When universities set out to increase their online program offerings, one of the major challenges is preparing faculty to design, teach, and review online courses. Our university is addressing that challenge through the Online Teaching Fellows Initiative, a cohort-based, hybrid-delivered, multi-semester faculty development program.
Quality Matters is the foundation of the Online Teaching Fellows Initiative. Faculty begin the program by completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric course. As they progress through the program, they design and develop courses using the QM rubric as a guide. When their courses are built, they complete full internal reviews of each others' courses, then make revisions based on the helpful recommendations of their peers. Each Fellow who successfully completes the program leaves with a course that meets QM standards, as well as design and review experience that they take back to help their respective departments grow their online offerings.
In this session, program facilitators from the Center for Teaching and Learning and a "graduate" of the Online Teaching Fellows Initiative will share details, successes, and challenges of the program, as well as lead discussion of how the program can be improved and adapted for use at other institutions.
