Convention
sets guidelines for distance education
WHEREAS the
Ontario government and the federal government have recently released
reports that recommend strategies that undermine the quality of public
post secondary education; and
WHEREAS one of the
most pronounced trends in higher education is the exponential growth of
E-learning in a format that attempts to replace nearly all interaction
between teacher and student; and
WHEREAS the importance of distance education is
underscored by the increase in courses ranging from workplace training to
diploma and certificate college programs; and
WHEREAS there is an increase in the number of
distance education providers, including a large number of for-profit
providers.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following
guidelines in distance education include, among others, the following
broad principles:
- Academic teaching faculty must maintain control of shaping,
approving and evaluating distance education courses.
- The faculty teaching distance education courses must be provided
adequate time, compensation, training and technical support to develop
and conduct courses.
- No student should have to be offered distance education as his or
her only opportunity to obtain a public college education.
- Designing distance education courses should not be approached in
terms of replicating the traditional classroom but in terms of
maximizing the potential of the medium that will be employed –
faculty must be provided appropriate technical assistance to achieve
this.
ER3 – CONTINUED
- Faculty should retain creative control over the use and re-use of
distance education materials.
- Class size should be consistent with high student-teacher
interactivity and should be determined through normal faculty
procedures to ensure high educational quality.
- Equivalent library materials and research opportunities must be
provided to distance education students.
- Assessment of student knowledge, skills and performance using
standards as rigorous as those in classroom-based courses.
- The same level of student advisement and counselling must be
maintained for distance education students.
- Research on the effectiveness of distance education for particular
subjects and different types of students should be accelerated.
- Professors be recognized as critical to the quality of distance
education and that their full involvement be recognized with adequate
resources for funding.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT OPSEU strongly promote these principles
within the labour movement and within the community at large.
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Accepted |
Rejected |
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Resolutions Committee |
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Human Rights Officer |
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Leah Casselman, President |
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