Faculty need to be aware of regulations and policies in place pertaining to distance education. West Valley College has developed policies on student and faculty responsibilities in online courses. State regulations, federal regulations, and accreditation standards provide further guidelines designed to support the quality and integrity of online education.
The following college policies have been vetted through the participatory governance process.
The State of California Title 5 Education code includes a section for distance education. The section covers topics such as course quality standards, instructor contact, and curriculum approval. See the full text: Article 1. Distance Education
The U.S. Department of Education has guidelines and regulations for distance education that cover topics such as correspondence vs. distance education and regular and substantive interaction. The following article outlines recent updates to the regulations and includes links to the full text: U.S. Department of Education Issues New Distance Education and Related Regulations.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 requires that institutions authenticate students through a secure login and passcode or other method.
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) has policies such as the definition of distance education, guidelines for course quality standards, and student authentication among others. See the ACCJC Policy on Distance Education and on Correspondence Education.