Lawrence and Edwards Campuses
The purpose of the Mediated Courseware Policy is to foster creativity in teaching and learning and to integrate expanded course delivery methods into the mission and structure of the University of Kansas in a manner that will simultaneously develop the curriculum, pedagogical methods, learning technologies, and assessment procedures.
Definition of Mediated Courseware. The phrase "mediated courseware" is used in the University Intellectual Property Policy to define specific online endeavors. Mediated courseware pertains to course materials that (1) enable instructors to rely exclusively or substantially (at least two-thirds per the Kansas Board of Regents definition) on non-classroom contact hours for instruction; (2) make extensive use of technology, including but not limited to video conferencing, streaming media, and similar technologies; and (3) potentially could permit students from other institutions and citizens from across the state and nation to access courses offered by the University of Kansas upon payment of a specified fee. The phrase "mediated courseware" does not include course material prepared by an instructor that makes use of the Internet for delivery or presentation unless all of the above criteria are met. The Office of the Provost will determine whether a course meets the definition of "mediated courseware" and thus is subject to this policy. Specifically excluded from this policy are courses transmitted electronically between the Lawrence and Edwards Campuses. For the purposes of this policy document, "mediated courseware" and "online courses" are used interchangeably.
General Policies and Procedures
Course Development, Oversight, and Review. Online courses and programs will be developed by individual academic units in a manner consistent with the unit's standard curricular planning and review processes. While approval from the Provost's Office is not necessary prior to the development of online courses, such additions to the curriculum will be subject to all criteria pertaining to the Program Review process, including centrality to the University mission; strengths, productivity, and qualifications of faculty; curriculum and impact on students; student need and employer demand; service provided by the program; cost-effectiveness; and overall program quality. Online degree programs are subject to the approval of the Provost and the Kansas Board of Regents.
Course Ownership. Ownership of online courses/programs will remain with the faculty member or University in accordance with the Intellectual Property Policy.
Disclosure. All online courses developed and integrated into the curriculum must be disclosed to the Provost's Office upon their implementation to ensure the viability of a centralized tracking system for compliance with reporting requirements as well as consistent listing in course materials.
Course Development Software. To accommodate adequate instructional and technical support, courses normally will be developed and maintained using software approved by the Office of the Provost in consultation with the university's chief information officer and other appropriate parties. University resources (via the services of IDS) will be applied to online courses developed in the approved software; for courses developed using alternative development software, the faculty member or academic unit will bear any costs associated with contracting services for development, maintenance, and potentially, for Internet transmission of online courses and these courses will be required to meet university standards for authentication and technical security.
Course Development and Instructional Support. Course development will occur in academic units with the assistance of the instructional support unit with whom they are likely to have the initial contact: Instructional Development and Support (IDS) at the Lawrence Campus or Edwards Campus Instructional Development; or Continuing Education for noncredit courses. However, academic units may contract for credit or noncredit course development and/or instructional support with Continuing Education or an alternative instructional support unit and will bear the costs associated with contracting such services.
Technical Support. Academic Computing Services (ACS) will conduct server maintenance and user support functions for the centrally supported systems and will ensure departmental systems are served by either local or central staff.
Course Listing. As with all credit-bearing courses, the Office of the Registrar will serve as the official listing agent for online courses. In addition, Continuing Education will serve as a listing agent for all credit and noncredit online courses. Online courses will be listed in two places in the timetable: once in the appropriate academic unit's list of semester courses (clearly designated as an online course) and again in the Appendix as an entry in a complete list of online courses. A complete list of online courses will be available as a link from the home page of the KU Web site to the Kansas Board of Regents online course catalog ("ROC"), as well as other locations on the KU Web site as warranted. A link will be created from the ROC to the Continuing Education portal for students interested in enrolling in online courses offered by the University of Kansas. Before a graduate-level online course may be listed and offered for credit, the course must be approved by the dean of the school or college offering the course and confirmed by the dean of the Graduate School. In addition, the course instructor must be a member of the KU graduate faculty. After notification from the Graduate School, Continuing Education will obtain a line number for the course. After official notification from the Office of the Provost, Continuing Education will list both the undergraduate and graduate online courses.
Assessment of Market Need. In addition to academic units, Continuing Education may, if warranted, conduct an initial assessment of market need for courses/programs proposed by academic units and market the courses through its established network and other appropriate channels.
Course Enrollment - Undergraduate Level.
Nondegree-Seeking Students: Continuing Education will establish online access to online courses and will handle enrollment for online courses and programs for nondegree-seeking students.
Degree-Seeking Students: Enrollments for degree-seeking students will be forwarded to the Registrar and processed in the same manner as enrollment in traditional courses. Students already admitted to the University of Kansas will go through the regular enrollment process for online courses as well as traditional classroom courses. In some cases, degree-seeking students may need to enroll directly through Continuing Education for existing nonsemester-based courses.
Course Enrollment - Graduate Level. Completion of online courses is not considered to be a prerequisite and does not guarantee admission into any graduate degree program at the University of Kansas.Applicable courses taken under the nondegree status that are recommended by the department or program to its Graduate Division and are within general guidelines established by the Graduate School may be approved by the division to be counted in a degree (or certificate) program. The total of transfer credit from another accredited graduate school and nondegree credit earned at KU together may not exceed six hours, or eight hours if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from KU. Transfer credits are subject to departmental or program approval.
