Distance Education Course Review Process 2019-2020
The Department of Distance Education (DE) is committed to the quality of online and hybrid courses offered at Austin Peay State University (APSU) and aims to achieve the following targets:
- Identify and fund training for online/hybrid Instructors to become certified Quality Matters (QM) peer reviewers.
- Facilitate reviews and continuous improvement of high impact courses* to ensure alignment with QM standards.
To work towards these targets, DE is seeking faculty to participate in our course review process. Faculty who complete the course review process will receive compensation and professional development. DE will also select courses to submit to QM for external reviews. These courses will obtain an official QM seal of quality.
Who Can Apply
Full-time and adjunct faculty teaching online or hybrid courses at APSU. All faculty will require approval from department chair.
Course Selection Criteria
To be shortlisted for the course review process, you must submit an online application form to DE with permission from your Department Chair. The course selection criteria checklist is as follows:
- Online or hybrid course with at least 3 credit hours
- Taught at least twice in the past 2 years and no major changes to the course planned in the next 3 years
- Not reviewed by DE or QM in the last 3 years
- High enrollment
- Master or fully developed course that could be given to another instructor to teach if deemed appropriate by the chair
2019-2020 Timeline
- July 1, 2019
- Course Review Application opens to all online/hybrid instructors at APSU
- By September 30, 2019
- Course Review Application closes*
- 1st Faculty – QM Coordinator meeting (group)
- By January 31, 2020
- Instructors have completed QM Workshop 1 - APPQMR & QM Workshop 2 - PRC
- February 1-28, 2020
- 2nd Faculty – QM Coordinator meeting (one-on-one)
- Course map due (template will be provided in first meeting)
- By March 31, 2020
- Faculty make updates/alterations to course based on QM standards
- Self-review completed indicating course meets QM standards by 85% threshold
- By April 30, 2020
- DE Team completes course reviews and sends suggestions to instructors
- 3rd Faculty – QM Coordinator meeting (one-on-one)
- By May 15, 2020
- Instructors complete suggested revisions and resubmits to DE Team for final review
- By June 1, 2020
- Instructor successfully completes course review
- DE Team completes all final course reviews
- DE Team processes instructor compensation
- DE has selected courses/faculty volunteers for QM external reviews
*Applications will be accepted and courses will be selected for review on a rolling basis until we have reached 10 high impact courses.
Faculty–QM Coordinator Meetings
If your course is selected for the review process, you will be contacted by the QM Coordinator throughout the process to assist you. You will be required to attend 3 meetings (in-person or via Zoom) with the QM Coordinator during the process (additional meetings may be requested as needed):
- Faculty-Coordinator Meeting – Initial kickoff meeting (between July-September 2019)
- Faculty-Coordinator Meeting – Midway check-in meeting (between Jan-Feb 2020)
- Faculty-Coordinator Meeting – Final course-review meeting (between March-April 2020)
Faculty Compensation
- DE will pay $1,000 per course review once the instructor applies the course improvement recommendations based on QM standards.
- Additionally, DE will also cover the $400 cost of both QM workshops that the instructor must undergo as part of the course review process.
- Completion of all requirements by stated deadlines is mandatory for compensation.
- DE will pay for the external QM review for selected faculty who voluntarily participate.
Faculty Requirements for Compensation
- Complete QM Workshop 1 - APPQMR & QM Workshop 2 - PRC by January 31, 2020
- Attend 3 meetings with QM Coordinator in-person or via Zoom
- Complete course map by February 28, 2020
- Complete self-review by March 31, 2020
- Make updates to course based on DE suggestions by May 15, 2020
Disclaimers
- DE will pay for QM Training Workshops only once. If the instructor does not complete or pass, s/he will have to retake it at their own cost to continue in the course review process.
- DE will not accept applications from instructors who were previously selected and failed/dropped out of the course review process.
- Non-participation after selection will result in cancellation of course review. Faculty-QM Coordinator meetings will be used to determine participation in the process and assist faculty in meeting deadlines.
- DE reserves the right to change the course review process and participating faculty will be notified.
- DE reserves the right to refuse a course review application.
- Compensation will only be given to instructors who complete the review process in its entirety and meets all deadlines.
Application
Please complete the form below and then send an email to flynta@apsu.edu with a letter or email approval from your department chair for you to participate in DE's course review process.