials) for each student, faculty member, and administrator. This will ensure that private information is seen only by the respective student and appropriate faculty and administration. It also helps to ensure that each student’s work is his/her own.  If the institution believes that the student’s privacy has been or is at risk of being compromised, it will notify the student immediately and take whatever appropriate actions are necessary to reestablish security. 

It is the responsibility of the student not to share his/her credentials with anyone.  If a student intentionally shares their unique credentials it is grounds for, but not limited to, dismissal from online course participation.  If a student believes their credentials have been compromised, they are to notify the academic dean immediately so that the credentials can be reset.  There is no additional cost to the student for identity verification.

Services for Online Students – Although WVJC makes available all of its services to all students (such a counseling, academic advising, guidance, employment assistance, and financial aid), online students who live beyond convenient commuting distance to the main campus will have to commute to the campus for some services, such as face-to-face advising some types of graduate job hunting assistance, participation in campus activities, etc.  Prospective students must decide if the benefits of taking an online program from their residence at a distance location outweighs the disadvantage of not having the convenient access to services available to on-campus residential students.