Distance Education Resources

Distance Education

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board provides information and guidance to public institutions of higher education regarding Distance Education, Higher Education Regional Councils, and Programs of Study.

Distance Education, Rules, Modification & Requests

Coordinating Board rules define distance education as the “formal educational process that occurs when students and instructors are in separate physical locations for the majority (more than 50 percent) of instruction.” Coordinating Board rules recognize two categories of distance education courses: 100-percent online courses and hybrid courses. A 100-percent online course is defined as a “distance education course in which 100 percent of instructional activity takes place when the student(s) and instructor(s) are in separate physical locations. Requirements for on-campus or in-person orientation, testing, academic support services, internships/fieldwork, or other non-instructional activities do not exclude a course from this category.” A hybrid course is defined as a “distance education course in which more than 50 percent but less than 100 percent of instructional activity takes place when the student(s) and instructor(s) are in separate physical locations.”

Rules

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rules governing the offering of distance, off-campus, and self-sustaining education:

• Chapter 2, Subchapter J (rules governing approval of distance education for public institutions)
• Chapter 4, Subchapter Q (rules governing off-campus face-to-face, out-of-country, out-of-state)
• Chapter 7 (rules governing degree-granting colleges and universities other than Texas public institutions)

Modifications & Requests

Study Abroad and Study-in-America Courses

The Coordinating Board defines study abroad courses as “off-campus, academic credit instruction which is delivered outside the United States primarily to regular on-campus students.” Study-in-America courses are defined as “off-campus, academic credit instruction which is delivered outside Texas but in the United States primarily to regular on-campus students.” Institutions are required to certify that all courses meet the Coordinating Board’s Standards for Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Courses. Institutions certify compliance with those standards through an online reporting system. Links to the standards and the reporting system are below.

• Standards for New Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Courses
• Reporting Site for Out-of-Country and Out-of-State Programs

Off-Campus Educational Units

An Off-Campus Educational Unit is defined in Chapter 5, Subchapter D of Board rules as a subdivision under the management and control of an existing public university, university system, health-related institution, or a combination of these units, hereinafter referred to as the parent institution(s), in a geographic setting separate from the parent institution(s). Off-campus education units include teaching sites, higher education centers, university system centers, Multi-Institutional Teaching Centers, regional academic health centers, branch campuses, and all other off-campus educational endeavors.

Request Form for Establishing a Multi-Institution Teaching Center (MITC), Single Institution Center (SIC), or University System Center (USC)

Institutional Report Information

• Education Unit Designation Policy
• Education Unit Designation Table

Higher Education Regional Councils (HERCs)