Jacksonville State University strives to meet the needs of all students. Distance education enhances this capability by utilizing the ever-expanding set of technological tools to reach students that may be unable to participate in the traditional university environment. With the new approaches to teaching that take instruction off campus, such as videoconferencing and online courses, students from all walks of life can be part of the "university experience" while continuing with demanding personal and employment schedules. Greater flexibility in scheduling provided by distance education courses allows JSU to draw from a pool of students from all areas of society. These courses provide students with the education and tools they need to reach their goals, whether they are professional or personal. Distance education provides an outstanding level of education to everyone, not just to select individuals at strictly delineated times of the day.

2012-2013 Goals and Objectives

• Enhance and maintain the effectiveness and efficiency of Distance Education staff.
  • Fund and support Instructional Designer.
• Partner with units across the University to advance the development, delivery, and promotion of distance education degree, certificate, and course offerings.
  • As recommended by DE Advisory Council and indicated in Distance Education Initiative Strategic Plan, establish process that requires communication & coordination of new distance education courses between providing department and the Office of Distance Education.
  • Partner with the appropriate University unit(s) to define and identify fully online students for the purposes of providing appropriate services, reporting, etc.
  • Partner with the Office of Enrollment Management to promote distance education programs.
  • With cooperation from the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, implement the Certified Online Instructor (COI) program.
• Utilize state-of the-art technologies to support teaching and learning through distance education.
  • Increase accessibility and availability of audio/video and other course content distributed via the Office of Distance Education.
• Student Learning Outcomes
  • JSU students will report that they are increasingly using electronic media in their courses.
  • JSU undergraduate students will be satisfied with on line courses through distance education.
  • Students in online only graduate programs will experience comparable quality in their courses to all courses.