Online and Technology-Supported Learning
The MPHEC’s Guidelines for Institutional Frameworks for Online and Technology-Supported Learning has been released.
As part of this work, the Commission has adopted the following definitions of delivery modes recommended by the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA). To allow for common understanding and consistency across the region, these definitions should be incorporated into Maritime universities’ institutional frameworks (as stipulated in the “Planning and Policies” dimension of the Guidelines):
|
ONLINE LEARNING means all instruction and interaction is fully online (synchronous or asynchronous) |
|
HYBRID LEARNING means a blend of online and in-person instruction (online instruction is synchronous or asynchronous) |
|
HYFLEX LEARNING means instruction is available online and in-person, and students can move between online and in-person |
|
IN-PERSON LEARNING means all instruction takes place in an in-person setting |
|
SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING means instruction takes place in real-time and requires student presence |
|
ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING means instruction is available for students to access at a time that works best for them |
Over the next three years, all Maritime universities will be required to develop and submit to the MPHEC an institutional framework for online and technology-supported learning that is aligned to the MPHEC’s Guidelines for Institutional Frameworks for Online and Technology-Supported Learning. The Commission has confirmed the following timeline:
- Between May 2024 and May 2025, MPHEC staff will follow up with universities to check on the development of their frameworks in order to identify if there are areas of the Guidelines that are particularly challenging to put in place and, as a result, may need to be modified.
- By May 2026, all Maritime universities are required to have developed and submitted to the MPHEC an institutional framework for online and technology-supported learning that is aligned to the MPHEC’s Guidelines for Institutional Frameworks for Online and Technology-Supported Learning. Each institution should review and update relevant policies and practices to align with their new framework and should submit to the Commission a copy of their framework and confirmation of Senate (or equivalent) approval. Upon receipt, the MPHEC will cross reference each university’s framework against the MPHEC Guidelines to confirm that each standard and the criteria have generally been addressed; this step is not intended to be an in-depth review. If significant gaps are identified, the MPHEC will follow up with the university.
- Starting in May 2027, once each Maritime university has had its framework vetted by the MPHEC and implemented internally, it will no longer be required to submit a program proposal to change an existing in-person program to online delivery. (In the interim, i.e., between now and when a university has implemented its framework, universities will be required to submit a program proposal to change an existing approved in-person program to online delivery or maintain an existing approved in-person program online post pandemic if the program is being presented to students or advertised as being fully online [or online plus a work-integrated learning experience that may or may not be online], whether this be on the university’s website, in the academic calendar, in its marketing material, etc.) Delivery mode will continue to be a part of the assessment process for new programs.
