Subject: ​
GUIDELINE ON DISTRIBUTION OF DISTANCE LEARNING FEE TO SUPPORT FACULTY DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE COURSES Functional Area: ​
Distance Learning and Instructional Technology Services Revision Date: ​
2015­12­15​
Date of Origin: ​
2015­06­01 Date Last Reviewed: ​
2015­08­01 I.
INTRODUCTION This Guideline is to support USFSP faculty that choose to teach online. In recognition of the time and additional expertise required to develop an online course, Online Learning and Instructional Technology Services (OLITS) offers a stipend to compensate faculty for training and the development, but not the delivery, of online courses. This professional development program is aimed at preparing faculty for the pedagogical differences between face­to­face and online courses. For this reason, all stipends are tied to professional development and training. Online courses are expected to hold to the same high standards and learning outcomes as traditional courses. To be eligible for a stipend, appropriate approvals are required by the faculty’s department, dean, and by OLITS as detailed below. Florida Statute 1009.24(17) (b) allows the University to charge a Distance Learning Fee for all online courses that generate fundable student credit hours. A portion of the funding from this Distance Learning Fee has been set aside for the University to use to support faculty who develop and deliver online courses that generate fundable student credit hours and to provide student support that is unique to such online courses. This guideline describes how faculty can request a distribution from the Distance Learning Fee collected from online courses that generate fundable student credit hours. The guidelines for the permissible use of the Distance Learning Fee are based on the recommendation of the Distance Learning Steering Committee and are in accordance with Florida Statute 1009.24 (17) (b) which states that “the amount of the distance learning course fee may not exceed the additional cost of the services provided which are attributable to the development and delivery of the distance learning course.” Currently the Distance Learning Fee is $50.00 per credit hour. 1
II.
EXPENSE GUIDELINES Consistent with Florida Statutes and the Florida Distance Learning Task Force report, the following set of comprehensive guidelines for how USFSP can use the Distance Learning Fee will be in effect as of fall 2015. Any faculty who received approval for course development or course refinement request as of January 1, 2015 will be eligible for this program. ​
Additional contingencies for contracts with non­tenure track faculty (e.g., adjuncts, instructors) can be arranged with the college Dean. The use of Distance Learning fee may be used for the following : 1. Development, recording, and/or acquisition (licensing) of instructional content for online courses. 2. A faculty stipend for professional development of an online course; up to $8,000 per course (see below for training guidelines and breakdown of the stipend). 3. Faculty training and development services that are related to the design, development, and ongoing delivery of online courses. 4. Junior instructional designers and/or research assistants for online courses, on condition that teaching assistants are not provided in similar circumstances for facetoface (F2F) classes. Please use the following URL for more information: http://lib.usfsp.edu/service/dl­support 5. Student support services that are only offered to online students. 6. Awards of up to $1,500 to faculty who successfully complete the Quality Matters certification process for their online courses. 7. Salary for administrative personnel whose sole responsibility is for the oversight, quality control, management, development and scheduling of online courses. Note: No portion of salary for academic faculty can be paid by the Distance Learning Fee. Professional staff members that serve both students taking online courses and those taking facetoface (FTF) courses must be paid based on the percentage of assignments and can not be paid 100% by the distance learning fee. III. Request Process ­ How to apply for Faculty Training and Professional Development
Step1: ​
Complete the ​
Stipend Application ​
and ​
Distance Learning Service/Funding Request Form​
. (The form can be either filled out on your computer and then printed, or printed and then filled out by hand.) See documents below. Step 2: ​
Obtain Dean and Department Chair (if applicable) approval on the ​
Distance Learning Service/Funding Request Form. ​
See documents below. Step 3: ​
Submit signed ​
Distance Learning Service Funding Request Form, Stipend Application,​
and all required documentation to the Director of Online Learning and Instructional Technology Services. Step 4: ​
Online Learning and Instructional Technology Services staff will notify the College representative when the request has been approved. 2
Step 5: ​
Faculty member are contacted to assess support needs and is assigned an instructional designer. Step 6:​
Faculty member completes appropriate professional development. Step 7: ​
Course goes live the semester following development.
