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Online Education Program / Distance Learning

ABOUT DISTANCE EDUCATION

Welcome

The purpose of Distance Education at HCAS is to provide educational opportunities to diverse groups of students who would have difficulties in accessing the campus due to circumstances like child care, transportation, physical disabilities, or handicaps. Due to emerging technology, students and instructors can now overcome scheduling problems associated with time, geography, childcare etc.

You will find at HCAS that the same instructional outcomes of our traditional on-campus courses are found in our Distance Education courses.  Distance Education courses require the same goals, objectives, and competencies as the traditionally offered courses. Therefore, the same level of enthusiasm, devotion, and determination must be kept in Distance Education courses as in traditional classroom courses.

HCAS Distance Education Web Page is here to assist you with becoming a successful Distance Education student. We pride ourselves on the academic integrity of the programs we offer.

If you need any help or assistance, please feel free to contact itsupport@hcas.edu  or call at (954) 532-9614 Ext. 6505

 Definition of Distance Education

Distance Education is defined as a formal education process in which the majority of the instruction (interaction between students and instructors and among students) in a course occurs when students and instructors are not in the same place. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous, but must include regular and substantive interaction.”

A Distance Education course may use the internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices; audio conferencing; or video cassettes, DVD’s and CD-ROMs if used as part of the Distance Education course or program.

The mission of Distance Education

Distance Education serves as a catalyst in supporting the institutional philosophy at Hope College of Arts & Sciences (HCAS). We believe that Distance Education gives the College the opportunity to offer Distance Education courses that meet the same objectives, provide the same content, meet course prerequisites, and fulfill degree requirements; provide an educational environment that is conducive to learning; and provide opportunities for students who have been historically underserved in their academic endeavors.

Modes of Instruction used at the College

  • Synchronous (live and in real-time)

    The faculty meets with students at regularly scheduled intervals, just like an ordinary class. Some students may be in a classroom on campus, while others may participate with the same classroom via live web-based technologies. All participants can see, hear, and interact with each other and have access to the same tools, lecture, and slides. The students in the live virtual classroom must meet the same time and rigors as those on-site.

  • Asynchronous (not live or in real-time)

    Students can access course materials that are compiled into the learning management system repository. Asynchronous learning allows the learners to pace themselves and master the course content within specified periods of time. Contact with instructors usually takes place via phone, e-mail, or by videoconference, as scheduled. Students and faculty correspond regularly via scheduled discussion posts and other instructor led peer or group activities.

    • Procedures for Student Privacy in Distance Education

    • Students are issued an institution-generated password at the time of registration and required to use it to login to institutional email.
    • Courses are delivered in a password protected, secure learning management system.
    • Information concerning online students other than directory information permitted by FERPA is not shared without permission.
    • Students have the right and the means to register a complaint with the institution or the appropriate governing body.

    Online Credit Hour Equivalency

    Hope College accepts that the total amount of time spent achieving the learning outcomes for a distance education or hybrid class should match that of a fully on campus version of the class. For instance, if a three (3) credit class taught on campus demands a total of three hours of classroom lecture and 6 hours of outside work each week to achieve the learning outcomes, so too should a three (3) credit class taught in the distance education or hybrid format demand a total of nine hours each week, on the student’s part, to achieve the learning outcomes.

    Purpose of the Online Credit Hour Equivalency Policy

    The Online Credit Hour Equivalency Policy is intended to ensure that courses taught in the distance modality are comparable in learning outcomes to those taught in a face-to-face classroom.

    Procedures for Online Credit Hour Equivalency

    Education or teaching is delivered in an online environment. The primary tools the college utilizes for web-delivery teaching are CANVAS, Moodle, Swift River, Osmosis, and Coursepoint Learning Management System, and the zoom system as well as utilizing other web-enhanced delivery systems.

