Developing A Distance Learning Class:
Offering Academic Credit For Distance Learning

• CFAES Approval Process for Distance Learning • Offering Credit Courses in Local Extension Programs •

Process to bring OSU undergraduate and graduate courses to local Extension programs

Many OSU Extension agents have expressed the need for programming to include undergraduate and graduate education from OSU in their local communities. Because OSU Extension is not a degree granting department, personnel must work with campus academic units with credit-bearing and degree granting programs. Given the shift to Resource Based Budgeting at OSU, Academic Departments are more interested in expanding the opportunities to enroll students in credit-bearing courses. They benefit from subsidy credit for qualifying students. Ultimately, they may gain full time students from learners who decide to pursue a degree program.

There are several alternatives for how courses can be delivered.The following steps outline how an agent can initiate planning for this to occur.

1. Have documentation of local interest in a specific course or curriculum that is not available from other institutions locally. Think carefully about the niche that Extension can serve in bringing new programs to the community rather than duplicating other institutions' programs. You may have a better chance of attracting sufficient learners to enroll by sponsoring with several neighboring counties.

   For example, school licensure requirements mandate increased education for public school teachers to renew their licenses on a 5 year basis. School districts have improvement plans that reflect areas of concern related to student performance. As a result, school districts in the Pike and Ross counties have worked with the Piketon Learning Center to deliver a series of courses from the OSU College of Education that address specific needs of that district.

2. Initiate discussion with campus faculty in the appropriate academic department. If you are uncertain whom to contact, there are several resource people (listed at the end of this document) who can help.
3. Discuss options for delivering the program in your community. Some options could include:
   • existing web based courses that you promote locally
   • short courses taught locally or regionally that include the same content as a campus-based course in an adapted format
   • IP (two way) video or other distance learning formats linking a campus class to a local site
   • a traditional 10 week course taught at a site off campus
4. Plan for coordination locally. You will be responsible for making local arrangements, facilitating enrollment, arranging technology support that is needed, etc. There are some financial advantages for Extension to work with the Office of Continuing Education to deliver off campus courses, including the ability to build in costs for faculty/staff time in promoting and coordinating the off campus class and shared overhead from Office of Continuing Education.
5. Evaluate the outcomes, including identifying additional credit programs in which students could enroll.

Resources to assist you in planning off-campus undergraduate and graduate education:

Tony Basil, Ohio State University Office of Continuing Education

• assist in contract programming models and linkage to campus faculty
• link to services of Office of Continuing Education to help with enrollment
• assist with planning process to initiate program

Karen Bruns, OSU CARES and OSU Learning Centers, Ohio State University Extension

• linkage to OSU Learning Centers
• coordination of scheduling delivery through OSU Learning Centers

OSU Extension Program Area Assistant Directors

• linkage to specific faculty in academic units

Ken Martin , Interim Department Chair, OSU Extension

• linkage to academic units and department chairs campus-wide