Academic Year 2000-2001
Revised 4/13/00

WSU Online is an extension of the University on the Internet. Students with Internet access are able to not only take online courses, they are also able to use online support services and participate in online discussions and activities with faculty, staff and other students. WSU Online makes it possible for students with busy schedules and /or long commutes to take advantage of the convenience of an online course with the support services that are essential to their success and the interpersonal experiences that have always been an essential component of the undergraduate experience.

The goals of WSU Online are to offer Weber State courses using a delivery model that will expand student access to WSU programs, courses, and services; provide a high quality educational experience, and potentially increase student enrollments. In the past we have focused on general education courses and those courses that have become "bottle necks" for enrollment, that is, courses that we are unable to offer in enough sections to meet demand. This would also include courses that support several majors. We are now turning our efforts to developing programs which can be effectively offered online.

WSU Online courses will be conducted almost exclusively online and through print and other ancillary materials. Most courses are currently being offered in a "paced" format. Paced courses require students to complete course requirements by certain time lines throughout the semester, thus allowing more opportunities for interaction. There are a few courses offered in an "open" course format. Open courses will not require weekly or monthly deadlines and may allow up to one year to complete the course. All courses must begin with the start of a regular semester.  WSU Online is intended to be a complete "branch campus"  Traditional courses that may make use of the web in some way are not considered WSU Online courses.

Course Development Time Line:

New courses to be delivered beginning at the start of a semester must be completed at least one month before the semester starts. Faculty should begin by discussing their plans with their department chair and colleagues. The instructor will need the complete the online course development form that can be found here http://courses.weber.edu/faculty.  If you have any questions you can contact Scott Allen or Marion Jensen at 626-8069.  

It is recommended that instructors meet with the WSU Online development team as they begin planning their course, again after completing the course outline and one or two lessons, or at anytime during the process if they have questions. No enrollments will be accepted in a course until development of the entire course including exams is complete.
  
Computer Knowledge and Equipment:

A basic understanding of and comfort with the computer is expected, especially word-processing, e-mail and the World Wide Web. However, an in-depth knowledge of a particular software or the Internet is not needed. Support for course development will include PC and Mac platforms.  Instructors will be expected to develop and maintain good computer skills for course development as well as the ongoing online instruction. 

Compensation for Developing a WSU Online Course:

Upon approval by the department chair and dean, the instructor is eligible for consideration to develop a course. The fee for course development will be $900 per semester credit hour. If the course is developed by a team of two or more, the fee will be $1200 per semester credit hour for the team. Team members will decide how the total amount is divided between/among them. The course should be completed and reviewed by the department head and dean before registration for the course and development payment is made. Development pay will be paid as one amount. 

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Compensation for Teaching a WSU Online Course:

The on-going fee for instruction will be $45.00 per SCH (per student, per semester credit hour). That amount will be paid on the basis of third week enrollment numbers. One PAR will sent to payroll for the full amount. Payroll will divide the pay into separate pay periods through the semester.

It is strongly suggested that the enrollment for the first semester be limited to 15 students. After that course enrollment can be increased based on approval from the department chair and dean.

Expectations for Faculty Involvement:

While the actual design and conduct of WSU Online courses are prerogatives of the instructor, the complexity of the medium suggests that minimum standards be clearly stated. Instructors may update material or links in their courses at any time. Standard look, feel and navigational strategies have been developed for WSU Online. A course template will be provided to serve as a model, and the minimal design standards for maintaining that look and feel will be explained. Within courses, however, faculty organize content as they see fit.

A number of special procedures and software applications have been developed for WSU Online. Throughout the development and delivery cycle, sessions will be scheduled for faculty to learn existing procedures and provide feedback on the development of new ones. More than one meeting time will be scheduled for any topic or type of meeting; WSU Online faculty are expected to attend these sessions.

Faculty will be expected to teach the course for one academic year, interacting with students as indicated by the course design, assigning and grading student work, etc. Paced courses will be taught two out of three semesters.

Users of computer communications expect quick response times. Instructors should plan to log on to the course at least five days out of seven and to respond to questions and to student work in a timely manner. It will be wise to spell this out in the course information, e.g.: "You can expect responses from me to most questions on the next working day and to written work within X days." The instructor will be responsible for maintaining course materials on the web: deleting or replacing links that are suddenly de-activated, stating the current term’s due dates (in paced courses), etc.

