Distance Courses

Proposals for both new distance courses and the addition of distance options to existing courses must be submitted via curriculum.osu.edu .

When filling out the course submission form (in curriculum.osu.edu) the submitter should choose “yes” for “Does any section of this course have a distance education component?” Three additional options will then appear on the screen:

  1. 100% at a distance
  2. Greater or equal to 50% at a distance
  3. Less than 50% at a distance

The submitter should select all the categories that apply for the course.

Any course where 75%-100% of the course materials, exams and regular interactions occur online will be reviewed by the appropriate Arts and Sciences faculty curricular panel. In other words, if a unit wishes to offer a course in distance learning (DL) format (100% of instruction is offered by distance) or distance enhanced (DH) format (75%-99% of instruction is offered by distance), the following steps will need to be followed. (Please note that a course previously approved for DL does not need additional review/approval for DH delivery.)

The faculty member will develop a distance syllabus using the ASC distance learning syllabus template as well as complete the ASC Distance Approval Cover Sheet. The unit will then contact Jeremie Smith (Distance Education Coordinator; ASC ODE) for an initial review of the materials. Jeremie may inform the unit that revisions need to be made to the proposal. Once Jeremie instructs the unit that the submission is ready for faculty panel review, the course request should be submitted via curriculum.osu.edu with the following attachments: 

  1. the complete syllabus for the distance course (addressing any revisions requested by Jeremie Smith in ASC ODE),
  2. a syllabus for the in-person version of the course (if applicable; for comparative purposes), 
  3. the completed ASC Distance Approval Cover Sheet signed off by Jeremie Smith.

When the proposal reaches the ASC Curriculum and Assessment Services, it will be routed to the appropriate faculty panel of the ASC Curriculum Committee for curricular review.

ASC Honors Courses and Online Offerings

The ASC Honors Committee greatly values the emphasis on student and faculty interaction in the Honors program and as delivered by Honors courses that have been limited in size to facilitate this interaction.  The program is based on faculty and student relationships and driven by academically talented students who seek to build relationships across disciplines through faculty and peer interaction.  When joining the program, a great majority of students cited relationships with faculty and small honors courses as the most important benefits of the program to them.  We want to make sure that online offerings of honors coursework still support these interactions and relationships. Please contact Lindsey Chamberlain at chamberlain.55@osu.edu with any questions regarding Honors courses within ASC.

Asynchronous Online Courses

For completely asynchronous online courses, the committee requests that faculty incorporate regular synchronous interaction between the honors students and the instructor throughout the semester through multiple, required individual meetings or required attendance at office hours in which there is a structured interaction related to the course assignments.  Faculty should expect to accommodate students who wish to meet via Zoom or a comparable technology.

Synchronous or Hybrid Online Courses

For synchronous or hybrid online courses, the committee requests that proposals discuss mechanisms by which interaction among students and faculty is fostered in the course.  If there are no planned synchronous activities to foster interaction among students and faculty, the committee requests that faculty incorporate regular synchronous interaction between the honors students and the instructor throughout the semester through multiple, required individual meetings or required attendance at office hours in which there is a structured interaction related to the course assignments.  Faculty should expect to accommodate students who wish to meet via Zoom or a comparable technology.

For non-ASC units submitting GEN distance courses

As of September 23rd, 2022, the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee will no longer review existing non-ASC General Education courses seeking approval solely for Distance Learning, as these courses are already reviewed for Distance Learning via their own college curricular processes.  Courses from non-ASC units seeking other GEN approvals (a new course seeking GEN status, an existing course seeking an additional GEN status, etc.) will not be reviewed for Distance Learning, but the ASCC Panels may engage with Distance Learning elements of the courses insofar as they affect how the General Education Goals and ELOs are met.   

GEN courses requesting Distance Learning should seek approval through their own college’s Distance Learning Approval process.  Assistance with course development and best practices are available through the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation at https://odee.osu.edu/.