Council for Online Education (COE)

Joint governance of online education at SMU — connecting academic leadership from the Provost’s Office with functional course production services from OIT’s Academic Technology Services to ensure institutional quality, compliance, and strategic direction for all online courses and programs.

Overview

The Council for Online Education (COE) is SMU's joint governance body responsible for the strategic direction, institutional policy, and quality oversight of online education. Established in 2022, the COE brings together academic leadership from the Provost's Office and functional leadership from OIT's Academic Technology Services to ensure that online courses and programs meet institutional standards of rigor, integrity, and compliance.

The COE operates at the Functional Level of SMU's Information Technology Governance framework, reporting to the IT Leadership Council (ITLC) and coordinating with the Faculty Technology Council (FTC) on matters of academic technology strategy.

The COE's faculty-oversight and operational advisory function is exercised by the FTC Online Education Sub-Committee — a permanent sub-committee of the Faculty Technology Council that has operated within FTC governance since 2022. The Sub-Committee meets monthly with school-level representation to coordinate quality standards, course-review framework, and cross-institutional communication for online education. Note on terminology: the Sub-Committee was previously known as the Online Education Steering Team (OESTE); legacy documentation may reference that name. Both names refer to the same governance function.

Charter & Mandate

COE CHARTER — ESTABLISHED 2022; REFRESHED MAY 2026

The Council for Online Education (COE) is charged with providing institutional governance over SMU's online education portfolio. The COE is a joint effort formally representing academic leadership from the Provost's Office and functional course production leadership from OIT's Academic Technology Services.

The COE is specifically charged to:

  • Set institutional priorities and strategic direction for online education aligned with SMU's mission and academic plan
  • Establish and maintain institutional policies, definitions, and rules governing the development and delivery of online courses and programs
  • Approve and oversee central online production resource allocation and work priorities for OIT's Online Production Services (OPS)
  • Adopt, codify, and enforce a common institutional quality standard for all online courses — currently the Quality Matters (QM) Higher Education Rubric
  • Require that all online courses achieve a minimum score of 85% on the QM rubric, with all non-negotiable standards met, before initial delivery
  • Mandate a five-year QM re-review cycle for all approved online courses to ensure continued compliance
  • Mandate a five-year online faculty certification renewal cycle, requiring faculty teaching online to re-certify through QM training and technology orientation
  • Receive and act upon aggregate quality, compliance, and pipeline reports from OPS and the FTC Online Education Sub-Committee
  • Ensure institutional compliance with applicable accreditation standards for online and distance education

Meeting Cadence

The COE has met regularly since its establishment in 2022. The Council convenes quarterly or as necessary, with the FTC Online Education Sub-Committee carrying the monthly operational coordination role under FTC governance authority. The COE may convene additional sessions at the request of any member when time-sensitive policy decisions or institutional compliance matters require executive attention.

Chair

Formal chair designation is pending. The COE operates as a collaborative body with shared leadership across Academic Affairs and OIT.

Next: Governance Structure