Nondegree-Seeking Students: Continuing Education will establish online access to online courses and handle enrollment for online courses and programs for nondegree-seeking students. A special enrollment category (GZ9) will be established for graduate-level, nondegree-seeking students. If a nondegree-seeking student decides to become a degree-seeking student, up to six hours of GZ9-category credits (or eight hours if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from KU) may be transferred.
Degree-Seeking Students: Students already admitted to the University of Kansas will go through the regular enrollment process for online courses as well as traditional classroom courses. In some cases, degree-seeking students may need to enroll directly through Continuing Education for existing nonsemester-based courses.
Student Support Services. Adequate access to the range of student services appropriate to support the online courses and programs will be provided for all students who enroll at a distance. Continuing Education will coordinate the enrollment process for nondegree-seeking students, and the Registrar will handle enrollments for degree-seeking students. Continuing Education will also provide information about add/drop deadlines and provisions. Continuing Education will refer inquires regarding financial aid eligibility requirements and the financial aid application process to the Office of Student Financial Aid. Both the University Freshman and Sophomore Advising Center and the academic unit offering the course will provide academic advising, and the academic unit will ensure delivery of course materials and copyright clearances, as well as availability of course texts and supplemental resources. Academic Computing Services (ACS) will provide assistance to students on the initial set-up and orientation to the required technology for courses, and IDS, Edwards Campus Instructional Development, or Continuing Education will provide aid to students who are experiencing difficulty using the required technology. On-campus students enrolled in distance education courses will receive support services as they do for their regular on-campus courses.
Library and Learning Resources. The University will ensure access to appropriate library and other learning resources for students enrolled in online courses. Units must ensure that electronic materials are available and that the intellectual property rights to all materials will be scrupulously respected.
Responsiveness to Students. The University will ensure that students enrolled in online courses have an adequate means for resolving student complaints. Students should always first make their complaints known to the course instructor; if the complaint is not resolved adequately, then students should communicate their complaints to the chairperson of the department (or dean of the school, if no department exists) that has oversight of the course. The use of electronic mail is an acceptable means for communicating student complaints and subsequent resolution.
Student Outcomes. Instructor/course evaluations will be included for all online courses. Online courses and programs also will be included in the Assessment in the Major process, which collects and reviews information related to methods of assessing student achievement.
Fiscal Policies and Procedures
Tuition and Campus Fees. At the time of enrollment in an online course, the University enrollment system will determine whether the student is already admitted to the University of Kansas, as well as his or her resident status. If the student has been enrolled at the KU Lawrence Campus for traditional classroom coursework in the last 12 months, then the resident or nonresident, undergraduate/graduate tuition rate and appropriate campus fees would apply. Students enrolled at the KU Edwards Campus will be charged resident tuition and off-campus fees. Effective July 1, 2003, both Lawrence and Edwards Campus students will be subject to the resident/nonresident, undergraduate/graduate tuition rate and appropriate campus fees.
Students who have graduated within the last 12 months who desire to enroll in an online course will be eligible for a flat, off-campus online course rate if they certify that such courses will not be used toward completion of a degree. If such students wish to apply online courses toward a degree, then the resident or nonresident, undergraduate/graduate tuition rate and appropriate campus fees will be assessed.
If the student has not been enrolled in traditional classroom coursework at the University in the last 12 months, a flat, off-campus online course rate will be charged. All tuition and campus fees will be retained by the University. Should the student enroll in traditional classroom coursework at KU while enrolled in online coursework, then the fee for the online coursework will revert to the appropriate resident/nonresident rate.
Off-Campus Fees. Of the total off-campus fees collected for online courses (resident/nonresident, undergraduate/undergraduate tuition, undergraduate/graduate area fee, and undergraduate/graduate building fee, if applicable), tuition will be retained by the University. The off-campus tuition and fees remitted by nondegree-seeking students will be retained by Continuing Education.
Mediated Course Fee. Online courses are subject to a mediated course fee of $30 per credit hour. The distribution of media fees collected from off-campus students is to be as follows: one-third to the University for technology costs, one-third to IDS or Edwards Campus or Continuing Education for instructional support, and one-third to Continuing Education for marketing costs. Media fees collected from students attending the Lawrence Campus will be distributed as follows: half to the University for technology costs, and half to IDS for instructional support. Media fees collected from students attending the Edwards Campus will be distributed as follows: half to the University for technology costs, and half to Edwards Campus Instructional Development. The Provost may authorize other distributions in cases in which it is warranted.
Additional Fees. Premium fees may be assessed on courses with higher development/
maintenance costs and/or greater market value, subject to approval by the Provost. The distribution of additional fees will be to the academic unit offering the course, with subsequent allocations determined by the dean consistent with the University's Intellectual Property Policy. Continuing Education also may assess and retain an additional fee, subject to approval by the Provost, for development and maintenance of noncredit courses. For nonsemester-based, for-credit courses where Continuing Education incurs higher development/maintenance costs, Continuing Education may assess an additional fee and retain some or all of the fee as determined by Continuing Education and the academic unit.
Effective Date. This policy
is effective July 1, 2002, except where specifically noted in "Tuition
and Campus Fees" above.
Interface with University Intellectual Property Policy
The Mediated Courseware Policy is designed and intended to interface seamlessly with the Intellectual Property Policy at the University of Kansas. For specific policies and procedures related to the development of mediated courseware, including rights associated with faculty-initiated and institution-directed course development, please refer to the Intellectual Property Policy at http://www.ku.edu/Intellectual_Property_Policy_final.html.
July 12, 2002