Proposal Submission Deadlines ­ College approved forms must be submitted by: Go live Spring Courses: May 15th Go live Fall and Summer Courses: September 15th IV. Faculty Development Stipend Program OLITS recognizes the importance of providing faculty with essential training and resources for teaching online. This program was developed to provide faculty with the necessary tools and resources to excel in teaching. This faculty development program is broken down into five levels. Please read and see which level meets your needs. Level One​
​
– Faculty new to USFSP or first time offering an online course. The purpose of this level is to help faculty new to online learning. This level will orient faculty to important pedagogical, logistical, and technological issues involved in delivering effective online courses. Faculty will receive $3,000 for course development and attending professional development training during course design phase of course development. In addition, faculty will also receive $2,000 for technology and software support and $3,000 to attend off site professional development conferences that focus on online learning. Faculty have the option to receive full funding in place of technology or additional off site professional development stipends. Please see section five, Limitations for Faculty Development Stipend Program, for more information. ●
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Faculty will be required to attend 8 hours of professional development training offered through the OLITS department. o Six hours will be preselected and will focus on instructional design strategies and technology specific to teaching online at USFSP. o Two hours will be selected by the faculty member from a list of training sessions offered throughout the semester. One session will be based on pedagogy and one based on technology. Monetary disbursements will be issued to the faculty member once all training is complete and the new online course has gone live. This is only available one time. Level Two​
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– New course development by faculty already teaching online or completed Level One training. This level provides comprehensive professional development workshops 3
consisting of a series of advanced interactive seminars and consultations designed to enhance expertise in online teaching and learning. Faculty will receive $3,000 for course development and attending professional development training during course design phase of course development. In addition, faculty will also receive $2,000 for technology and software support and $3,000 to attend off site professional development conferences that focus on online learning. Faculty have the option to receive full funding in place of technology or additional off site professional development stipends. Please see section five, Limitations for Faculty Development Stipend Program, for more information. ●
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Faculty will be required to attend 6 hours of professional development training offered through the OLITS department. o Six hours will be selected by the faculty member from a list of training sessions offered throughout the semester. Three sessions will be based on pedagogy and three based on technology. Monetary disbursements will be issued to the faculty member once all training is complete and the new online course has gone live. Only offered once every two years, ​
per course​
. Level Three​
​
– Complete course redesign. This is intended for faculty who wish to completely redesign a course due to new content, video lectures, textbook, assessments, etc. Faculty will receive $3,000 for course development and attending professional development training during course design phase of course development. In addition, faculty will also receive $2,000 for technology and software support and $3,000 to attend off site professional development conferences that focus on online learning. Faculty have the option to receive full funding in place of technology or additional off site professional development stipends. Please see section five, Limitations for Faculty Development Stipend Program, for more information. ●
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Faculty will be required to attend 6 hours of professional development training offered through the OLITS department. ○ Six hours will be selected by the faculty member from a list of training sessions offered throughout the semester. Three sessions will be based on pedagogy and three based on technology. Monetary disbursements will be issued to the faculty member once all training is complete and the new online course has gone live. Only offered once every two years, per course. Level Four​
– Course refinement to provide minor updates to an online course. This is intended to be based on course analytics. Faculty will receive $1,000 for course development and attending professional development training during design phase of course refinement. ●
Faculty will be required to attend 4 hours of professional development training offered through the OLITS department. 4
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o Four hours will be selected by the faculty member from a list of training sessions offered throughout the semester. Two sessions will be based on pedagogy and two based on technology. o Faculty can opt to attend QM’s “Improving your Online Course”, a four­hour workshop, instead of attending individual training sessions. $1,000 will be awarded once training is complete and the course has gone live. Only offered once every year, ​
per course​
. Level Five​
­ ​
Quality Matters Certification​
­ ​
Faculty may submit an online course through the QM process. Faculty will receive $1,500 for every course that successfully passes QM certification. V.
Limitations for Faculty Development Stipend Program ●
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All awards and their subsequent completion are based on the staffing levels and workloads of the OLITS staff. Scheduling of the awards is subject to final approval by OLITS. On average it takes 8 to 12 months to fully develop a course. Faculty have the option to select to receive full funding in place of technology or additional off site professional development stipends. ○ If faculty do not opt for a technology disbursement for their award they will not be eligible for future technology from distance learning funding awards for a period of two years from final disbursement of the current award. ○ If faculty do not opt for a professional development conference disbursement for their award they will not be eligible for a conference awards from OLITS budget for a period of two years from final disbursement of the current award. Faculty may check with their college to see if off site professional development funding is available at the college level. All awards are unique and must be completed one at a time. Faculty are only eligible for one award at any given time. No simultaneous award will be issued regardless of the level. The idea is that only one course is in development at one time. On average this is an 8 to 12 month process. Level One awards are only offered one time per faculty unless there is a gap in faculty service to USFSP of 5 years or more. Individual faculty are eligible to receive one Level Two award per year based on the date of final disbursement. The training hours for each award ​
are​
required regardless of previous awards. Faculty are ​
not required to repeat previous training. OLITS will maintain course offerings that are progressive, relevant, and are commensurate with the skills and knowledge of online learning for each faculty member. Course development awards of all levels are considered complete once all training requirements are met and the course goes live online. 5
Authorized by: Director of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology Services Dean of Nelson Poynter Library Regional Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs 6