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Official Definitions for website and registration guide

  • In person
    • A learning experience delivered in-person (activities may be on or off campus).
  • Blended
    • A learning experience that combines in-person and online delivery. Specific online or in-person meetings will be communicated by the instructor.
  • Online
    • A learning experience delivered fully online. These may be synchronous or asynchronous.

Synchronous

Synchronous learning occurs at a designated day and time as per the published course timetable and involves real-time interaction between instructors and students. This may include live-streamed lectures, discussions, or question and answer periods. If a course has synchronous components, students and instructors will need to be online during the scheduled days and times.

Asynchronous

Asynchronous learning occurs within broadly defined timelines and does not require real-time interaction between instructors and students. If a course has asynchronous elements, students will be able to access the relevant course materials at any time but will still need to follow schedules of work and meet deadlines for activities and assignments. Asynchronous activities require students to be more self-directed in reading, watching videos, and completing activities online to achieve the course outcomes, which may feel unfamiliar for students accustomed to classroom-based learning.

  • Online, with in person exams only
    • A learning experience delivered online (synchronous or asynchronous), with in-person exams.
  • Online Asynchronous (Synchronous Exams)
    • Asynchronous online classes with synchronous (scheduled) online exam

KPU's Learning Centres have resources and learning strategies to help our students succeed in each course delivery model. See kpu.ca/tlc


Principles for course planning and scheduling


In light of the above, and subject to Ministry and institutional directives regarding the desired delivery mix, the following is for the purpose of providing guidance to Chairs in the planning and scheduling of courses. This guidance is intended to complement KPU’s Academic Schedule and Course Timetables Policy and its corresponding Procedure.


Note: Course Planning decisions typically occur at the program level, with the approval of the Dean. Course Scheduling decisions are ultimately subject to the approval of the Dean’s Office. 


Course Planning 

A. Student need, student demand, pedagogical principles, and available resources are paramount. Therefore, programs may find it useful to identify courses in which the learning outcomes are best suited to specific delivery models, and plan accordingly (see Appendix I for some relevant pedagogical considerations when considering delivery model).



Course Scheduling

B.  Keeping student need, student demand, and pedagogical principles in mind: 

1. It is recommended to run a selection of required courses across different delivery models (where these delivery models are pedagogically warranted; see Appendix I). Indeed, it may be desirable to do this for all multi-section courses, if feasible.

2. It is desirable to have a plurality of instructors teaching in any given delivery model. 


C. Where institutional directives and the above criteria are met, faculty wishes are also important. Should, after the above conditions are satisfied, and faculty who have a formal workplace accommodation to teach online (approved through Health & Benefits) have had their requirements met, there remains a surplus of faculty requesting online or blended sections:

3. Seek an equitable distribution of online/blended sections between faculty who wish to teach online, whether

(i) within a given semester, or 

(ii) within an academic year, or 

(iii) where (i) and (ii) are not possible, across academic years 


Note: Faculty who wish to teach online courses from their remote work location (i.e. home) must have read and acknowledged the Remote Work Framework.  


APPENDIX I – GUIDELINES FOR SCHEDULING DELIVERY MODELS 


Delivery ModelDefinitionRecommended ForSchedulingDescription for Faculty
In Person
A learning experience delivered in person (activities may be on or off campus). 
• Cohort-based programs. 
• Applied learning with campus-based equipment.
• Labs and studios. 
• First-year courses
• Meeting line(s) to reflect weekly meeting pattern throughout term. 
• Rooms are assigned for weekly meeting patterns throughout the term.
•  A learning experience delivered in-person (on and off campus), with 25% or less of instructional weeks spent online to accommodate specific activities, illness, weather etc. (3 weeks or less in a 13-week semester)
BlendedA learning experience that combines in-person and online delivery. Specific online or in-person meetings will be communicated by the instructor
• Courses that lend themselvesto a mixture of knowledge dissemination (e.g., lectures) and applied or collaborative learning. 
• Coursesin which alternating two or more smaller subgroups of students are beneficial. 
• KPU has 6 technology enhanced classrooms that may support students attending virtually and in person simultaneously if deemed appropriate by the instructor
• Minimum two meeting lines: one meeting line indicating the online component (may be synchronous or asynchronous); one meeting line indicating the recurring in-person day of week. 
• Up to a maximum of four in-person class meetings per term. Rooms are assigned for the selected dates only. 
• Sections with more than four inperson class meetings will have a fullterm date range scheduled and it is up to the instructor to communicate with the students the dates that they will be meeting in-person.
• A learning experience that combines in-person and online delivery to best suit the course learning outcomes. 
• The online portion is either synchronous or asynchronous. 
• Blended learning effectively integrates theory with practice, and promotes guided active learning, application and reflective practice
Online AsynchronousA learning experience delivered fully online with no scheduled meeting times. 

