Distance Education Disclosure Policy

 

Policy Number:

INST_0021

Policy Statement:

GCCC has a college-wide process for collecting and reporting student location data.  Student location data is used to provide required disclosures to students in programs that have been identified as leading to professional licensure and to provide accurate reporting on the physical locations of students enrolling in distance learning and out of state learning placements.   

Definitions:

Industry Credential and/or Certification Programs: These programs prepare students for widely recognized credentials recognized by and/or provided by industry organizations, where these credentials are not statutorily required for industry practitioners.

Procedures:  

Program Licensure

A program leads to licensure if upon completion students are required to take a licensure or certification exam leading to employment in that area. Programs that prepare students to transfer into additional coursework outside of the College that may lead to the certification or licensure, are not considered programs that lead to licensure at GCCC. 

The Online Office completes a review cycle of professional licensure programs at GCCC and works with program faculty to identify whether current curriculum meets licensure requirements in each state. If the curriculum changes in a program that leads to licensure, the program director or lead faculty member is responsible for alerting the Online Services office and participating in a review to determine if changes have affected any state licensure requirements.  After the Online Office has identified a change has been made to professional licensure requirements, the Office will notify affected program faculty, the dean, Student Services, and Institutional Research, and complete any disclosures required by the change. 

Disclosures Based on Licensure

Disclosures by GCCC to prospective students concerning whether a program meets educational requirements for licensure in the various US states are sent within 14 days of application based on the student’s location established by the Student Location Policy. The sent e-mail becomes part of the student’s application record.

If a current student selects a licensure program and enrolls in an online class, their current location is identified according to the student location policy.  If the student’s current location is a state for which the curriculum does not meet licensure requirements, the student is sent a disclosure through e-mail within 14-days and will be unenrolled from the program.   

The Online office will receive reports concerning students who have a student location and professional licensure issue.  These reports are drawn from the current student location and the program codes identified in the student information system.

The office reviews these reports regularly to identify if there are additional steps and disclosures that should be made.  The disclosures include the student, program director, and academic advisor – and then are attached to the student’s record. 

The Online office also reviews this list with the Admissions, Advising, and Institutional Research offices annually and whenever a change to a licensure program or state’s acceptance of that licensure program occurs.

Online Only Students and Professional Licensure

For reporting purposes, online only students are those who are not currently high school students and within a semester are taking all the courses in either synchronous or asynchronous distance education delivery modes such as Buster Online or Buster Live Distance.  Students taking a course online, but who also have one or more courses they are taking on the physical campus, are not considered Online Only for reporting to NC-SARA or internal documentation.

When considering disclosures for professional licensure, students are considered distance education students if they are taking one class in a distance modality in the first semester of their enrollment in the program that leads to professional licensure. 

International Students

GCCC does not guarantee that programs which lead to professional licensure will satisfy professional licensure requirements outside of the United States

Other Notifications

The programs that lead to licensure and require online disclosures are on the college website.  This content is annually reviewed. It is updated within 14 days of notification of changes to professional licensure.

Experiential Learning Placements Outside of the State

Programs will notify the Online office if they have experiential learning – internships, clinical experiences, etc. At the end of each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), the Online office will contact program directors or lead faculty members to request out of state learning placements.  If they had out of state learning placements, they will provide the number of students, and location information. This data is part of the college’s annual report to NC-SARA.

Policy History:

June 29, 2026: Revised to include policy number

August 7, 2025: Revised for accessibility format

July 10, 2024: Reviewed