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Office of Online & Distance Learning

Distance Education

Don’t live in Peoria or don’t have time to come to campus? At Bradley, we offer multiple programs to study online in a variety of options. Choose from any one of our degree programs to further your knowledge and build your career. Gain real-world experience starting on day one.

Online Programs Continuing Education and Professional Development

Distance education (DE) is education that uses one or more types of technology to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously.

The technologies that may be used to offer distance education include:

  • The internet
  • One-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communications devices
  • Audio conference
  • Other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in items 1–3 above

Detailed Bradley course-type definitions can be found by clicking here.

Source: Higher Learning Commission

Institutions are expected to ensure regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors in their distance education and competency-based education offerings. An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors by, prior to the student’s completion of a course or competency:

  1. Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
  2. Monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.

Substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following:

  1. Providing direct instruction;
  2. Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework;
  3. Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
  4. Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or
  5. Other instructional activities approved by HLC or the program’s accrediting agency.

Source: Higher Learning Commission

State Authorization

Bradley University aims to comply with all requirements issued by states and U.S. territories regarding the operation of a higher education institution. This is known as “state authorization.” As part of this effort Bradley works with online students pursuing licensure outside of the state of Illinois to ensure that they are successfully working towards that goal.

Bradley is a member of The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). NC-SARA seeks to improve distance education by providing valuable oversight of distance education programs. In addition, participation in NC-SARA improves the coordination of higher educational opportunities between states making it easier for student access distance education programs across state lines.

As a participant in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), Bradley has agreed to abide by the SARA student complaint process. Students should first submit a formal complaint internally following Bradley’s complaint policy.

Students need to be aware that requirements for certification and licensure may be different from state-to-state. If a student moves, they are required to update their address through the MyOnline portal. Students are responsible for determining the licensure or certification requirements in any state where they live or plan to relocate to. If a student plans to practice in a state other than where they reside, they are responsible for understanding those specific educational and other requirements, for licensure and certification.

Students who intend to relocate to a different state should visit Bradley’s State Disclosures webpage to determine if Bradley University offers the program in the student’s new state.

This issue can understandably be challenging to students working as travel Nurses, who serve in the military, or are married to someone in the military. Students who anticipate residing in different states while taking classes are encouraged to work closely with their Academic Advisor and Program Director.

Bradley’s is not authorized to operate online programs in any country outside the United States. With few exceptions, students who move to another country should plan to step out of their program until they return.

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