S.D. Admin. R. 20:74:04:10

Current through Register Vol. 50, page 162, June 24, 2024

Section 20:74:04:10 - Criteria for distance education or independent study course approval

The commission may approve any course that is provided by the commission, a public or private school, an organization, a person, a corporation, a society, or similar organization. The commission, when acting on an application for approval of a course, shall consider the following minimum criteria:

(1) The course provider must specify the learning objectives for each lesson and clearly demonstrate that the objectives cover the required subject matter. Objectives must be specific to ensure that all relative content is covered adequately to ensure mastery of the objectives;

(2) The course provider must demonstrate that the course includes the same or reasonably similar informational content as a course that would otherwise qualify for the requisite number of hours of classroom-based instruction, and that students must proceed through and demonstrate comprehension of all the material;

(3) If the course is a distance education course, it must include consistent and regular interactive events as appropriate to the medium. The interactive elements must be designed to promote student involvement in the learning process and must directly support the student's achievement of the course's learning objectives. The course approval submission must identify the types of interactive events included in the course and specify how the interactive events contribute to the achievement of the stated learning objectives;

(4) The course must require that the student demonstrate mastery of the learning objectives as designated for each lesson in order to successfully complete the lesson. The course must provide a mechanism of individual remediation to correct any deficiencies identified during the instruction and assessment process. In independent study courses, this remediation may be accomplished by quizzes or other exercises with detailed rationales in the answer key provided to students;

(5) The course provider must measure, at regular intervals, the student's progress toward and completion of the mastery requirement of each lesson or module covering all the required subject matter. In the case of computer-based instruction, the course software must include automatic shutdown after a period of inactivity;

(6) The applicant must demonstrate that approved instructors are available to answer student questions regarding course content at reasonable times and by reasonable means, including in-person contact, individual and conference telephone calls, E-mail, and fax. Communication by written postal correspondence alone is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of this subdivision;

(7) The course provider shall provide reasonable security to ensure that the student who receives credit for the course is the student who enrolled in and completed the course. Both the school and the student must certify in writing that the student has successfully completed the course; and

(8) The course provider must require that the student pass an appropriate examination to successfully complete and receive credit. An examination will be considered appropriate if it contains at least five multiple-choice questions for each hour of credit and requires a minimum passing score of at least 80 percent.

S.D. Admin. R. 20:74:04:10

27 SDR 7, effective 1/1/2001; 28 SDR 28, effective 9/2/2001.

General Authority: SDCL 36-21C-6(1).

Law Implemented: SDCL 36-21C-6(1).