Instructor Contact

Instructor Contact

In online and hybrid courses, ensuring regular effective instructor contact guarantees that the student receives the benefit of the instructor’s presence in the learning environment both as a provider of instructional information and as a facilitator of student learning.  In a face-to-face course the instructor is present at each class meeting and interacts via all class announcements, lectures, activities and discussions that take a variety of forms.  The same qualities of regular effective contact described above for face-to-face class also is applied to the distance education class. 

Instructors make certain that there are measures for instructor-initiated regular effective contact incorporated into their online and/or hybrid course design and delivery.  Regular effective instructor contact means that instructors must keep in contact with students on a consistent and timely basis to both ensure the quality of instruction and verify their performance and participation

In addition to the requirements in Title V, section 55376, East Los Angeles College ensures that, all approved courses offered as distance education include regular effective contact between instructor and students, through group or individual contact, orientation either online or face-to-face, telephone contact, e mail contact, announcements, online office hours, online chats, voice mail, online lectures, pod cast, discussions or other activities.  All distance education courses at East Los Angeles College, whether online or hybrid will include regular effective instructor contact as described below;

1. 1. Initiated instructor interaction and frequency of contact:  Instructors will regularly initiate interaction with students each week to determine that they are accessing and comprehending course material and that they are participating regularly in the activities of the course.   The frequency of contact will be at least the same as would be established in a face-to-face course.  This means that the number of instructor contact hours per week would be available for face-to-face students, will also be available in asynchronous and/or synchronous mode, with students in the distance education course.

2.  Type of contact:  Distance Education instructors have the following resources to maintain contact with students.

a. Announcements

b. Discussion board

c. Chat room for questions and answers

d. Chat room for office hours

e. Email contact

f. Participation in an online group project

g. Face-to-face meeting

h. Podcast

i.  Voice messages

j.  Instructor feedback

k. Course orientation either online or face-to-face

The above effective instructor contact resources maintains student-instructor relationship conducive to learning as well as motivates students, encourages students to participate in class, and encourages individual critical thinking.