1. Standards
1.1. Accreditation: A nongovernmental process conducted to recognize the quality of institutions of higher education programs (CCNE, 2018). A status of public recognition granted by an accrediting agency to an institution or program to show that standards and requirements are met (NLN, 2016).
1.1.1. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) serves as the Southern states' regional body for accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.1.1. SACSCOC Mission: Education quality enhancement and improvement of institutions' effectiveness through ensuring that established standards are met (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.1.2. Intended for associate, baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degrees (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.1.3. Accreditation signifies that the institution's mission is appropriate for higher education, the institution has resources and services that can accomplish that mission, and the institution maintains the specified educational objectives in order to successfully achieve the stated objectives (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.2. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is an accrediting agency that seeks to improve public health and to ensure nursing programs' quality and integrity (CCNE, 2018).
1.1.2.1. The purposes of CCNE accreditation are to hold nursing programs accountable with their missions and goals, to evaluate success in achievement of the same, to assess how well programs meet accreditation standards, to inform the public of and identify programs that meet the standards, and to foster continuous improvement in nursing programs (CCNE, 2018).
1.1.2.2. Intended for baccalaureate, master's, nursing doctorates, and post-graduate certificate programs (CCNE, 2018).
1.1.3. The National League for Nursing (NLN)'s Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation is an accrediting body with standards used to mark educational quality of nursing programs (NLN, 2016).
1.1.3.1. The NLN CNEA mission is to utilize the accreditation process to promote excellence and integrity in nursing education with consideration of the diversity of program mission, curricula, students, and faculty through quality improvement in order to effectively prepare students for the nursing workforce (NLN, 2016).
1.1.3.2. The NLN CNEA core values include caring, diversity, integrity, and excellence (NLN, 2016).
1.1.3.3. The NLN CNEA can accredit all types of nursing programs, to include distance education programs (NLN, 2016)
1.1.4. Characteristics of Accreditation
1.1.4.1. Voluntary participation in the accreditation process (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.2. Requirements for accreditation are stated and must be met consistently by institutions (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.3. A form of self-regulation (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.4. Requires commitment and engagement from the institution (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.5. Involves a peer-review process (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.6. Requires the institution to be committed to student learning and success (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.7. Requires the institution to state their mission within the recognized context of higher education (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
1.1.4.8. Continuous assessment and improvement is required (College Delegate Assembly, 2017).
2. Influence on Nursing Education
2.1. Adaptation in terms of teaching in the online environment is necessary; this requires nursing instructors to be open to personal and professional growth (Ko et al., 2017).
2.2. Teaching strategies and training for teaching in the online environment is necessary for effective instruction in nursing education.
2.3. Institutional readiness: Consider whether the institution's resources are sufficient to execute the nursing education in the online environment (Ko et al., 2017).
2.4. Consider clinical requirements; should the course have hybrid components to fulfill requirements or can other creative solutions be identified?
2.5. Great need for qualified, dedicated nurse educators.
3. Influence on Staff Development
3.1. Initial faculty trepidation/intimidation about online learning is common (Ko et al., 2017).
3.2. Effective training for online instructors is growing (Ko et al., 2017).
3.2.1. Workshops
3.2.2. Self-paced online materials
3.2.3. Learn on the job
3.2.4. Formal training courses
3.2.5. Network with other online instructors
3.3. Computer expertise
3.3.1. Instructors do not have to be "computer savvy" to effectively teach an online course (Ko et al., 2017).
3.3.2. It is helpful to have basic computer skills and to be familiar with the internet (Ko et al., 2017).
3.3.3. Training sessions or self-paced tutorials
3.3.4. Online teachers should be willing to invest time into learning new technology and methods in order to grow professionally and personally (Ko et al., 2017).
3.4. Benefits to Online Teaching
3.4.1. The best online instructors are often "people-oriented" due to their communication skills (Ko et al., 2017).
3.4.2. Heightened awareness of one's own teaching and what is being done in the classroom results from having interactions available for review and reflection (Ko et al., 2017).
3.4.3. Allowance for review and reconsideration of instructional methods (Ko et al., 2017).
3.4.4. New connections with students across the country and the world (Ko et al., 2017).
3.4.5. Greater participation from a greater number of students in the class rather than only those who speak up in the classroom (Ko et al., 2017).
3.5. Faculty Roles and Responsibilities
3.5.1. Observation
3.5.2. Questioning
3.5.3. Mediating
3.5.4. Communication
3.5.5. Evaluation
4. Definitions
4.1. Distance Education: Education that utilizes technologies (Internet, broadcasts, audio conferencing, DVDs, etc.) to teach and interact with students in a separate environment from the instructor (Seaman et al., 2018).
4.1.1. "Exclusively" distance education: All enrollments are through distance education courses (Seaman et al., 2018).
4.1.2. "Some but not all" distance education: A mix of face-to-face and distance education courses (Seaman et al., 2018).
4.1.3. Distance education can be obtained by local college; great distance is not required (Seaman et al., 2018).
4.2. Teaching online: A form of distance education in which a course is taught partially or entirely through the internet, via apps or the Web; also called eLearning or electronic learning (Ko et al., 2017).
4.2.1. More freedom for students
4.2.2. Virtual classrooms
4.2.3. Asynchronous or synchronous format, or a combination
4.2.4. Flexibility and convenience of learning
4.3. Learning Management System or Software (LMS): A software program used by schools in which instructors can post coursework; also called Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (Ko et al., 2017).
4.3.1. Components
4.3.1.1. Lectures
4.3.1.2. Quizzes
4.3.1.3. Discussion Boards
4.3.1.4. Grades
4.3.2. Platforms
4.3.2.1. Blackboard
4.3.2.2. Canvas
4.3.2.3. Moodle
4.4. Blended courses: Courses including face-to-face and online coursework; also known as hybrid courses (Ko et al., 2017)
5. Regulations
5.1. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 serves as federal legislation.
5.1.1. This law amends and extends the Higher Education Act of 1965.
5.1.2. Purposes
5.1.2.1. Define higher education and relevant terms.
5.1.2.1.1. Distance Education: Education in which instructors use at least one form of technology to deliver instruction while separated from students; this supports substantive interaction between students and instructors, synchronously or asynchronously (Higher Education Opportunity Act, 2008).
5.1.2.2. Student Assistance: grants, scholarships, loans,work-study programs, need analysis.
5.1.2.3. Protects student speech.
5.1.2.4. Requires transparency in college tuition for consumers.
5.1.2.5. Teacher quality enhancement.
5.1.3. Defines higher education