Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we design or re-design courses?
For SIUE to offer online programs, courses should be designed to have both a similar look/feel as well as consistent foundational elements so students are not expected to learn and re-learn course navigation and functionality each time they enter into a new course. Because students, especially undergraduates, take courses across disciplines, SIUE maintains that online courses should be developed in conjunction with Instructional Design and Learning Technologies (IDLT) to maintain as much consistency in basic structure as possible given the unique learning outcomes and activities assigned to each course. In addition, note the references to rigor, quality of instruction, best uses of online learning and design that supports student-student and faculty-student interaction. These are all supported and reinforced when faculty experts design the courses in conjunction with Instructional Designers.
How do we ensure quality and rigor in online course delivery?
In Spring 2021, a group of our faculty and online learning advocates researched and created guidelines for best practices in online education for SIUE. The guidelines are available as a checklist (https://www.siue.edu/online/pdf/faculty-checklist-online-asynchronous.pdf) and the group’s research served as the basis for development of the SIUE Online Teaching Compliance (OTC) module. The OTC module provides institutional training related to the design and pedagogy of accessible online teaching that meets the compliance requirements of the Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission, and auditors. The resource honors academic freedom while aiming to communicate requirements and a range of best practices, such as Regular and Substantive Interaction, that faculty must include in their online courses to ensure compliance.
Who are Instructional Designers
Instructional Designers collaborate with faculty to create engaging, outcome-driven, student-centered courses using research-based learning and design principles. They are student advocates by ensuring course content, learning activities, and assessments align with course objectives and goals. Instructional designers also ensure that learning technologies and content selected are accessible for all learners.
Please visit the Teaching Toolkit to view a list of resources used by instructional designers at SIUE to support faculty and students. These resources will be utilized as the Faculty Content Experts and Instructional Designers work through the course design, build, and review processes outlined below.
Who are Faculty Content Experts and how are they selected?
Faculty Content Experts are subject matter experts: faculty members with experience and expertise in the course being designed/redesigned. While the details may vary by department, Faculty Content Experts are always selected by the department and they are selected based upon capacity and expertise.
What are Faculty Content Experts being paid to do?
Stipends are offered to Faculty Content Experts who are willing to work with IDLT to either design a course that has never been offered online (calendar year 2020 excluded) or to redesign a course that has been offered online but likely does not adhere to the SIUE online course standards set forth in the OSCQR rubric. Faculty Content Experts are paid to plan and place content into a course shell such that the course could be fully executed using the resources complied by the content expert. Development includes, but is not limited to, creation of all modules, videos, readings, activities, discussions, assessments etc. that would be required for a registered student to complete the course online.
How and how much are Faculty Content Experts paid?
The agreement to pay a Faculty Content Expert consists of four parts called “Scopes of Work” (SOW) and the stipend amount is listed in the chart below. Payment is made to the department via budget transfer as each SOW is completed. The department is responsible for paying the Faculty Content Expert. See Design Process Overview for more information regarding the Scopes of Work.
SOW 1: Completion of an initial meeting and return of the completed course planning grid triggers payment for this Scope of Work.
SOW 2: Completion of SOW 2 represents completion of one-third of the course build. Depending on the nature of the course and the work style preferences of the content expert, it could look like the first three weeks of an 8-week course or it may look like all of the syllabus, readings, discussions and activities that will be used to ensure the course goals are met.
SOW 3: Completion of SOW 3 represents completion of two-thirds of the course build. Using the example from SOW 2, it could look like the weeks 4, 5, and 6 of an 8-week course or it may look like all of the videos, announcements, and mid-course assessments as that will be used to ensure the course goals are met.
SOW 4: Completion of SOW 4 represents completion of the entire course build and a peer review. This would include all elements of information, engagement and assessment fully in place for the course to open. It requires that the content expert has considered best practices, Reasonable and Substantive Interaction and that another Content Expert has reviewed the course to ensure it fully meets the learning outcomes for the course.
|
Scope of Work |
Full Course Design: The course has never been taught online |
Course Re-design: The course has been taught online and is being updated |
|
1 |
$1,000 |
$400 |
|
2 |
$600 |
$300 |
|
3 |
$600 |
$300 |
|
4 |
$800 |
$400 |
What if the Faculty Content Expert does not complete all of the Scopes of Work?
There are times when the Faculty Content Expert cannot complete the course design project as needed. In this case, the department will reassign the project to a new Faculty Content Expert who will continue building upon what’s been developed in the prior Scopes of Work.
I am worried that SIUE will take my content and hire other people to serve as the instructor of record for a course I helped design. Can this happen?
There are several specific bullets within the NC-SARA Interregional Guidelines that address the expectation that faculty and departments take a certain level of ownership over their courses. Faculty teaching assignments are made at the department level at SIUE. It is feasible and even reasonable that the course you developed could be assigned to another qualified teaching faculty, particularly in the case of high enrollment, multi-section courses. Indeed, it’s likely that you were asked to participate in the course design project due to your innate understanding of the program level outcomes and course/program specific knowledge. A conversation with your department chair should allow you to have a clear understanding of how you want to be involved in the offering of the online course moving forward. If you intend to teach one or more sections of the course you developed, this should be stated and negotiated with your academic chair.
