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The
underlying
foundation for
faculty training
and course
review are the 8
standards of
good practice.
These standards
are applicable
to
online and
hybrid
courses that
will be
published and
taught in the
institution-supported
course
management
system. Refer to
the definitions
page to
determine if
your course
needs to meet
the Standards
for Good
Practice and go
through the
review process.
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STANDARD #1 -
COMMON HOME PAGE |
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Does this course use
a home page common to
all WSU online/hybrid
courses? |
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All WSU online/hybrid
courses must be
similarly structured and
follow the same
navigation strategies
from the home page.
Whenever possible,
students should only
have to learn one way to
navigate our online
course management
software. Using a common
home page also improves
the level and
effectiveness of support
provided by our Online
team. Please use the
document "Common
Home Page"
to help you fulfill
standard #1. |
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STANDARD #2 - COURSE
SYLLABUS |
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Does this course
syllabus include the
minimum information
listed above? |
The course syllabus must
provide information on
the overall structure of
the course and, as a
minimum, must include
the following
information:
- instructor contact
information (e-mail,
phone/fax, e-office
hours, etc)
- required
textbook(s) and course
materials
- course goals and
instructional
objectives/outcomes
- assignments
(papers, exams,
projects, etc) and due
dates
- grading criteria
- the following
phrase which describes
possible
accommodations:
"Any student
requiring
accommodations or
services due to a
disability must
contact Services for
Students with
Disabilities (SSD) in
room 181 of the
Student Services
Center. SSD can also
arrange to provide
course materials
(including the
syllabus) in
alternative formats if
necessary."
For more
information about the
SSD contact them at
801-626-6413,
ssd@weber.edu, or
departments.weber.edu/ssd
- expectations and
penalties for academic
dishonesty; be
specific about whether
and to what extent
collaboration among
students is
appropriate
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STANDARD #3 - COURSE
ORIENTATION |
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Does this course
provide an effective
orientation module? |
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Information must be
included to orient the
students about how the
course is structured and
how online tools are
used in the course
(directions are provided
for special tools such
as multimedia players,
ftp, etc.). A clearly
labeled set of course
orientation instructions
must be included, such
as a page called
"orientation" or "start
here," which may consist
of a brief bit of
streamed audio or video
of the instructor
welcoming students and
providing a start point. |
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STANDARD #4 -
INTERACTIVE LEARNING
COMMUNITY |
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Does this course
provide opportunities to
create an interactive
learning community? |
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Online/hybrid courses
must use a wide range of
teaching and learning
activities to assist
every student in
becoming an active
participant in a
learning community
through interacting with
both the instructor and
other students. Online
discussion and chat are
two methods of creating
an interactive learning
community; group
projects are also
possible. Online class
discussions, unlike
face-to-face classroom
discussions, can require
every student to
participate. The
instructor's role in
online discussions can
take various forms:
Deliberately direct it
at every state, set the
initial question and
provide prompts,
intervene only when
necessary, or just turn
the students loose.
For online courses
(versus hybrid courses),
mandatory face-to-face
activities and meetings
should not be scheduled
in ways that preclude
students from attending
because of lack of
physical proximity or
schedule conflicts. If
campus events are
planned, equal
opportunities need to be
provided in the online
environment. The
exception would be if
the event were disclosed
at the time of
registration. |
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STANDARD #5
- TIMELY STUDENT
SUBMISSIONS AND
INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK |
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Are there clear
timelines for when to
submit course
assignments and expect
instructor feedback? |
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Online/hybrid courses
must include frequent
submission deadlines for
required assignments.
This assists students in
maintaining a consistent
pace for course work
completion and helps
them avoid
procrastination. It is
especially important to
require a very early
assignment or a message
from the student to the
instructor. The sooner
students start their
work, the more likely
they are to finish.
Web users expect quick
response times and may
set unrealistic
expectations for
instructor feedback on
submitted assignments.
Faculty must manage
student expectations and
set ground rules by
being explicit on when
students may expect
feedback. Grading of
complex assignments or
projects will take
longer, but the
instructor must indicate
a specific period of
time. Instructors must
maintain frequent and
regular communication
with students throughout
the semester, and alert
students when they will
be temporarily
unavailable (e.g., at a
conference, traveling,
etc.). |
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STANDARD #6
- APPROPRIATE ELECTRONIC
MEDIA |
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Are the proposed
electronic media
current, appropriate,
and cleared for
copyright use? |
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Online/hybrid courses
must be designed to take
advantage of all
electronic media that
are available and
appropriate for the
course content. Examples
include links provided
by textbook publishers,
databases and archives
(the Stewart Library
staff can help identify
electronic resources).
All links must be
functional and reflect
current, valid and
applicable information.
New resources appear and
old ones change
throughout a term, so
instructors must monitor
these links on an
ongoing basis (the way
to identify current
resources is to make an
annotated "webliography"
an extra credit
assignment in
online/hybrid class).
As electronic media are
considered for a course,
the following questions
should be considered:
- Are the file sizes
appropriate and
download times worth
the wait?
- Are new web
technologies adopted?
- Is guidance given
to assist students in
using the tools?
- Are audio clips
and video clips
supported by text for
the disabled?
It is assumed that
online/hybrid course
faculty have electronic
media skills that are
equivalent to or exceed
the skills expected of
their students.
Online/hybrid course
faculty are responsible
for identifying
copyrighted materials
used in their courses
and for either citing
that material
appropriately or
obtaining written
permission to use it
online, in advance of
the beginning of the
course. The course
must be in compliance
with the TEACH act (www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/teachact.htm) |
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STANDARD #7
- COURSE EQUIVALENCE |
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Is this online/hybrid
course equivalent in
rigor, assessment and
time commitment to
face-to-face courses? |
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Online/hybrid courses
must have the same rigor
as face-to-face courses.
Student learning
outcomes ad assessment
mechanisms for
online/hybrid and
face-to-face courses
must be equivalent
though they may not be
identical.
Online/hybrid courses
must be evaluated in the
latter part of the term
by the home department
using equivalent
instruments and
procedures as are used
for face-to-face
courses. In addition,
student feedback must be
solicited on technical
issues to determine the
effectiveness of the
online delivery system.
Overall, students
must spend an equivalent
amount of time preparing
for and participating in
online learning
activities as they would
spend in face-to-face
learning activities
(e.g., 45 hours of
participation for each
credit hour earned).
Sufficient documentation
must be presented by the
faculty to indicate that
students will spend an
equivalent amount of
time in the proposed
online/hybrid course. |
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STANDARD #8
- QUALITY PRODUCT |
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Are the course
materials professional
in appearance and
error-free? |
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Posting material to the
Internet is a form of
publication that
reflects not only the
individual faculty
member, but also on the
institution as a whole.
Online/hybrid course
content must be
presented in ways that
are consistent with the
highest professional
publishing standards of
each faculty member's
discipline, and with
publishing standards of
Weber State University.
Content must be current
at the beginning of each
term, and errors of any
kind are unacceptable. |
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