14.3 COMPREHENSIVE INSTITUTIONAL REVIEWS
The institution applies all appropriate standards and policies to its distance learning programs, branch campuses, and off-campus instructional sites.
JUDGEMENT
Compliance 
Non-Compliance
Partial Compliance
NARRATIVE
North Carolina A&T State University applies the same policies, procedures and standards of rigor, quality and integrity to all courses and programs, whether offered on campus or online. The institution’s academic programs all have similar academic expectations, student learning outcomes for the same programs and measures of academic accountability.
Distance Learning
The administrative unit that oversees the institution’s distance education programs and courses is the Office of Distance Education and Extended Learning (DEEL), and the university’s online presence is branded as A&T Online. The website welcomes students through its interactive environment and offers them a wide array of information and options, including a window to the online degrees and opportunities to explore, apply, register, learn the cost of attendance and much more. Commitment to academic quality is addressed in the university’s Distance Education policy.
As the policy states:
N.C. A&T recognizes the authority of the University of North Carolina System to approve online and site-based distance education delivery of degree programs and will comply with established processes for program approval and for offering and listing individual degree-related distance education courses. N.C. A&T is a National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC SARA) participant through SARA North Carolina’s membership (http://www.saranc.org/) and, thus, will honor the agreement and comply with its annual data reporting process.
The university’s takes great care to maintain high quality of educational rigor and service in its distance education offering has been discussed through the Compliance Certification and are briefly summarized below.
1. Degree granting authority (3.1.a). As mentioned in 3.1.a, North Carolina A&T State University is authorized to offer its online degree programs in all states through its memberships in NC-SARA and its exempt status in California. And, the offering of degree programs online and at its off campus sites has been reported to SACSCOC.
2. Program coordination (6.2.c). As discussed in 6.2.c, the program coordinator for online programs and for programs at off campus sites is subject to the same evaluation process as all on campus programs.
3. Faculty qualifications (6.2.a) and Faculty Development (6.5). The attention given to hiring and deploying high quality faculty who are credentialed for the courses they are assigned to teach is the same for both on-campus and online courses and programs. In many cases, the same faculty teach the courses in both delivery modes. And, both online and on-campus faculty have access to the same professional development opportunities, except that those who teach online must also engage in training for online teaching as stated in 6.5.
4. Student achievement (8.1). Both online and off-campus located programs are included in student assessments and are represented in their program assessment reports. Except in the RN to BSN program, the data were not disaggregated. As the assessment system is strengthened to begin the next reaffirmation cycle, this component will be added, so disaggregated assessment data will be available for online degree programs.
5. Educational policies (10.1), (10.2). As shared in 10.1, the university’s academic policies apply to both on-campus and distance students, and the institution’s Distance Education policy addresses special considerations that are applicable only to distance learners, e.g., verification of identity and maintaining student privacy of online learners who rarely have visual interactions with their professors.
6. Academic governance (10.4). The faculty governance opportunities and experiences that are available at the university, and discussed in 10.4, include all faculty, whether they teach on-campus, online or at an off-campus site. In fact, they ae the same faculty and the distinctions are mainly tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure track. No category or group of faculty is hired only to teaching at a distance.
7. Student ID, privacy and associated charges (10.6-a, b, and c). As discussed in 10.6-a, the university ensures that students who are enrolled in its distance education programs and take the courses, including the assessments, and are awarded the credits. In 10.6-b, the institution shares its Acceptable Use Policy, the FERPA Policy, and its Information Security Policy. And, in 10.6-c, it noted that the university informs students of all related distance education fees at the time of registration, so there are no surprised fee burden on students. The university takes great care to ensure that its distance education students receive excellent academic and student support services and are not charged unexpected or excessive fees.
8. Policies for awarding credit (10.7). As discussed in 10.7, the university has a policy that clearly states how credits are awarded for online courses. And, the approval process for online degrees is the same as for traditional degrees, with approval needed by the Board of Governors of the UNC System.
9. Library (11). As discussed in Section 11, the resources and services of the library are available to all students. And, online students are able to access resources remotely. Students who take classes at the university’s off-campus sites are within 5 miles of the campus, and they are able to access both the on-campus and online library resources and services.
10. Support services (12.1). The student support services discussed in 12.1 are available to all students, but the Office of Distance Education and Extended Learning provides additional and targeted services to those students who are not routinely on campus.
11. Complaints (12.4). Complaints from distance education students are filed in much the same way as other student complaints, as described in 12.4. Meetings and other communications occur by telephone and online to make them convenient for the students, and the complaint policy and processes apply to all students.
12. Adequacy and safety of facilities (13.7). As mentioned in 13.7, the university’s off-campus sites are all new since the last reaffirmation of SACSCOC accreditation. The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and the Union Square are both new, beautiful and well-equipped facilities that offer students beautiful spaces and state-of-the-art technology. And, the Moses Cone Network site is at the flagship campus of the local hospital that includes it training facility.
13. Representing accreditation status (14.1). The university’s accreditation covers all its academic programs, regardless of deliver mode or the location of the program, and the statement on its website makes no distinction between on-campus, off-site and distance programs.
14. Comprehensive institutional reviews (14.3). As stated in 14.3, before, the university applies the same policies, procedures and standards of rigor, quality and integrity to all courses and programs, whether they are on-campus or offered at a distance. The programs all have the same student learning outcomes and assessments of learning. The online and off-site programs are administered by the same dean and department chairs as are the on-campus programs. In the case of some larger programs, e.g., Liberal Studies, an advisor is assigned to the program to work specifically with online learners. In such cases, the advisor is a faculty who in the department, who receives a reduction in teaching assignment to allow time to work with the students.
Branch Campuses
The university has no branch campus.
Off-campus Instructional Sites
Currently, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University offers three degree programs through traditional instruction in an off-campus instructional site. Two graduate programs are offered at the South Campus of Gateway Research Park—the MS and PhD in Nanoengineering. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing—the RN to BSN option—is offered at the local Cone Health Network facility, less than three miles from the university’s main campus, with students having full access to the main campus.
The MS and PhD programs in Nanoengineering are offered at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), which is an academic collaboration between North Carolina Agricultural and State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). It is located on the South Campus of Gateway Research Park and builds on the strengths of the two universities to offer innovative, cross-disciplinary graduate programs in the emerging areas of nanoscience and nanoengineering. Table 14.3-i provides more information about the three programs.
Table 14.3-i: Off-Campus Instructional Sites
|
Site |
Address |
Date of SACSCOC Approval
|
Institution’s Implementation Date |
Programs Offered |
|
Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering |
South Campus, Gateway Research Park, 2907 East Gate City Blvd., Greensboro, NC 27401 |
Fall 2012 |
MS and PhD in Nanoengineering |
|
|
Cone Health Network |
200 East Northwood St., Greensboro, NC 27401 |
Fall 2016 |
RN-BSN completion option |
|
|
Union Square |
104 E. Gate City Blvd. Greensboro, NC, 27406 |
Fall 2016 |
BS in Nursing* |
*Union Square is a shared facility, less than 3 miles from the main campus. While students take some courses, especially labs at this site, the degree is offered on the main campus, where they take more than 75% of their courses.
In all cases the instructional sites are within three miles of the main campus, and each offers excellent facilities that help to enhance the learning opportunity for the students. In all cases students have access to all the on-site facilities at their location as well as all the facilities on the campus, such as the library.
Supporting Documents:
1. A&T Online
3. SACSCOC Approvals of Off-campus Instructional Sites
a. Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering
c. Union Square