This session will provide describe the steps one regional comprehensive university has taken to develop faculty training procedures and an online learning handbook built upon best practices, faculty input and transparency, and then have an interactive discussion of strategies other institutions can use.
Background
Lander University, a regional comprehensive university of approximately 3100 students, has provided online learning opportunities since the early 2000s when its School of Nursing started offering online classes. Since that time, online delivery has steadily increased across many disciplines, but without strategic leadership or centralized quality control systems. Moreover, the university has long employed LMS administrators with expertise in course design and adult learning theory but failed to effectively capitalize on the strengths of those employees because of an unfortunate disconnect between faculty and support staff.
Creation of The Center
In June 2018, the university created the Center for Online and Innovative Learning (COIL) and named a tenured associate professor with twelve years of experience at the university as the center’s director. The mission of the center was to coordinate, promote, and provide quality control for all forms of online and innovative learning at Lander University. The Center was to be supported by a ten-person advisory committee composed of representatives from each of the university’s academic units and the university’s two LMS administrators. The center director realized that a common set of policies and procedures were needed to ensure consistent quality.
When COIL was created, the director and advisory committee could have moved to immediately adopt established policies and procedures from Quality Matters, OLC, or other state institutions. Instead, the COIL director worked with the advisory committee to develop a system based on QM and OLC philosophies that is specifically tailored to the situation and needs of this particular university. The process was ultimately successful because it was built upon these principles:
- Understand institutional culture and values
- Build relationships
- Recognize resource limitations
- Respect real pressures and necessities
- Protect disciplinary and instructor autonomy
- Develop systems that fit within existing institutional policies
- Ground policies on the established guidelines of accreditation and governmental bodies
- Avoid mandates, ultimatums, and threats
The presentation will share a summary the current training procedures and handbook developed through this process.
Future
Based upon this foundation, the university now has a solid foundation to develop additional online programs based on shared principles and a commitment to shared governance. The presenters will provide a short overview of the next steps the university is pursuing.
Interaction/Audience Takeaways
During this presentation, audience members will be asked to reflect on the following questions and develop preliminary action plans for addressing the associated challenges at their institutions:
- What is your institution’s mission statement?
- Is it designed to support change and innovation?
- What are the barriers to change and innovation on your campus?
- Unengaged leadership?
- Limited financial resources?
- Resistance to change on disciplinary or academic grounds?
- Specific individuals who resist innovation and change?
- What policies exist at your institution regarding academic oversight of programs and instructor observation?
- How are faculty observed and evaluated?
- How do these procedures work for different types of instructors?
- Do your existing procedures allow for adequate observation and evaluation of online teaching?
- What are the accreditation and regulatory bodies that govern your institution, and what do they say about online/distance education?
- National regulatory agencies
- State regulatory agencies
- Regional accreditation agencies
- Disciplinary regulatory or accrediting agencies
Audience members should leave the presentation better able to launch and enhance initiatives on their own campuses.