     

    Hope College has a Learning Resource Center (LRC) which contains print books for use in the LRC. This collection consists of supplemental course materials which cannot be checked out. The LRC is located on the second floor of the Main Campus and is staffed by a HC administrative assistant. The Campus LRC has open access to computers which has internet access and Microsoft Office applications for student

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Ask for Help?
Distance Education live Support is available Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. and on Fridays 9:00 – 5:00 p.m.  Students can “Ask IT support” through email at itsupport@hcas.edu or they can call at 954-532-9614 Ext. 6505.
Is the College Approved to offer Distance Education?<
Hope College of Arts and Sciences is approved to offer less than 100% of its degree programs via distance education. However, the College teaches the Practical Nursing Diploma Program (PN Program) residentially. Hope College is authorized to provide distance education courses and degrees to students across the nation following the state guidelines. As required by Florida Administrative Code section 6E-2.0041(11), student records and transcripts for credit awarded through accredited traditional, online, distance, or directed individual instruction are recorded and maintained at the institution and made available upon request to the Commission for Independent Education (“Commission”) within the Florida Department of Education.
What States are the College approved to offer distance education?
Hope College of Arts and Sciences currently accepts students from Florida, New Jersey, and Tennessee. State authorization updates can be found at New_State_Authorization_for_Distance_Education.pdf.
Licensure disclosures can be seen on the website at https://www.hcas.edu/wp-content/themes/hopecollegeofal392/pdf/Disclosure-of-Licensure-Requirements.pdf.
How can I find the programs offered via distance education?
The Degree programs offered at Hope College of Arts & Sciences are available partially online, with coursework offered through our Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle. HCAS online education programs are delivered in a hybrid model, utilizing a web-enhanced education platform (video-conferencing) employing asynchronous teaching methods to supplement synchronous, face-to-face video technology instruction. The PN Program is taught residential.
What Learning Management System does the College use?
The primary tool for course delivery is the Moodle Learning Management System, but other distance education delivery systems are utilized as well when appropriate. Those software’s include Swift River, Osmosis, and Coursepoint, and Zoom system.
Additionally, Hope College utilizes Speed Exam, an online exam software, to conduct assessments and quizzes with excellent features and effective analytic reports. Speed Exam and Proctor360 ensure prevention and warning of cheating and malpractices during the online testing. Speed Exam and Proctor360 online test platforms provide smart web proctoring where examiners can see and record live video of the test takers.
An online orientation to the Learning Management Systems is provided to all students enrolled in a web-enhanced course during orientation.
What are the Laboratory Components?
The laboratory component in selected distance education courses may be delivered in the hybrid format as well; however, most laboratories and all clinicals will be conducted in the face-to-face setting. Asynchronous methods allow the students to participate any time of the day or night, any time of the week, from anywhere that has an internet connection. Online courses follow the same academic schedule or semester schedule as campus courses. The online courses are designed to meet the same quality and student learning outcomes as campus courses.
How Does the College Verify Students’ Identity?
The College verifies student identity at the time of admission to its programs that include distance education. In addition, all students at Hope College of Arts and Sciences take some classes, labs, or clinicals at the main campus and are met in person. Furthermore, HCAS verifies student identity in distance education courses using institution generated email addresses, a secure, password-protected learning management system, and proctoring services for online exams. Institutional policy prohibits the sharing of login information. Live interaction in distance courses using Zoom provides additional identity protection.
What is the Purpose of the Identity Verification Policy?
Student identity verification is initiated to verify that the admitted student who participates in and completes coursework and assessments is the same student who is awarded credit.
What are the Procedures for the Verification of Student Identity?
The College employs the following process to ensure that the registered student is the same student who participates in, and completes, the course and receives the academic credit:

  1. Upon admission, the student is given a username and password which are the student’s personal identification for accessing the College Learning Management System and online tools.
  2. Students must use their username and password to log into the Learning Management System to access their courses.
  3. The Institution uses proctoring services for online exams.
  4. Live interaction takes place in many distance courses using Zoom.
  5. All methods of verifying student identity in distance learning protects the privacy of student information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
  6. There is no fee for student identity verification.
What is Student Privacy in Distance Education?
Hope College of Arts and Sciences complies fully with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This act protects the privacy of student information in distance education by requiring, with certain limited exceptions, that the student’s consent must be obtained before disclosing any personally identifiable information in the student’s education records.
What is the Purpose of the Student Privacy in Distance Education Policy?
The Student Privacy in the Distance Education Environment Policy is intended to protect students who engage in distance education and to ensure that all provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are met in the online environment.