Staff / Faculty

Conference Facilities

Location | Contact

Business & Industry

Online Courses

Degree Programs

Distance Learning

Certifications

Professional Develop.

Personal Enrichment

Safety & Environment

CEUs | Camps

ESL Center

Lang. & Culture Prog.

Credit Lang. Courses

Cultural Workshops

Online College

Dual Enrollment

USDA

High School

Courses & Programs

Services Available

Policies & Procedures
Distance Learning

Independent Study

Continuing Education

Technology

U.C.C.C.

A.O.C.E.

Copyright

Coordinators

AOCE Policies & Procedures

Principles | Course/Program Offering | Faculty Participation |
Student Related | Campus 5 Student Related | Revenue Distribution

Principles

• Uniform policies are established for the offering of courses and programs through AOCE.  All colleges and departments (academic units) will abide by these policies; no special arrangements will be negotiated or created.

• Sufficient revenues will be generated by AOCE to support and develop its programs

• Academic units may offer non-traditional format courses as part of their regular offerings.  In such cases faculty will teach on-load, and students will enroll and pay tuition in the normal fashion.  However, academic units may not develop their own Academic Outreach divisions.

Back to Top

Course/Program Offering Policy

• Prior to any course/program’s initial delivery through AOCE, the University Committee on Courses and Curricula (if an initial course offering) and administrative approval must be obtained. With proper justification and under extenuating circumstances, first-time courses may be offered on the Master Schedule without full approval (departmental, college, UCCC, etc.) in good faith such as:
  
  
  1. The department head (or appropriate contact) needs to send list of courses and the semester in which they are to be offered to Tim Chamblee, Chair of the UCCC, via email requesting an exception to offer the classes without full approval.
  2. The UCCC will make a decision and communicate that to the department head/appropriate contact and to the Registrar's Office.
  3. If approved, the courses will be placed on the Master Schedule.
     
     
• All courses/programs delivered via AOCE will be held to applicable university/IHL regulations including minimum course enrollments.

• All academic course/programs offered through AOCE will be certified annually by the respective college, AOCE, and Academic Affairs to verify the integrity of course content, quality of instruction, and sufficiency of enrollment.

• Academic programs delivered through AOCE will be included in the home academic department’s five-year review process.

• A department will not offer the same course through main campus and AOCE in a single semester unless the course is offered in a different format (e.g., weekends, on-line, etc.), and in no case may a department reduce the number of seats/sections of a main campus course in order to offer an AOCE section. 

Back to Top

Faculty Participation Policy

• Any faculty member may teach a course on-load through AOCE.

• With permission from the department head, dean and provost, faculty are eligible to teach a maximum of one 3-hour course per semester through AOCE as an overload, but only with an evaluation of the individual faculty member’ s workload and performance by the department head.  Untenured assistant professors will not normally teach overload courses. 

• Non-MSU faculty with appropriate credentials as approved by the academic department, college, AOCE and Academic Affairs may be the instructor of record for AOCE courses. 

• Payment for teaching a three-hour course as an overload through AOCE will be a maximum of 8% of the 9-month salary of the faculty member (prorated for other courses).

• For faculty whose workload assignment includes research/service time, the department head must determine whether the overload activity will diminish the faculty member’s research/service productivity prior to submitting the AOCE overload assignment.

Back to Top

Student Related Policies

• Courses delivered through AOCE are not generally targeted to main campus students; however, main campus students may choose to enroll in such courses where they perceive an added value.  This may include on-line delivery, off-site course venues, weekend and evening offerings, etc.

• Full-time main campus students wishing to enroll in a course delivered through AOCE will pay a distance fee equivalent to the per SCH part-time tuition rate.  This fee will be in addition to the main campus tuition assessed the student.

• Distance learning students, i.e., students NOT enrolled on the main campus, will pay the applicable in-state tuition rate (full or part-time depending upon the student’s status) with additional distance learning fees assessed as market/equitable considerations allow.

• AOCE will facilitate the collection of all necessary student related documentation associated with the delivery of a particular course, e.g., admission, enrollment, and financial aid and will provide marketing and technology assistance for the course.

Back to Top

Campus 5 Student Related Policies

1. Courses delivered through AOCE are designed to target distance learning students who are unable to complete or begin a certificate or degree program via traditional, on-campus means due to family, location, and career obligations. This target audience is global with special attention paid to the needs of the citizens of the state of Mississippi. Distance learning students may choose to enroll in on-campus, face-to-face courses where they perceive an added value, such as the desire to interact with faculty and peers on campus or be exposed to the campus experience.

2. Distance learning students wishing to enroll in a course delivered through main campus will pay all tuition and fees equivalent to the per SCH tuition rate that main campus students pay, including out-of-state tuition rates, if applicable.

3. Distance learning students cannot be "forced" to take an on-campus course within their program of study. Some distance learning certifications and degree programs may require face-to-face components that are a requirement for residency or graduation, such as summer blocks, field studies, internships, and/or thesis/research/dissertation hours. Such requirements must be specifically outlined in all marketing materials prior to admission.

4. General courses that make up the majority of a distance learning certification or degree program of study will not be delivered exclusively on-campus. Sections of general courses can be offered and distance learners may register for them if they perceive an added value (see item 2).

5. Distance learning students enrolled in courses offered via distance through AOCE will pay the applicable in-state tuition rate (full or part-time depending upon the student’s status) with additional distance learning fees assessed as market/equitable considerations allow.

6. AOCE will facilitate the collection of all necessary student related documentation associated with the delivery of a particular course, e.g., admission, enrollment, and financial aid, and will act as the chief liaison between distance learners and the institution, provide marketing and technology assistance, and provide full coordination services of the courses, certifications, and programs offered.

Back to Top

Revenue Distribution
  The revenue distribution is as follows:
   20%     General Fund
   4%       Academic Affairs
   48%     Academic Department/College
   28%     AOCE

Back to Top