Gadsden State Community College is a leader in the Alabama Community College System in the wide variety of distance learning courses and programs offered. Gadsden State is committed to continuing the growth and development of our distance learning offerings to provide more flexibility for students to help them achieve their goal of earning a college degree. Distance learning is defined as a formal educational process in which all or the majority of the instruction (interaction between students and instructors and among students) in a course occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place. Distance learning focuses on utilizing technology and teaching methods to provide instruction to students outside the regular classroom and thereby increase flexibility and scheduling options. There are two types of distance learning courses at Gadsden State: hybrid and online. There are no additional costs associated with distance learning.
Hybrid courses include both in-person class time and online instructional requirements. Hybrid courses have days, times, and locations listed in OneACCS Self-Service Banner. Instructors teaching hybrid classes may replace no more than 40-60% of scheduled in-person class time with asynchronous online learning tools. Hybrid courses are clearly identified in the course schedule on OneACCS Self-Service Banner.
An online course is one in which 100% of instruction takes place online through the college’s learning management system (Blackboard). While the vast majority of Gadsden State’s online courses require no on-campus physical attendance of any kind, students may have the option of taking exams on campus. Online classes are clearly identified in the course schedule on OneACCS Self-Service Banner. IMPORTANT INFORMATION RELATED TO ONLINE COURSES: Per SACSCOC and Federal Department of Education requirements, online exam proctoring software are used to verify the identity of students participating in online courses. Also, per Federal requirements, attendance is measured by “active participation” in the course. Active participation is defined as completing an attendance verification activity (as identified by the instructor) for each online course in which the student is enrolled. Simply contacting the instructor via telephone or email or just accessing the course will not count as attendance to satisfy requirements of federal financial aid.
For more information on Gadsden State's distance learning course/program offerings or software applications, please visit the Teaching & Learning Center website.