Section V - Educational Support Services
V C
Distance Education/Virtual Campus
To describe RCC's distance education program
Randolph Community College offers online courses as an option and convenience to students. Online delivery is a quality, convenient, and flexible alternative for students who require flexible scheduling, who are unable or choose not to travel to and from campus, who cannot fit a course into their schedule, or who learn better in an online environment, often discover that distance education courses are a good choice. Delivery method for these courses may be offered in online and hybrid formats.
Course requirements are comparable to traditional courses in content, assignments, and examinations. Each course has an assigned instructor from the appropriate department and adjunct instructors teaching distance education courses are assigned a full-time instructor as a liaison. Courses require that students meet deadlines for assignments, examinations, and other course work just as in traditional courses. Online courses carry the same number of credit hours as the equivalent courses offered through traditional methods. Likewise, distance education students are entitled to the same degree of privacy that is afforded traditional students.
To access online courses, students use a unique secure login and a password. Verifying the identity of the student accessing and participating in an online course is fundamental to the integrity of the course as well as the College. The Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle, requires students to be authenticated using their unique user name and student-managed password in order to securely log in and gain access to the online course. The LMS uses an SSL certificate to ensure all data passed between a user and the LMS is encrypted and remains private. In addition to unique and secure logins, distance education faculty are encouraged to assess students in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, portfolios, collaborative writing assignments, and projects, which are likely to prevent an attempted falsification or misuse of identity.
Instructors of distance learning courses will require students to take at least one exam in a proctored setting. Students may take proctored exams on the main campus in the Assessment Center, Distance Education Lab, or in designated classrooms or labs, facilitated by instructors or instructional staff. Proctored exams may also be conducted at the Archdale Center in the testing lab. Students may also utilize RCC’s proctoring service through a third party vendor if completing the exam online. The vendor utilizes a lockdown browser and monitoring service to prevent academic dishonesty and to ensure the identity of the students taking the exam. Students are required to present a photo ID for verification of identity before taking a proctored examination. Randolph Community College also adheres to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which further protects the privacy of traditional and online students alike.
Courses offered though distance education represent many areas in both curriculum and continuing education. Course schedules, on-campus meeting dates, and any special course requirements are listed on a student's class schedule and in each course syllabus.
Technical support and other necessary information are posted on the Online Learning section of the website located at: www.randolph.edu.
Adopted: 02/01/2000
Revised: 01/20/2005, 07/17/2008, 01/15/2015, 01/16/2020, 03/17/2022