Body
| Procedure Title | Online Course Design |
| Procedure Number | 03-0802 |
| Originating Department | Academic Affairs/VPAA |
| Board Policy | n/a |
| Florida Statute | n/a |
| Florida Administrative Code | 6A-14.0411(3); 6A-14.0304 |
| Effective Date | 6/1/2010 |
| Date(s) Reviewed/Revised | 2/5/2011; 3/1/2011; 10/16/2017; 2/23/2021; 1/10/2025 |
Purpose Statement
This COP defines the process for course development and course redesign for courses requiring online content.
Guidelines
Online Course Development, Online Course Redesign
The course design and development process is crucial to the success of all asynchronous online courses. Course development projects fall into one of two categories: (a) a course that is being developed for the first time as an asynchronous online course; (b) an online course that is being redeveloped due to a quality review, a substantial change in course materials, or a substantial change in curriculum. The process for selecting courses for development is detailed in the Online Course Quality Assurance Plan and the Collective Negotiations Agreement (CNA).
Online departmental courses are created through a collaborative development process between the Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) Learning Technologies team of Instructional Designers and qualified Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)/faculty developers. The full course development process includes course design planning, creation of accessible course content, and a thorough peer review. The successful completion of all course developments is contingent on the timely creation and submission of content by the SME. Project requests submitted less than 20 weeks from the desired term start are not guaranteed to be completed and may result in the postponement of the course development. All new online courses must be evaluated using the Quality Matters (QM) rubric and must meet the Quality Matters Review Expectations to be placed on the schedule.
A "Departmental Course" at FSW is a carefully designed, standardized online course template that serves as the foundation for all online, asynchronous sections of a particular course. All new online instructors are expected to teach from a "Departmental Course." Faculty may personalize a "Departmental Course" to incorporate their unique teaching style, but should not make significant changes to the course content. Experienced online faculty interested in developing their own online course should consult with their Dean, Department Chair, and/or Program Director about creating an "Individual Course" as defined in Article 8 of the CNA.
Procedures
- To initiate the course development process, the Academic Dean, in collaboration with the faculty, Department Chair/Program Director/Program Coordinator, and FSW Online administration will identify courses for online development in accordance with the CNA and submit the Online Course Development Request form.
- One or more SMEs (no more than 3) will be selected for the redesign or development based on online certification, online teaching experience, course development experience and interest. The SME(s) must be certified to teach online and complete the DEV 101 online course development certification course in accordance with the CNA. Interested faculty will fill out an application for faculty developer and submit to the Academic Dean/Supervising Administrator for approval.
- An instructional designer will be assigned to all approved course developments for departmental courses and is available by request for all other course developments. The instructional designer will assist the SME with developing a course that meets the expectations of the Quality Matters (QM) Higher Education Standards for Course Design. A project launch meeting will occur between the instructional designer(s) and the SME(s) to create a development timeline and to clearly define the responsibilities of each stakeholder.
- In order to successfully complete a departmental online course development by the desired term start, the SME(s) agree to:
- Meet the timelines for project development. Reasonable delays may be accommodated.
- Work with the assigned instructional designer to design and develop a course that will meet QM Standards for Course Design.
- In accordance with the CNA, all new or redesigned online course developments will be internally reviewed using the QM Higher Ed Rubric and must meet QM standards to be placed on the schedule. Faculty developers must maintain the course, update materials, and ensure accuracy for a five-year period at which time the course will be reviewed as part of the Online Course Quality Assurance Plan review cycle, with potential for earlier reviews if significant changes to learning outcomes, materials, or format occur.
Faculty certified in Online Course Design (DEV 101) will earn a stipend for developing/redeveloping a departmental online course that passes the internal review and an additional stipend for a departmental course that earns QM Certification in an external review in accordance with Appendix B of the CNA. If there is more than one certified faculty developer, the stipend will be split equally. Any online course developed for which the faculty is compensated belongs to the college, and the intellectual property rights remain with the college.