For school owners · Accreditation
NACCAS Policy VI.02: Distance Education Requirements
If your institution offers distance education, Policy VI.02 sets five things your policy must contain. They are short, specific, and every one of them is a system requirement rather than a document requirement — which is why schools tend to fail them with a compliant-looking binder.
The 50% cap is not in this policy
It is widely repeated that NACCAS limits distance education to 50% of a programme. We read Policy VI.02 in full — five elements, no percentage — and searched the complete policy set III.01 through IX.02, where “50%” appears once, in a refund table.
The 50% figures are set by states independently: Texas at 50% and Alabama at 50%. Neither rule cites the other, and neither cites the accreditor for the number.
The five required elements, verbatim
Curriculum: Policy on Distance Education — January 2017. Quoted from the policy, with what each one actually demands of your systems.
“The interaction with the instructor must be validated by measurable participation (clock hour, credit hour, or competency based) in the academic programs”
What it means operationally
Watching a video is not participation. The school has to be able to show a measurable, instructor-linked record for every distance hour it grants.
“All assessments that will be used for calculating a student's GPA must be executed while the student is physically on campus”
What it means operationally
Remote theory delivery is permitted; remote graded assessment is not. Any online quiz that feeds a GPA breaks this.
“The student participates in learning activities while physically present at the contracted campus at least once every 10 business days for the length of a scheduled class day as outlined in the enrollment contract”
What it means operationally
A hard attendance floor. A student cannot go a fortnight without a full day on campus, and the interval has to be written into the enrolment contract.
“All transcripts or other documents, (official or unofficial), listing academic attainment received must identify the distance education component”
What it means operationally
Distance hours have to be separable on the transcript — which means the system of record has to distinguish them from the first hour recorded, not reconstruct them later.
“Prior to enrollment, students are provided with a disclaimer that academic achievement earned via distance education may not be accepted for reciprocity or eligible for licensure in other states. A signed and dated copy of this disclosure must be found in the student file”
What it means operationally
A signed artefact per student, held in the file. This is the requirement Alabama's 2026 rule restates almost word for word.
The policy also states plainly that an institution's distance education policy “must be in compliance with all local, state and federal laws and regulations and NACCAS Standards and Criteria” — so these stack on top of your state's rules rather than replacing them. You meet the stricter of the two on every dimension.
What a Texas school has to satisfy, combined
- No more than 50% of total course hours delivered at a distance, theory only — 16 TAC §83.202(e)(1)
- Distance hours tracked by the same verification method as in-person attendance — TDLR
- Hours reported electronically per student in the manner the department prescribes — TDLR
- Instructor interaction validated by measurable participation — NACCAS element 1
- All GPA-bearing assessment taken physically on campus — NACCAS element 2
- Student on campus at least once every 10 business days, per the enrolment contract — NACCAS element 3
- Distance component identified separately on every transcript — NACCAS element 4
- Signed, dated reciprocity disclaimer in every student file — NACCAS element 5
Eight obligations, each evidenced per student, across two authorities that audit separately. Note how many are about the record rather than the teaching — which is the part a learning management system either does from day one or cannot retrofit.
Common Questions
Does NACCAS cap distance education at 50%?
No — not in Policy VI.02. That policy contains five elements and none of them is a percentage limit, and the complete NACCAS policy set III.01 through IX.02 contains "50%" only once, inside a refund table. The 50% figures in Texas and Alabama are set by those states independently. If a vendor or consultant tells you the accreditor sets 50%, ask them which policy number says so.
How often must a distance education student be physically on campus?
At least once every 10 business days, for the length of a scheduled class day, and the interval must be set out in the enrolment contract. This is element 3 of NACCAS Policy VI.02 and it is a hard floor — a student cannot go a fortnight without a full day on campus.
Can graded assessments be taken online?
Not if they count toward GPA. Policy VI.02 element 2 requires that all assessments used for calculating a student's GPA be executed while the student is physically on campus. Remote theory delivery is permitted; remote GPA-bearing assessment is not.
Do distance hours have to be shown separately on a transcript?
Yes. Element 4 requires that all transcripts and other documents listing academic attainment — official or unofficial — identify the distance education component. In practice that means your system of record has to distinguish distance hours from the first hour recorded, because reconstructing the split afterwards is not reliable and will not survive an audit.
What disclosure must students sign before enrolling?
A disclaimer that academic achievement earned via distance education may not be accepted for reciprocity or eligible for licensure in other states. Element 5 requires it be provided prior to enrolment and that a signed and dated copy be held in the student file. Alabama's 2026 rule restates this requirement almost word for word.
How does NACCAS Policy VI.02 interact with my state's rules?
It stacks. The policy states that an institution's distance education policy must comply with all local, state and federal laws and regulations as well as NACCAS Standards and Criteria — so you meet the stricter of the two on every dimension. Texas caps distance delivery at 50% of course hours and requires the same tracking method as in-person attendance; NACCAS adds on-campus assessment, the 10-business-day presence interval, transcript separation and the signed disclaimer.