Get Started with DE at GCC!

Make sure to read the Ticket Note in the Schedule of Classes before you choose to enroll.

100% Online Asynchronous Courses: An Asynchronous Online course is offered fully online. Students cannot be required to meet in person for orientations, homework, exams, distribution of resource materials, office hours, or any other course component. (Office hours are always offered synchronously, whatever the Distance Education modality but students are not required to attend). All course instructions, materials, assignments, and discussions are posted and completed online through the district’s Learning Management System, Canvas. Attendance is demonstrated through submission of student's work.

Remote Synchronous Online Courses: Synchronous Online classes (“Remote”) meet at designated times during the week through a teleconferencing medium such as Zoom. Students attend all scheduled classes as they would if the class were hosted in-person on a campus. Students are expected to be present during class sessions. Attendance is required.

Hybrid Courses: A Hybrid course is offered in a split format: A portion of the course may be offered Synchronously, either in-person on a campus or through a teleconferencing medium such as Zoom. The other portion of the course may be offered Asynchronously online, with online content and/or activities. A Hybrid course might also be split between in-person meetings on a campus and Remote Synchronous meetings through Zoom. The ratio of In-Person, Synchronous, and/or Asynchronous instruction is determined by the Division. Hybrid courses may involve an in-person/Zoom orientation and in-class/ Zoom exams. Ticket notes and syllabi will state these expectations clearly. Please check ticket notes before enrolling. Students are expected to be present for in-person/Zoom sessions. Attendance is required.

HyFlex Courses: A HyFlex course is offered on campus and simultaneously through Zoom, in specially equipped rooms that allow the instructor to teach a portion of the students in-person during regularly scheduled class times, while the remaining portion of the enrolled students attends “remote- synchronously” during the regularly scheduled class times via the LMS and the Internet. In some HyFlex classes, the two sets of students exchange situations regularly over the course of a semester. In other HyFlex designs, students who attend in-person do so throughout the semester, and students who attend Online do so throughout the semester. Students are expected to be present for all in-person/Zoom sessions. Please see the course ticket note for details. Attendance is required.

Proctored Online Courses (POC): Assignments and examinations in a Proctored Online Course will be submitted in an asynchronous manner, but students will be required to take tests at a proctoring facility or through the use of proctoring software. If you are required to take proctored examinations in-person on campus, your instructor will provide proctoring at GCC. Off -site proctoring services could be available at the discretion of the instructor. Ticket notes and syllabi will clearly state these expectations in advance. Use of cameras may be required. Please check ticket notes before enrolling. Attendance is required.

The course Check-In Assignment is a requirement for all distance education. A student must log into Canvas during the first week of an online/hybrid class and submit the Check-In Assignment by Wednesday at 11:59pm for 4-8 week classes and Thursday of the first week of instruction by 11:59pm for 10-16 week classes in order to remain in the class. The Check-In Assignment establishes "attendance" in an online/hybrid course. Logging into Canvas is not enough. The Check-In Assignment must be submitted on time to remain in the class. 

Once enrolled in an Online or Hybrid course, you will receive a Welcome Letter sent by the instructor 7 days before the semester begins to your GCC email account. Directions on how to log into Canvas and complete the Check-In Assignment will be in this Letter. 

DE Drop: The course Check-In Assignment is a requirement for all distance education. A student must log into Canvas during the first week of an online/hybrid class and submit the Check-In Assignment by Wednesday at 11:59pm for 4-8 week classes and Thursday of the first week of instruction by 11:59pm for 10-16 week classes to remain in the class.

DE Attendance: if a student misses two weeks' worth of assignments in an online class OR one weeks' worth of assignments and one weeks' worth of face-to-face lecture in a hybrid class (number determined by instructor and stated in the Syllabus), the student can be dropped due to lack of attendance. Attendance is not measured by 'logging into' Canvas - only by missed coursework.

In Distance Education courses, students receive direct instruction and feedback from their professors and move through their course at the same pace as their cohort of peers. Students interact with their peers and exchange ideas through weekly assignments and group projects as required by Title 5 Section 55204. These courses are recognized by the State of California as having instructional value and therefore students may earn transferrable credits through DE courses at GCC.

In contrast, Correspondence courses are pursued at the individual student's pace, without direct engagement from instructor or peers. Glendale Community College does not offer correspondence courses.(See the ACCJC policy on Correspondence education from January 2024 "Correspondence courses are not Distance Ed.")