Program Planning

Online Program Recognition

In order for an online program to be recognized as either a fully online or hybrid program, and included on the UH Online Programs list, the UH Online and Hybrid Program Recognition Form must be completed. Recognized online and hybrid programs will be identified by a special program code and major code. This provides a means to track students' enrollment, help manage students’ registration, and determine possible health clearance exemptions and student fees exclusions. Guidelines

Distance Learning and Online Program Approval Process

UH departments and faculty considering distance delivery of a new or existing academic program should refer to specific procedures for their campus outlined below

Procedures and processes regarding the approval of distance delivered programs are posted on the UH Mānoa Distance Education website.
For information about Distance Learning, please see the Distance Learning website. Faculty interested in offering Distance Learning programs should contact their respective college Dean.
For information on WASC substantive change review and proposals, please contact Seri Luangphinith, Accreditation Liaison Officer, at (808) 932-7217 or seri@hawaii.edu
The University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu is committed to developing distance education programs, concentrations, and certificates. Currently over 30% of our classes are offered in a distance modality. If a program already exists and courses have been approved for face-to-face classes, then the approval process to offer that program as Distance Education (DE) depends on whether there will be a need to submit a substantive change report to WASC, which would only be in the case of a program offering more than 50% of its coursework as DE. The internal DE approval process is not dependent on the percentage of DE coursework. The internal approval process is as follows:
  1. Faculty initiate the development of a DE program by holding discussions within their division and the VCAA.
  2. After these preliminary discussions, the faculty will submit a proposal to the Curriculum Committee. (if the program does not currently exist. If the program already exists as a face-to-face program, the proposal for the DE program goes directly to the Distance Education Committee.) If the program does not currently exist, then the new DE program is first reviewed by the Curriculum Committee, and the next step would be review by the Distance Education Committee before going to the Faculty Senate for approval.)
  3. Curriculum Committee and Distance Education Committee approve the proposal and is submitted to the Faculty Senate for approval.
  4. After Faculty Senate chair signs the document, it is then submitted to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for approval.
  5. Once the VCAA approves, it is sent to the Chancellor for final approval.
Those programs that offer more than 50% of their coursework as DE have to submit a substantive change report to WASC as an additional requirement for approval. Only those programs that intend to have more than 50% of their coursework as DE will have to submit this report.
For information on proposing new online programs, please contact David San Jose at dsanjose@hawaii.edu
ACCJC's website has: an explanation of substantive change, the current Substantive Change Manual for campuses to use when preparing a proposal, the current Distance Learning Manual, and a timeline for the proposal process. Institutions are encouraged to review both manuals and the Substantive Change Policy that is included as Appendix A of the Substantive Change Manual and in the last section of the Distance Learning Manual.
To request a copy of an approved Substantive Change proposal, please contact Della Teraoka, contact for UH Community Colleges' accreditation initiatives, at (808) 956-4587 or dellaand@hawaii.edu.

Accreditation Approval Process for Distance Learning Programs

When an institution offers more than 50 percent of a degree program electronically distance-delivered, approval from the regional accrediting association is required before student recruitment can begin.

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)

WASC is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. The oversight of WASC's accreditation activities for the University of Hawaiʻi System is done by two Commissions, each dedicated to a different level of education:

WASC Distance Education definition:

Education that uses one or more of the technologies listed below to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor or instructors and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor or instructors, either synchronously or asynchronously. The technologies that may be used to offer distance education include:

For purposes of this definition, substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following

  1. Providing direct instruction;
  2. Assessing or providing feedback on a student's coursework;
  3. Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
  4. Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or
  5. Other instructional activities approved by the institution's or program's accrediting agency.

An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors by, prior to the student's completion of a course or competency

  1. Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
  2. Monitoring the student's academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.

(Distance education definition adopted from Code of Federal Regulations 34 CFR § 600.2)