Distance / Distributed Learning Agreement

Faculty members interested in offering a course in an online format should first discuss and seek approval from their department chair/school director and/or college dean, as applicable, through the academic unit’s established curricular processes.

Courses that are new to the KSU course catalog should consult the Approval Flowchart for Courses document and curriculum deadlines located on the Curriculum Services website. 

• Development of an online course should be scheduled to begin at least one academic term prior to the anticipated delivery to students.
• Terms of compensation should be discussed and agreed upon before course development or extensive revision begins.
• Faculty or staff who are interested in help developing an online course may request assistance from university distance learning support staff. 

Yes. A signed DDLA document is required for ALL new online course development and extensive revision of existing online courses. To maintain accurate records of the status of all online course offerings, the form is required for courses for which compensation is being provided and also for courses for which no compensation is provided.

• A new online course is defined as either not previously offered in the KSU course catalog or an existing face-to-face course being offered online for the first time.
• An extensive course revision of an existing online course normally involves changes equal to or greater than 50% of the course learning materials, or substantial changes to course structure, course goals, and/or learning outcomes, such that the essential nature of the course is changed.
• Faculty members should consult with their department chair/school director and/or college dean, as applicable, to determine when a revision of an online course is considered extensive before the revision of an online course begins.

Yes. The DDLA is used by all full-time non-tenure-track and full-time tenured and tenure track faculty who are represented by AAUP-KSU as described in the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement. Adjunct faculty, graduate students, KSU staff, and non-KSU employee subject matter experts are also required to complete a DDLA when their assignment includes the development or extensive revision of an online course.

A new DDLA may be required in the following circumstances:

• The course revision is considered an extensive revision.
• University resources are provided for the course revision.
• A DDLA does not exist for the course. 

The faculty member always “owns” the course materials, information, etc. used to develop the course and may continue to use them. However, depending on the “type” selected on the DDLA permission may be required to use the final resulting work.

Each DDLA establishes the intellectual property rights of online course materials and the final resulting work for each online course. Faculty members should consult with their department chair/school director and/or college dean, as applicable, with any questions concerning an assignment to teach or extensively revise an online course. Please note: Tenured/tenure-track faculty members and Full-Time Non-Tenure Track faculty members are governed by the terms and conditions of the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement and the academic unit’s faculty handbook.

For questions regarding the DDLA, faculty members can contact their department chair/school director and/or college dean, as applicable, the Office of Faculty Affairs and/or an AAUP-KSU representative.