• Asynchronous learning occurs within broadly defined timelines and does not require real-time interaction between instructors and students. If a course has asynchronous elements, students will be able to access the relevant course materials at any time but will still need to follow schedules of work and meet deadlines for activities and assignments. Asynchronous activities require students to be more self-directed in reading, watching videos, and completing activities online to achieve the course outcomes, which may feel unfamiliar for students accustomed to classroom-based learning		• Cohort programs where relationships and learning skills are developed over time
 • Courses with a high proportion of students who cannot travel to campus. 
• Upper-level courses where students have acquired foundational knowledge and expert learner skills to support the needed autonomy
• One meeting line indicating the duration of the term, no days of week or times 
• No rooms assigned.
• A learning experience delivered fully online, asynchronously.
Online SynchronousA learning experience delivered fully online with scheduled meeting times. 
• Synchronous learning occurs at a designated day and time as per the published course timetable and involves real-time interaction between instructors and students. This may include live-streamed lectures, discussions, or question and answer periods. If a course has synchronous components students and instructors will need to be online during the scheduled days and times.
• Cohort programs where relationships and learning skills are developed over time 
• Courses with a high proportion of students who cannot travel to campus. 
• Upper-level courses where students have acquired foundational knowledge and expert learner skills to support the needed autonomy
• One meeting line indicating the duration of the term, with set day of week and time 
• No rooms assigned
• A learning experience delivered fully online, synchronously.
Online Asynchronous (Synchronous Exams)
Asynchronous online classes with synchronous (scheduled) online exams.
• Cohort programs where relationships and learning skills are developed over time
 • Courses with a high proportion of students who cannot travel to campus. 
• Upper-level courses where students have acquired foundational knowledge and expert learner skills to support the needed autonomy.
• Cohort programs where relationships and learning skills are developed over time
 • Courses where academic integrity breaches are high
• Online Asynchronous portion: One meeting line indicating the duration of the term, no days of week or times 
• Meeting line(s) indicating the set date and time of the online synchronous midterm and final exams. 
• No rooms assigned.
• Online Asynchronous portion: One meeting line indicating the duration of the term, no days of week or times
• Meeting line(s) indicating the set date and time of the midterm and/or final exams in-person. Rooms assigned for the in-person exam dates only.
• A learning experience delivered online, with in-person exams. There should be no less than one in- person exam, and inperson exams should not be cancelled once registration for the term has begun.
Online Synchronous (In-person Exams)
Synchronous online classes with synchronous (scheduled) in• Cohort programs where relationships and learning skills are developed over time
 • Courses where academic integrity breaches are high		• Online Synchronous portion: One meeting line indicating the duration of the term, with set day of week and time
• Meeting line(s) indicating the set date and time of the midterm and/or final exams in-person. Rooms assigned for the in-person exam dates only		• A learning experience delivered online, with in-person exams. There should be no less than one in-person exam, and in-person exams should not be cancelled once registration for the term has begun.


Some examples of Blended Delivery

  • Dividing the delivery model based on instructional time (e.g., alternating 50% of campus-based instructional time each week, with the other 50% delivered online)
    • One class per week: alternating weeks (odd or even)
    • Two or more classes per week: alternating meetings (i.e. Monday online, Wednesday in-person)
  •  Campus-based delivery forspecial/experiential activities only (e.g., labs, studios, equipment uses, practical components, etc.), up to a maximum of four in-person meeting dates per term (i.e. first Tuesday of each month). 


Additional recommendations/guidelines

  •  All students enrolled in the same course section should receive an equivalent and high-quality learning experience. Consequently, blended approaches that involve an asynchronous dissemination of lecture captures for passive uptake are not recommended. Rooming of sections with four (or less) inperson meeting dates will not take place until after round 3 rooming, therefore you are not guaranteed to have the same room for each session.  
  • Classes with linked components (i.e. 1 lecture and 1 lab) will select delivery methods for each section/CRN. 
  • If the purpose for students being in-person is only for midterm and final exams, this is not considered blended. Please select the online with in-person exams delivery method. 
  • Classes must continue to be scheduled in accordance with day/time meeting patterns in Procedures of Policy AR 17