Distance Education Committee
Purpose and Functions
UNT Health Fort Worth adheres to the rules and notification procedures established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the conduct and approval of distance education. UNT Health follows the Principles of Good Practice for Academic Degree and Certificate Programs and Credit Courses Offered Electronically. Approval of online courses uses the Quality Matters rubric and review process.
Distance education is defined as a course in which more than 50% of the contact hours are offered asynchronously or at a distance where faculty and students are not in the same location. Faculty who plan to offer distance education courses must follow the Distance Education and Course Development Policy. Once a course is approved by the college/school, the course director or instructor should contact their school’s representative to the Distance Education Committee (DEC) for guidance.
Process for Course Approvals
Approval Requirement: All new distance education (DE) courses must be approved by the DEC before course development begins.
Submission Timeline – Faculty must submit an "Approval to Develop Form" to the DEC at least 20 weeks before the intended course start date. Once approved, the Division of Academic Innovation (DAI) will assign an instructional designer to support the development process.
Quality Matters (QM) Review – When the course is fully developed, faculty must notify DAI via email to initiate a Quality Matters review. This request must be submitted at least four weeks prior to the course start date.
For courses beginning in January, the QM review request must be submitted by November 15 due to the winter holiday schedule.
Faculty should plan ahead, as developing a fully online course typically requires a minimum of four months. DEC processing timelines may vary depending on workload and meeting schedules, so early submission is strongly encouraged.
The required forms are available through the school’s DEC representative or via the DEC SharePoint (accessible with UNT Health login credentials).
If you have any questions about these processes, please contact canvas@unthealth.edu.
Bobbie Bratton
DEC RepresentativeCollege of Nursing
Vacant
DEC RepresentativeCollege of Public Health
Tina Machu
DEC RepresentativeCollege of Pharmacy
Kristen Barta
DEC RepresentativeCollege of Health Professions
Lin Nelson
DEC RepresentativeTexas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Joseph Malaer
DEC RepresentativeCollege of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Card Title
Some quick example text to build on the card title and make up the bulk of the card's content.
CTA Link
Vacant
DEC Committee
College of Public Health
Bobbie Bratton
DEC Committee
College of Nursing
Joseph Malaer
DEC Committee
College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Kristen Barta
DEC Committee
College of Health Professions
Robert Haight
DEC Committee
UAA (Ex-Officio Member)
Elizabeth Speer
DEC Committee
Library
Tina Machu
DEC Committee
College of Pharmacy
Lin Nelson
DEC Committee
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Brenda Wilson
DEC Committee
Division of Academic Innovation
Nancy Staples
DEC Committee
Senior Operations Analyst Office of the Provost (Ex-Officio Member)
Honor Parks
DEC Committee
Division of Academic Innovation (Ex-Officio Member)
LaTarra Lewis
DEC Committee
Enrollment, Records, and Registrar
John McKenzie
DEC Committee
Division of Academic Innovation
Adria Battaglia
DEC Committee
Division of Academic Innovation (Ex-Officio Member)