COP 03-0801: Online Certifications

Purpose Statement

This COP outlines the online certification requirements for faculty.

Guidelines

This College Operating Procedure (COP) establishes the certification requirements for all faculty members to ensure instructional readiness across various modalities, including emergency remote teaching and online instruction.

Certification Requirements:

The following table outlines certification requirements for faculty. Faculty members are eligible to teach in the respective instructional modality once they have successfully completed the required certification(s).

Certification Descriptions:

Emergency Remote Ready – This one-time certification is required for all instructors, regardless of modality, and must be completed before the first day of the fall term. The asynchronous, self-paced training prepares faculty to transition to remote instruction during unforeseen circumstances. The primary focus of the certification is the development of a personalized Emergency Operations Plan. The training offers optional skill-building in Canvas and Zoom, alongside a comprehensive review of crucial support resources available to both faculty and students. Upon completion, faculty will have a ready-to-implement plan for continuing instruction remotely when unexpected situations arise.

Online Teaching Certification – This certification ensures online instructors are competent in the use of the Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas and agree to uphold FSW's expectations for online instruction as outlined in COP 03-0805 Online Instruction. It is required for courses that are dependent on Canvas whether synchronous or asynchronous. The certification is earned upon completion of the Growing with Canvas course.

Live Online Certification – This certification ensures competency of the College's adopted web conferencing platform, Zoom, and assesses knowledge of FSW's Standards for Virtual Classrooms. It is required for modalities that use synchronous remote instruction via a virtual classroom. The certification is earned upon completion of the Blooming with Zoom course.

Procedures

1. Faculty interested in teaching a course that includes online learning should discuss qualifications, academic credentials, certification requirements, and a completion timeline with their academic dean, program director, or department chair.
2. The faculty member submits a request form for enrollment in the certification course.
3. Once enrolled, faculty will receive instructions and expectations for completing the certification process.
4. Certification requirements must be completed before the instructor can teach in an online modality. Completion of the certification process is not a guarantee of a teaching assignment.

Ongoing Professional Development to Support Continued Online Certification:

It is essential for faculty teaching courses with online components to remain up-to-date on pedagogical best practices and learning technologies given the rapidly changing online learning environment. Faculty are expected to maintain a commitment to high-quality online teaching by:

1. Documenting professional development activities related to online pedagogy or educational technologies in their teaching portfolios. Examples of activities that satisfy this requirement include, but are not limited to:
   • Participating in professional development workshops, webinars, or courses.
   • Facilitating workshops or webinars for online instructors.
   • Attending conferences on educational technologies, course design or online pedagogy.
   • Completion of courses in distance learning, online instruction, digital accessibility and/or technology.