Distance Education Policy

SUNY Morrisville recognizes the significance of organizing the Distance Education initiatives of the institution so that a well-coordinated program will be delivered. Coordination of Distance Education initiatives is required to ensure a high level of quality, provide resources and assistance for faculty, provide support services for Distance Education students, maximize the use of college resources with a minimum of duplication, and ensure consistent and fair policies and procedures related to faculty and students. Organized and well-coordinated programs facilitate marketing and promotional strategies and strengthen the college’s image as an innovative and technologically sound institution. Rapid advancements in technology will continue to create new methods for providing and delivering Distance Education.

SUNY Morrisville is committed to ensuring that Distance Education programs and courses will be as academically rigorous as their face-to-face counterparts and will result in appropriate and deep learning. The college also recognizes that emerging methods for delivering educational content bring new and different teaching and learning challenges. Therefore, policies and procedures that impact Distance Education will continuously change and these guidelines will continue to be reviewed and revised to reflect current best practices. Additionally, as changes occur (whether internally developed or required by the New York State Department of Education or the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools), this document will be revised to incorporate those changes.

The following Distance Education policies and procedures are intended to assist with planning, coordination, and technological support for participating administrators, faculty members and staff. These policies and procedures are built on SUNY Morrisville’s current academic policy manuals and shall apply to new Distance Education activities as well as to existing courses and programs in which the method of delivery has changed significantly from that approved in the original curriculum proposal.