Academic Program Coordinators work with the Distance Education Program Manager to prepare the required SACS Approval/GA Authorization paperwork. They are also responsible for organizing the academic program and scheduling the courses to be delivered. As such, they are expected to:

• Identify, as early as possible, to the Director of Distance Education any proposed off-campus programs (including degrees, certificates, and add-on teacher licensures).
• Review the information provided on this website pertaining to planning, determining the start date/semester for the program/cohort, and the required approval/authorization procedures.
• Work, if assigned to do so, with the Distance Education Program Manager to prepare the appropriate G.A. authorization and SACS approval documents (including the preparation of the required SACS Faculty Roster) to plan and/or to establish any new off-campus programs at new or existing sites.
• Participate in an organization meeting of campus support units and representatives from other departments or colleges that are expected to contribute courses to the program.
• Collaborate with the assigned Distance Education Program Manager to identify possible populations to be considered in the recruitment of the particular cohort and to plan an appropriate marketing strategy.
• Be an integral part of all cohort promotional efforts and provide an appropriate academic overview of the proposed program in the way (face-to-face promotional meeting, written promotional materials, mailings, etc.) most appropriate to the cohort. The Academic Program Coordinator can expect that the Distance Education Program Manager will draft an academic overview as a PowerPoint presentation or written document for review and editing by the Academic Program Coordinator who is responsible for inserting the required [tentative] schedule of courses for the proposed cohort/program.
• Insure that the Academic Cohort Facilitator (if one is appointed) is fully informed of his/her responsibilities prior to the program start and will verify periodically that those responsibilities are being met in an acceptable way.
• Keep the Distance Education Program Manager informed of any information relative to pre-applicants and applicants who communicate directly with the academic department, enabling the Distance Education Program Manager to track contact with prospective applicants.
• Indicate to the Distance Education Program Manager the minimum number of admissions required to go forward with the cohort as proposed and the maximum number of students to be accepted into a particular cohort. Deans set the minimum numbers and should communicate this number to the department chair who inform the Academic Program Coordinator.
• Inform the Distance Education Program Manager, as soon as possible of the decision to cancel a cohort due to insufficient interest and applications. Graduate Academic Program Coordinators should inform the applicants of the decision and indicate to the Distance Education Program Manager if the involvement in the process (e.g. cosign the letter) of the program manager or the Director of Distance Education is desired.
• Will explore, for the assigned undergraduate cohort, with the Distance Education Program Manager options for offering any lower-division (cognate/foundation) degree program course(s) required for which a large majority of the students admitted to the cohort have a deficiency. Possibilities include: online offerings through any regionally accredited institutions, community college coursework arranged by the Distance Education Program Manager, discussions by the Academic Program Coordinator with the applicable Appalachian State University academic department to offer the coursework (this option should not be pursued in the case of face-to-face course instruction until the community college has indicated that it cannot or will not offer the course for the cohort). The Academic Program Coordinator should work closely with Distance Education Program Manager to explore the options and follow up on progress.
• Will address all student requests to be added to existing cohorts or to enroll in existing cohort classes, and ensure that the Distance Education Program Manager is kept apprised of any approved additions through the use of the electronic approval forms. Students not admitted to distance education cohorts are not permitted to enroll in cohort classes without the consent (via the electronic registration request forms) of the Academic Program Coordinator.  The form for main campus students seeking registration in a Distance Ed. class is available at: http://extension.appstate.edu/request.php.  The form for Distance Ed. students seeking registration in another cohort's class/es is available at:  http://extension.appstate.edu/request_c2c.php. 
• Set the schedule of courses for the cohort as described in the SACS Prospectus (approval document) and subsequently insure that it is followed.
• Serve as the initial contact with faculty assigned to off-campus courses, assuring that instructors assigned to teach the courses as scheduled for all cohorts in the program are aware of the assignment and agree to review the Faculty Handbook (for Distance Education Teaching).
• Insure that chairpersons of all of the “contributing” academic departments from which off-campus courses will be delivered for the cohort are made aware, well before the schedule building process for the semester begins, of the need to staff upcoming courses and to meet deadlines for completing the Distance Education Course Request Form that triggers Banner course set-ups and room requests to off-campus sites.
• Assume responsibility for insuring that the web-based Course Request Form is completed by the assigned faculty member and submitted, by the stated deadline, to the Office of Distance Education to guarantee that room requests to off-campus sites are possible as early as possible and to enable Banner course set-ups by the deadline.
• Inform faculty assigned to teach off-campus courses (at the time the assignment is made) about the Distance Learning Library Services. The Academic Program Coordinator will insure that the library resources orientation is incorporated into a class session during the first or second term of the cohort (The Academic Program Coordinator and/or the faculty member of the course will contact Martha Kreszock at kreszock@appstate.edu , Coordinator of the Distance Learning Library Services, to arrange the library resources orientation whether it be delivered onsite or via an online guide.)
• Will notify the Distance Learning Library Services Team by contacting Martha Kreszock, Coordinator of the Distance Learning Library Services, of Academic Program Facilitator assignments.
• Insure that each cohort receives an adequate orientation to library resources and support.
• Insure that any changes to the Academic Coordinator List are communicated to Distance Education, via the web-based update form as soon as possible.
• Will insure, for assigned graduate cohorts, that each student’s Program of Study and Admission to Candidacy forms is completed in a timely manner. In cases where an Academic Cohort Facilitator has been assigned to the cohort, the Academic Program Coordinator will communicate this responsibility to the Academic Program Facilitator to insure that the forms are completed.
• See that no more than 5 cohorts are assigned to any one Academic Cohort Facilitator.
• Manage and troubleshoot student issues related to conduct and academic integrity as identified by the faculty member or Academic Cohort Facilitator.