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Distance Learning Instructional Process

AOCE encourages academic departments to teach distance learning courses on-load in order to

• Promote distance learning as an academic equal to traditional education,
• Instill faculty confidence and understanding in new technological advancements,
• Ensure distance learning courses and programs receive departmental priority,
• Create institutional awareness for the need to make participation in distance learning a part of promotion and tenure, and
• Provide academic departments with maximum residual share to grow distance learning courses and programs. 

In the event that an instructional contract is required, the following services in the development and processing of instructional contracts are handled by the Coordinator and/or the AOCE Office of Business & Finance in cooperation with the Department Head/Dean from which the course is housed:

• Collect all personal and salary information

• Generate contractual documents
• Obtain departmental, unit, and institutional approval for payment
• Process paperwork in cooperation with HRM

The following is the instructional contract process and is handled by the Coordinator:

• Obtain personal and salary information from Department Head/Dean
• Request justification letter from Department Head/Dean as needed
• Generate contracts
• Route for approval
• Submit fully approved contract to the Office of Business & Finance for payment

PLEASE NOTE:
Contracts are approved by (1) the Department Head, (2) the Dean, (3) Manager of Academic Outreach, (4) Director of AOCE, and (5) Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Once all parties have approved the contract, the instructor will be contacted for his/her signature approval.

The Office of Academic Outreach does not hire distance learning faculty or sets salaries. Only academic departments can hire faculty to teach their courses, and only Department Heads can set salaries, which can be up to 8% of the instructor’s salary.

The Office of Academic Outreach does not issue salary checks for distance learning instructors nor does it determine when or how a distance learning faculty member will be paid. Payment can be expected up to 45 days from the date of instructor signature approval.

Should anyone be interested in teaching distance learning courses at Mississippi State University as an adjunct for academic credit that is semester-based, he/she is encouraged to contact academic department under which his/her field of discipline falls.

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