Potential provider districts (school district, open-enrollment charter school, public or private institution of higher education, or Education Service Center) will complete one TxVSN Provider District Application, as well as a TxVSN Course Review Submittal Form for each course they are submitting for review. Once accepted as an eligible provider district by TxVSN Central Operations, Region 4 will indicate to the provider the course(s) that have been accepted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for review.
A course review will consist of evaluating one online course whether it is a single semester course or a full year course. However, a provider district may submit an Algebra 1A (first semester) course and an Algebra 1B (second semester) course in tandem. Although these courses will be reviewed individually against the National Standards, reviewers will use data from both courses to determine overall course TEKS alignment. The applicable fee will be for a full year course as opposed to two completely separate single semester course reviews. See Course Review Fee below for applicable fees.
For each course accepted for review the provider district will complete the TxVSN Course Review Access Form provided by Region 4. This form will provide course location, login, and basic requirement information for the review team. The provider district will also complete the Course Review Questionnaire as a supplement to the review process. These electronic documents will be provided by Region 4 at the onset of the course review.
Courses selected for review will then be assigned to review teams. Review teams will consist of three trained and approved reviewers for each course. Reviewers will independently review courses thoroughly using a TEKS Alignment Instrument and a National Standards Instrument to determine if each course meets the establish requirements for inclusion in the TxVSN. To help potential provider districts understand the criteria their courses will be reviewed against, they may download the following documents as a guide: National Standards of Quality for Online Courses, National Standards Supplemental Document detailing the standards, and a sample TEKS Alignment Document.
Region 4 will provide course review results to the TEA and the provider district. All review results will remain confidential during the review process.
Review results will summarize where, if at all, a course does not meet expectations/requirements and possible suggestions for improvement. Review results will be categorized into an overall rating for the course as follows:
- Approved – Course may be placed into the TxVSN online catalog.
- Approved With Modifications – Provider district will make minor modifications indicated within 45 days of review results. Modifications will be checked by reviewers. After reviewer approval, course may be placed into the TxVSN online catalog.
- Not Approved Major Modifications – Provider district will make major modifications to the course and re-submit the same course for a second full review within 6 months at no additional fee.
- Not Approved – Course will not be used as it is in the TxVSN. For course to be considered again, the provider district will need to modify and resubmit course for full review.
Note: A course requiring any modifications may be resubmitted for review no more than 3 times in a 24 month period.
Course Review Fee
Course review fees have currently been waived for the 2008-2009 school year. Information about future fee structures for course reviews will be forth coming.
A provider district that submits an electronic course for approval must pay a fee in the amount established by the commissioner. The fee shall be waived if the provider district applies for approval of an electronic course that was developed independently by the district, school, institution, or ESC or if a provider district has permanently purchased an electronic course and made significant course TEKS enhancements and instructional features to this course.
An electronic course is developed independently by a district, school, institution, or ESC if an employee of that provider is responsible for developing each aspect of the course, including:
- Determining the curriculum elements to be included in the course
- Selecting instructional materials for the course
- Determining the manner in which instruction is to be delivered
- Creating a lesson plan or similar description of the instructional aspects of the course
- Determining any special projects or assignments a student in the course must complete
- Determining the manner in which a student’s progress in the course will be measured