Minutes & Reports of the Distance & Blended Learning Committee

New Online or Blended Course Proposal Form: PDF

Distance & Blended Learning Committee

Minutes of the 8 February 2013 Meeting

UMW Distance & Blended Learning Committee

Report on Online Courses Proposed for Spring 2013 Semester

October 1, 2012

 The Distance & Blended Learning Committee received ten proposals for online courses to be offered beginning in the Spring 2013 semester.  Nine of the ten courses were approved, seven from the College of Education and two from the College of Arts & Sciences.  These courses were:

• Suzanne Houff, EDCI 589: Applied Research
• Nicole Meyers,  EDSE 538: Methods of Teaching and Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Nicole Meyers, EDSE 535: Collaborative and Consultation and Life Planning
• Teresa Coffman, INDT 501: Instructional Technology
• Teresa Coffman, EDCI500:  Teaching and the Development of the Learner
• Teresa Coffman, EDCI506:  Foundations of American Education
• Jane Huffman, EDCI506:  Foundations of American Education
• Donald Rallis, GEOG 101:  Regional Geography
• Alan Levine, CPSC 106: Digital Story Telling

The tenth proposal was returned with detailed suggestions for improvement.  The committee remains available to help faculty interested in developing an online course or writing a successful proposal.

Note that the deadline for proposals for online courses to be taught beginning in the Summer 2013 term is November 1.

Distance & Blended Learning Committee

Minutes of the 21 August 2012 Meeting

Present Lisa Ames (Lisa), Gail Brooks (Gail), Kevin Caffrey (Kevin), Teresa Coffman (Teresa), Greta Franklin (Greta), Steve Greenlaw (Steve), Jim Groom (jim),  Alan Heffner (Alan), Mary Kayler (Mary), John Morello (John), Tim O’Donnell (Tim), Marjorie Och (Marjorie), Ron Zacharski (Ron)

1. Steve says there are two things to get done today: a meeting schedule for the semester and deal with the new procedures for vetting online courses. We will start with the new procedures.

2. We reviewed both the new Proposal Form for majority online courses and the Online Course Authorization form. John Morello says that, in addition to meeting curriculum requirements this is designed to meet three new Federal requirements. Faculty will submit this form to the Registrar when the course will be offered. The form has two options. If the course is managed via Canvas, the faculty member needs to only fill out the first page and have it signed by the instructor and department chair. If the course uses an alternative to Canvas, the instructor needs to provide more detailed information about how the course meets the federal requirements and have the form signed by the chair, college dean, provost, and chief information officer. Marjorie asked if we use Canvas and in addition, other online resources, which option should we select. John says that in that case we would select the first–that the course is managed in Canvas. Alan asked how the Honor Code could be used to satisfy the Federal requirement that schools guarantee the identity of the individuals taking an online course. John says that the Honor Code is not an accepted way of dealing with the Federal requirements. John says we want a process that prevents, for example, a mother from taking the course for her daughter. Gail asked if there was a place on campus where students can take proctored exams requiring a photo ID–a proctored lab. In this way, only the proctor has the password and students don’t have access to passwords.

3. John next presented the Online Course Authorization Policy which he says pulls all the pieces together.  He says it is basically a verbalized articulation of the forms. Jim asked whether the Deans of education and business will approve this policy. John says both deans already approved it.  Teresa asked the forms need be submitted each time an online course is offered by a new faculty member.  The answer is yes; both the instructor and the course need to be approved.  If the course has already been approved, but the instructor has not then the forms must be submitted. In addition, every semester a majority online course is offered, the online course authorization form needs to be sent to the Registrar. This will start for courses offered in Spring 2013. Every majority online course, including those that have been offered in the past, needs to go through approval process.  Gail asked if there are SACS requirements related to instructor training, i.e. do faculty teaching online need to be trained?  The answer is no, but it is assumed that faculty are trained. John says there are five things that reviewers are instructed to look at:

• The relation between course and mission
• The organizational structure of any online programs
• Institutional effectiveness
• Curriculum and instruction
• Faculty – Are they sufficiently prepared to teach?

4. Steve asked when faculty should submit the online course authorization form. John says when the schedule is due. Kevin identified 28 September as the final date for online courses to be taught in the Spring 2013 semester. Since nothing is grandfathered in, the committee should expect to receive about 15 applications this month (Steve says UMW has offered about 50 online courses per year).

5. Steve asked for a vote to approve the form. The form was approved.

6. Tim says the compliance report is due to SACS by 10 September.

7. Steve says he will present this at the Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education Faculty Senate Meetings on 7 September.

8. We agreed to have a 14 September deadline for faculty to submit the “Proposal for Teaching a Majority Online Course” to our committee. We will turn them around by the 28th. Hopefully we can do this online. Teresa wonders whether we should have a tentative meeting date in case we do need to discuss some of the proposals.  We agreed.  Steve will send out a doodle poll to come up with potential meeting times.