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DISTANCE EDUCATION


Angelina College is committed to delivering the same quality of instruction and student services and ensuring compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Principles of Accreditation at all locations and in all delivery methods. Angelina College has adopted the SACSCOC definition of distance education, which is the following:

Distance education is a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction (interaction between students and instructors and among students) in a course occurs when students and instructors are not in the same place. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. (SACSCOC, 2020, p. 1).

Distance Education Terminology
The College uses the following terms for distance education courses:

  • Blackboard: Blackboard is the online learning management system (LMS) the college uses to deliver all distance education courses and to augment many conventional in-person courses.

  • Blackboard Collaborate: The College also provides Blackboard Collaborate, a browser-based web conferencing solution for learning. Students log into the Blackboard system and Collaborate virtually through the Blackboard LMS.

  • Office Hours: The instructor of each distance education course will be available online or in person during published office hours or by appointment to help or consult with students enrolled in any Angelina College course, regardless of how the College delivers it.

  • Synchronous courses: Synchronous courses have online class meetings on set schedules and during specific timeframes, usually through Blackboard Collaborate. Students must be online at the exact time of each class meeting to participate in the course.

  • Asynchronous courses: Asynchronous courses are online courses that do not have regularly scheduled class meetings; however, limited scheduled meeting times may be required at the instructor's discretion. In asynchronous courses, the instructor provides all course materials, lectures, tests, and assignments through Blackboard. The instructor of an asynchronous course will require students to regularly complete coursework by published deadlines, engage in course material or activities, or both in Blackboard.

  • Hybrid courses: Hybrid courses combine asynchronous online instruction with conventional in-person class meetings. The instructor will deliver between 50% and 99% of the coursework online through Blackboard, typically in an asynchronous format. Students will complete the remaining coursework during scheduled in-person class meetings that all students enrolled in the course must attend.

  • Hyflex courses: Hyflex courses offer students greater flexibility in their learning environment. Throughout the semester, students can attend class in any of the three course delivery modes (face-to-face, asynchronous, or synchronous).