The Information Quality and the Information Science tracks of the Ph.D. can be completed online though the online campus. Your course lectures, class discussions, and learning materials will be delivered via Blackboard Course Content Management Software and the Collaborate Ultra Webcasting technology. Course lecture presentations are accompanied by audio capabilities to enhance the learning experience. Each course has its own site that will be an important guide for you throughout the semester.

Whether you take your classes remotely or in person at a scheduled time, you are considered a regular member of the IQ program and must fulfill the same curriculum requirements as an on-campus student. Instructors do have the option of altering requirements for distance learning students, but the course will otherwise be the same in terms of its content and rigor.

Enrolling in an Online Course – Information Quality

For the IQ program, we have developed a distance technology model that permits students to attend their IQ classes either in person or online. Students attending online will be able to see the course materials being presented on the classroom screen, hear the conversions in the classroom, and be able to ask questions and participate in discussions along with the students sitting physically in the classroom. Instructors will record each class meeting so that students can revisit any part of any class meeting at any time.

Fully web enabled class will be available for all regularly listed information quality and information science courses each semester. Because students can either take the class in person or online, no differentiation is made between these web-enabled courses and traditional courses on students’ transcripts. As long as enrollment does not exceed the physical class size, students can choose for any given semester whether to attend physically or online.

Note: Students enrolled in the Online Campus must complete all of their courses online. Students may only switch between Main Campus and the Online Campus one time per calendar year.

Students admitted to the online tracks can only enroll in courses that offer “9Ux” sections. For example, INFQ 7303-9U1, is the online section of INFQ 7303, Principles of Information Quality. Students not in the online tracks can still enroll in certain types of  “webcast” sections to accommodate schedule constraints if they are not required to attend all classes in-person, e.g. international students on F-1 or J-1 visas. Students enrolled in webcast sections may still be expected to come to the classroom for exams, presentations, or activities for which the instructor requires attendance. Please review the course syllabus or contact the course instructor if you have any questions.

Online and on-campus courses cannot be mixed during the semester. Students in the online program can only enroll in 9U sections. However, students can change admission between semesters. For example, if a student begins the program in Little Rock as an on-campus student, but later is transferred to another state by her employer, she can change her admission to online and continue her program remotely.

Blended Online Model

The online program for the Computer and Information Sciences Ph.D. program is a blended, concurrent webcast model. When the instructor begins the class, which has a scheduled meeting time, they begin the live webcast and also records the session. Online students can join the live webcast and interact with the instructor and other students in the class, or listen to the session recording later.

Assignment deadlines for online and on-campus students are the same. This includes exams. If an on-campus exam is proctored, then online students are required to use a proctor. The student is responsible for finding and nominating a proctor from a recognized proctoring organization such as a local college or university or a commercial proctoring service. UA Little Rock Testing Services will validate the proctor nomination, and if approved, will send a copy of the exam and administration instructions for the proctor to give to the student. Remote students are responsible for scheduling their exam as close as practical to the day and time of the on-campus exam. Students are also responsible for any associated fees or costs.

International Students

International students can only enroll in the online program if they participate in the courses while residing in their home country, and as such, are not required to apply for a F-1 or other type of U.S. student visa.

Finding a Proctor

If you are a remote student (i.e. you do not live within 50 miles of the Little Rock area) you are responsible for finding your own proctor at a library, community college, or university in your area. Your nomination is subject approval by the IQ program coordinator.