Reading time: 2 min.
Video time: 20:36 min.

AP 4105 Background

AP 4105 is the closest thing MiraCosta has to its own "regulations" about distance education. Most California Community Colleges have an AP 4105 or equivalent, and they share many commonalities. But don't take for granted that if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all - the details can vary a lot from college to college.

At MiraCosta, AP 4105 is "steered" to the Courses & Programs Committee, and then to the Academic Senate. That means CPC has primary responsibility for making any changes to AP 4105, and the Academic Senate must approve those changes prior to final review by the College Council. In practice, CPC typically also relies on input from the MiraCosta Online Educators (MOE, a subcommittee of the Academic Senate) when considering updates to AP 4105.

The major external references that inform AP 4105 are federal, state, and accreditor standards for distance education, which are all reviewed in more detail in the next module. AP 4105's revision history:

2010, original creation
2013, to ensure compliance with accreditor expectations for distance education
2019-20, to align with Title 5 changes made in spring 2019
2020-21, to align with federal DE regulatory changes
Spring 2022, to align with Title 5 DE regulation updates which were made to harmonize with the updated federal DE regulations.

Why Should You Care About AP 4105?

Well, when a course is approved for offering via distance education at MiraCosta, the department proposing the course agrees that all online and hybrid sections of that course will be taught in accordance with this AP. There are other documents (namely the MiraCosta Online Class Quality Guidelines) which provide interpretive guidance to faculty regarding compliance with AP 4105, but there's really no substitute for familiarity with the original, and the detailed requirements that it provides.

If you haven't already opened AP 4105 in a new tab, you may wish to do so. Then watch my videos below where I guide you through some of the key areas of the AP:

Overview of AP 4105 in general, and examination of the first two sections
Overview of the middle section of AP 4105, which covers expectations of departments when proposing DE courses, and instructors, when teaching DE course sections
Overview of the final section of AP 4105, which describes institutional responsibilities for quality DE

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