Federal Requirement 4.8.1
Distance and Correspondence Education - Student Authentication
An institution that offers distance or correspondence education documents each of the following:
4.8.1 demonstrates that the student who registers in a distance or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the course or program and receives the credit by verifying the identity of a student who participates in class or coursework by using, at the option of the institution, methods such as (a) a secure login and pass code, (b) proctored examinations, or (c) new or other technologies and practices that are effective in verifying student identification.
Judgment of Compliance: Compliance
Narrative/Justification
for Judgment of Compliance:
Executive Summary
St. Petersburg College (SPC) complies with this requirement by verifying the identity of all students who participate in distance education and the online learning experience. SPC uses the most up-to-date technologies and practices to verify online student identity, employing remote proctoring services, and monitoring a student’s password creation to ensure that it is valid. We emphasize the importance of the password and user name by informing students at the time of password creation that they should protect their login information since it allows access to their student records and coursework; by presenting the College’s academic honesty policy for the student’s acceptance at the time of registration each term; by enforcing the student’s use of the secure login and password to access all coursework and tests; and by using proctored examinations.
Distance Learning at SPC
St. Petersburg College (SPC) was the first public institution in the state of Florida to offer an online degree, an A.S. in Veterinary Technology. SPC now offers a complete Associate of Arts Degree (A.A.) online, which transfers to bachelor’s programs at SPC and other colleges and universities. In addition to our programs available fully online, many programs offer a portion of their classes online. (See Program Modality List to view which programs are offered fully or partially online.) Nearly one-third of SPC students take all of their classes online. More than half of SPC students take at least one class online.
SPC consistently examines common practices to ensure that our online courses are rigorous and that they uphold the same academic integrity standards we expect in all modalities. One method employed to ensure integrity is proctored testing. In Spring term 2013 over 17,000 students were enrolled in 512 unique online courses. On-site testing served over 9,000 students, 386 tested via remote proctored testing (detailed in FR 4.8.3), and 1,482 arranged to be proctored at a non-SPC institution in their local area. Proctored testing is not currently mandated in all online courses, and some instructors choose to compare work and participation throughout the term with more complex final projects to validate that the work is all done by the registered student.
Establishing User Name and Password
Upon admission to the College, each student is issued a student number that is automatically generated by the PeopleSoft student system upon application. The student is prompted to establish a password of his or her choice. Guidelines appear during the password creation process to ensure that the password is of sufficient length and strength to aid the student in choosing a password that is resistant to hacking. Passwords must contain a combination of alpha and numeric characters, special characters, and capital letters, and be at least eight characters in length. The password set feature will not allow a password that does not meet the minimum standards. A password such as "aPsswrd7#" would be acceptable, while "pass12" would not. The screen to set or change a password displays the password construction guidelines, as shown here:
Once an acceptable password is entered, that password is used in conjunction with the student number as login ID to access SPC student records and course delivery systems.
Academic Honesty Policy
St. Petersburg College expects students to be honest in all of their academic work. By enrolling at the College, students agree to adhere to high standards of academic honesty and integrity and understand that failure to comply with this pledge may result in academic and disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the College. As members of the College community, students also have an ethical obligation to report violations of the SPC academic honesty policies they may witness.
Each semester, as students register for classes, they are required to acknowledge the Academic Honesty Policy by signing the following pledge found on both the registration and drop/add forms:
I understand that SPC expects its students to be honest in all of their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the College.
The policy is outlined in the Board Rule 6Hx23-4.461 and made available to students online in the student handbook, on the Student's Right to Know webpage, and on the eCampus Online Student Expectations webpage.
Student Identification and Proctored Testing
The student must produce a photo ID and provide their student number to obtain an SPC student photo identification card. These optional cards may be used as proof of identity when taking a proctored exam, though other forms of picture ID are also accepted. The advantage to the College of the student ID is that student ID photos are uploaded to our PeopleSoft student information system and are viewable by faculty via the class roster. Distant students living outside Pinellas County are able to obtain a student ID card by faxing or mailing in proof of identification, an acceptable photo, and their student number. Student ID cards are separate from the SPC OneCard used for disbursement of financial aid.
Protocols for Log In
MySPC is SPC’s student registration/records system. The MySPC User ID is the student ID number, and the password is the one chosen by the student at admission. That User ID/password combination is also used for login to the ANGEL Learning Management System (LMS) for access to online course materials.
Students in online classes complete their assessments online through ANGEL in a variety of ways. In the case of classes that test a student’s competency in performing a skill, web conferencing tools are embedded into the LMS to either record the student performing the skill, or to perform the skill such as a speech on a live synchronous session with the instructor and their peers. Many of our classes use proctored tests, including all science classes. Proctored exams are delivered via our ANGEL LMS. When a student takes a proctored exam, he/she must provide a picture ID, which may be the SPC student ID, a state ID such as a driver’s license, a military ID, etc. The options in location for taking a proctored test are detailed in FR 4.8.3.
Supporting Documentation
In order to preserve the integrity of the supporting documentation in case of updates occurring between the submission of this document and the review, the narrative above links to pdf versions, whereas live links are included below.