Blended and Online Course Approval

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Policy Name:  Blended and Online Course Approval

Policy Number: ACA-1002

Effective:  2016/04                                                                                                                        

Revised:  2019/04

 

Policy Statement

Blended and Online Course Approval Process

Full Time Faculty

Dean Approval

The qualified full time faculty member will request approval from their Dean to design/convert a course to blended/online format. The Dean will assign the Blended/Online Course Mentor to assist the course representative throughout the process (Note: Faculty developing a new course using a blended/online format must also follow established university process for new course approval).

Preliminary Review and Instructional Equivalencies

Once the blended/online course is developed, the Blended/Online Course Mentor will conduct a preliminary review using the Blended/Online Course Preliminary Review checklist (Appendix 3.1.2) and the Holy Family Instructional Equivalencies Policy (Appendix 3.1.2).

Provisional and Final Approvals

If the new blended/online course meets the standards in the preliminary review, it will be provisionally approved by the school. Once an existing course conversion (to either online or blended format) has been approved by the school dean, the proposal (including its revised syllabus) must be presented to UCC and Academic Council for discussion and final endorsement of the change. Course proposals may be presented to the UCC and Academic Council by the school dean and/or the Chair of COBOL. Once approved by UCC and Academic Council, it may be listed and taught as a blended/online course. The course representative will teach the course in the blended/online format one time before submitting for a full QM Internal Peer Review (review team members must have successfully completed advanced coursework through QM i.e., Applying the QM Rubric and Peer Reviewer Course; the review team chair must have received Master Reviewer certification through QM).

It is highly recommended that the course representative conduct a QM Self-Review prior to requesting a full QM Internal Peer Review. Conducting a QM Self-Review will provide the course representative with a greater understanding of best practice in blended/online course design and will result in a more effective course overall.

Internal Quality Matters Peer Review

Blended/Online courses that meet QM Internal Peer review standards are approved by the Committee for the Oversight for Blended and Online Learning (COBOL). The COBOL Chair will notify the Dean of the course representative’s School that the course has been approved.

Follow-Up Reviews

All full time faculty will be required to follow this review and approval process for newly designed or converted blended/online courses and for:

  • existing blended/online courses that have been substantially changed since initial review and approval.
  • existing blended/online courses five years after initial review and approval.

The Committee for the Oversight of Blended and Online Learning is responsible for tracking initial and follow-up reviews.

 

Adjunct Faculty

Adjunct Faculty Approval Process

Adjunct faculty, when asked to convert/design a blended or online course, will follow the same process as full-time faculty.

Adjunct Faculty Support and Oversight

Adjunct faculty will be supported in the conversion process by school blended/online mentor with additional oversight by the school Dean or his/her designee.