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Distance Education Program Effectiveness

Distance Education programs (i.e., those in which the majority of instruction occurs when students and instructors are not in the same place and thus through distance education technology) must provide evidence that they engage in a systematic review of the effectiveness of the programs given their unique mode of delivery.

Evidence of DE program effectiveness is documented annually in AEFIS. Every spring semester, programs identify the sources of data that will be used to investigate program effectiveness during the upcoming academic year. During the fall semester following that academic year, programs report the findings and implications from their review of that data.

 

DE Program Effectiveness - Workflows & Due Dates


The bolded maroon text below indicates the current steps in the active cycles
(i.e., where the forms should currently be and when they should be submitted).
Workflow Step AY22-23
Submit to next step by...		 AY23-24
Submit to next step by...
1. Program Coordinator submits Description & Sources of Data Apr 29, 2022 Apr 28, 2023
2. OIE&E provides feedback May 20, 2022 May 19, 2023
3. Program Coordinator submits Findings & Implications Dec 8, 2023 Dec 6, 2024
4. OIE&E provides final comments Feb 2, 2024 Jan 31, 2025
5. Program Coordinator acknowledges comments Feb 9, 2024 Feb 7, 2025
 
 

Resources
DE Reporting Guidelines
*Updated February 2023*		 A guide the covers each prompt DE programs must respond to in the Distance Education Program Effectiveness form in AEFIS. Includes examples.
February update reflects minor changes made to the form in AEFIS.
Example DE Reports  Engineering Graduate Program   |   Graduate Certificate Program   |   Example Using SCE Items
Evaluating the Effectiveness of DE Programs  A PowerPoint slide deck that explains the purpose and process of the DE form in AEFIS, and provides examples of appropriate sources of data to be used in this report (same information included in the written Guidelines above). 
22-23 Workflow & Deadlines Graphic
23-24 Workflow & Deadlines Graphic		 Visual representations of the DE Program Effectiveness workflows and deadlines in AEFIS for active cycles. 
SACSCOC Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education (On-Line Learning) Refer to this 5-page document for information regarding general expectations of DE program evaluation. See Section 5, specifically.
Need AEFIS access? Click HERE to fill out the AEFIS Access Request form.