2.4 - Curriculum Approval, Course Outline of Record, and DE Classes

Curriculum Approval for DE Classes

California Title 5 regulation (§ 55202 Links to an external site. and § 55206 Links to an external site.) specifies a curriculum approval process that enables California Community College courses to be taught via distance education. At LATTC, a department must complete all of the Distance Education fields of the Course Outline of Record in eLumen which affirms the ability to teach the course in compliance with DE requirements.  

If you would like to learn more about curriculum approval in general at LATTC, look at the Curriculum Committee's Sharepoint site Links to an external site. and their Canvas shell. 

• Same standards of course quality for in-person and DE course sections
• Instructor preparation to teach DE
• Regular and substantive interaction 
• Academic integrity, attendance tracking, and progress monitoring
• Established expectations for frequency & timeliness of instructor-initiated interaction and feedback
• Compliance with accessibility regulations
• Upholding procedures to authenticate students
• Making students aware of online support services 
• Monitoring students' engagement and initiating interaction as needed.

Further, a department may, through the curriculum process, specify that a course with DE approval may be taught as a hybrid, but not 100% online, and may specify which elements of the course may only be conducted in person (proctored exams and laboratory exercises are two common examples).

When a department submits the COR through the curriculum process, the standard review and approval sequence culminating with the Curriculum Committee and Academic Senate approval is required prior to the course being offered in a DE format.

Reviewing the Course Outline of Record (COR)

When a faculty member at LATTC is interested in teaching an online or hybrid class for the first time, it's vital to review the Course Outline of Record to:

• ensure that the class is approved for Distance Education offering
• see if the DE area has any hybrid-only specifications
• see if the DE area includes a requirement for regular and substantive student-student interaction
• and, as with teaching any course for the first time, to review the content outline, outcomes, sample assessments and activities, course texts, and other key information included in the COR. 

To access a LATTC COR, you can use eLumen Links to an external site..

1. Select the Curriculum button near the top
2. Select the Curriculum Library tab
3. Select the Subject Full Name (your discipline). You can also add any other search variables.
4. The list will automatically populate with the course(s).
5. Check the desired course
6. Click View COR Report button at the top of the grid
7. Select any or all sections and View Report

For further background on the COR, please see the Academic Senate for the California Community College's publication, The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide Links to an external site..

A Note about DE Programs

Curricular approval is not required at LATTC for a degree or certificate program to be offered via distance education. However, LATTC's Office of Instruction tracks how curricular approval of DE courses affects programs. Once half or more of the courses required for program completion are approved for DE offering, the program is considered for accreditation purposes to be a DE program. Such programs must receive approval by the ACCJC once they approach or cross that threshold. The vast majority of programs at LATTC have received that approval, since nearly all of our courses have been approved for DE offering.

It is a goal of the Online Education Plan to begin more systematically publicizing, scheduling, and supporting programs that can be completed mostly or entirely online.