To protect student privacy and to control access to any copyrighted sites, access to courses will be limited to students enrolled. Extended course descriptions will be available through the WSU Online catalog and the sample course is open to anyone browsing the web.

Instructors will be expected to participate in a learning community on committees with other WSU Online faculty to share ideas, successes, shortcuts, etc. and to begin the development of a body of practice that can inform the efforts of faculty who develop WSU Online courses in future iterations.

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Course Development Assistance:

WSU Online staff will meet with instructors to discuss course design options and applications for specific courses. Staff from WSU Online will be available to help faculty learn how to use various interaction tools and how to web-design their courses. WSU Online staff can do the actual web page development from material provided by the instructor or instructors may do their own. WSU Online as the tools required to stream audio and video and well as develop multimedia interactive activities. An online learning community will enable faculty to share ideas with and learn from their colleagues.

Suggestions for Development of Online Courses:

Course Description: Instructors should provide general information about their courses and the subject matter, including a review of course requirements and expectations, and any other media used in the course. An online course should be slightly more structured initially until students adapt. It is important to include as much information as the student will need to know whether he or she can be successful in completing the course.

Instructor Section: Faculty should include a picture and short bio of themselves. Some students may never meet their instructor in person. Office hours for the online course should be listed. This is the time the instructor will be available for e-mail responses, live chat, or individual online discussions with a student. These hours may be the same as regular office hours or at some other specified time.

Syllabus: The syllabus for an online course is much like the syllabus or course outline used in a traditional classroom setting. It presents an overview of the course, including any relevant dates or deadlines.

Resources: This section lists additional resources to enhance the students’ learning: suggested readings, hyperlinks to other web sites, or other resources the instructor would like the students to be familiar with. Faculty are responsible for identifying textbook(s) and any other ancillary materials early in the development process. Textbook/material lists should be sent to the WSU Online office as soon as possible. 

Lectures / Lessons: This section includes the lessons for the course. They may be text the instructor has developed with hyperlinks to other critical information on the Internet. The lessons may be divided by chapters or weeks of the semester. The instructor decides how the course needs to be organized. (Some instructors have combined Resources, Lessons, and Assignments into one section.)

Assignments: This section outlines the actual assignments students need to complete. Students will be able to send assignments to their instructor online via the WebPortfolio.  Faculty feedback on those assignments should be re-sent to the student online as well.

Online Discussions: Technology exists that allows faculty to "talk" to their students online. This is done by typing in a message and the student typing in a response. There are several ways in which this can be done. A "chat room" or computer conference can be used for students to talk to each other in real time, if this is something the instructor wants. For asynchronous discussion, an online discussion application has been developed. These tools can be tailored to best meet each instructor’s needs. As the technology advances at Weber State, instructors and students will be able to have online discussions using audio and video.

Examinations: This section addresses the process for taking exams. Exams can be given via ChiTester to provide immediate feedback to the student or may use a paper/pencil format. If it is necessary for the exam to be proctored, a proctor can be identified. Passwords will be assigned to control access to online exams.

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General Administrative Information:

Registration: Registration for WSU Online courses is the same for regular campus courses. Courses are set up in STAARS by the WSU Online office based on the dates for the campus schedule. All courses and enrollments are approved each semester by the department chair and dean. WSU Online courses begin on the same dates as regular campus courses. Students can add, drop, and withdraw from online courses based on the standard semester schedule.

Textbooks/Materials: All textbooks and materials are ordered through the Weber State bookstore by the WSU Online office. Students can purchase their textbooks directly from the campus bookstore or through the WSU Online bookstore. Textbook ordering dates are the same as regular campus ordering dates.

Final Grades: Final grades for WSU Online courses are posted using standard final grade forms. By Fall semester grades can be posted directly to the STAARS system by using the WSU Online Gradebook.

Course Evaluation: Course evaluations are done at the end of each semester. Evaluation results are provided to the instructors. A complete program evaluation for WSU Online will be developed during the 2000-2001 academic year.

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