Distance Education Advisory Committee (DEAC)

Meetings
The Council meets the 4th 
Wednesday of the month
from 2 - 4 p.m.

DEAC Agendas and Minutes

Resources

Structured Training for Online Teaching (STOT)

• Testimonials from the Graduates

Vision Planning Document (downloadable PDF File)  

Distance Education Strategic Plan:

Distance Education Strategic Plan

Distance Education Status and Guidelines

Committee Sharepoint Site
Only committee members can access the site due to large amount of informal and unapproved documents. If you need access, please contact Jing Luan, Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Planning, at (650) 358-6880.

Question & Answer

For over a decade, faculty in our district have offered courses via television/cable and hybrid modes. A number of courses are offered completely online. State Chancellor's Office reports on distance education show that feedback from both faculty and students involved in distance learning has been very positive and most want to teach or take more distance learning courses. Our own research shows that every year hundreds of students in our district take online courses exclusively. Granted, not all courses are appropriate for distance learning and not all students are self-disciplined distance learners. The state Chancellor's Office report on distance education found a gap in course completion between traditional courses and distance education courses, but the gap has been narrowing to about a 7% difference. The 3 colleges in our district are at different levels of distance education engagement and various planning activities are underway on all three college campuses.

Broadening access to postsecondary educational opportunities for our county's residents and beyond is one of our mission goals. As more and more faculty and students become comfortable with distance education, it is natural for us to consider examining and expanding our existing distance learning courses. To better coordinate these efforts, the Chancellor and the Presidents of the 3 colleges are proposing the formation of a special district wide committee co-chaired by a faculty member and the Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Planning. The key purposes of this committee will be to evaluate the district's technology needs in assisting student learning and to enhance the efforts in the assessment and expansion of distance/online based instructional modalities.

In his fall 2006 Opening Day speech, Chancellor Ron Galatolo envisioned greater access to learning for our community and beyond through technology assisted instruction and learning. He charged the faculty and administration to respond creatively to the demand for innovative approaches to teaching and learning, while preserving the quality of instruction and the academic freedom of our faculty. To ensure the success of this effort, the three colleges must work together in course development, resource allocation, tools and platforms selection and knowledge and best practices exchanges Jing Luan, Co-Chair Tania Beliz, Co-Chair (Faculty)