SUN Online Instructor Certification and Review

Transcription

1 New Mexico SUN Online Cooperative for Teaching & Learning (SUN-CTL) A Guide to SUN Online Professional Development: SUN-CTL Online Instructor Certification SUN Online Quality Matters Course Certification New Mexico SUN-CTL Mission The mission of the New Mexico Skill Up Network - Cooperative for Teaching and Learning (SUN-CTL) is to strengthen online teaching and learning by ensuring quality and consistency in SUN online courses and facilitating the learning of new approaches to sound online pedagogy for SUN instructors. To accomplish this mission, SUN-CTL (a) provides an online instructor certification program required of all SUN instructors, (b) enhances collegiality within and between New Mexico SUN colleges through SUN web portal "professional development" opportunities, (c) supplies Quality Matters State licensing for all SUN participating colleges, and (d) affords the means by which SUN colleges certify all their courses using Quality Matters standards. Introduction Through funding from the Department of Labor s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training grant program, a consortium of NM colleges has implemented a state-wide online course sharing system in order to provide students greater access to certificate and degree courses and reduce duplication of courses and resources across institutions. This course sharing system is known as the Skill Up Network (SUN). In order to ensure quality and consistency in delivery of online instruction, the New Mexico SUN Cooperative for Teaching and Learning (SUN-CTL) has been established to provide professional development opportunities for SUN Online faculty, including (but not limited to) SUN Online Instructor Certification and internal peer reviews of SUN Online Courses based on Quality Matters Standards.

2 What are the SUN Online Instructor Certification requirements? Prior to applying for SUN Online Instructor Certification, candidates must meet one of the following four conditions: Condition 1 The candidate must have successfully completed both SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) and SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 2 (Designing a Quality Course) which are sequential courses. (Note: Successful completion of the SUN OIC Courses adheres to Quality Matters Standards and is therefore defined as earning 85% of the total possible points in the course.) Condition 2 The candidate must have successfully completed SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) and the instructor's SUN Online Course must have passed an internal Quality Matters Peer Review. (Note: Successful completion adheres to Quality Matters Standards and is therefore defined as earning 85% of the total possible points in the course.)* Condition 3 The candidate must have successfully completed an online instructor certification course deemed equivalent to the SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) with a grade of B or better and must have successfully completed SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 2 (Designing a Quality Course). (Note: Successful completion of the SUN OIC Courses adheres to Quality Matters Standards and is therefore defined as earning 85% of the total possible points in the course.) Condition 4 The candidate must have successfully completed an online instructor certification course deemed equivalent to the SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) with a B or better and the instructor's SUN Online Course must have passed an internal Quality Matters Peer Review. ). (Note: Successful completion of SUN OIC Courses adheres to Quality Matters Standards and is therefore defined as earning 85% of the total possible points in the course.)* *Note: Upon successful completion of the SUN Online Instructor Course 1 or an equivalent course, the instructor can request an Internal Quality Matters Peer Review by contacting the SUN CTL Advisory Committee member at his or her campus. An internal review will involve two 2

3 peer reviewers to be determined by your institution. A list of current SUN CTL Advisory Committee members can be found on the Skill Up Network website ( Go to the Professional Development Tab and then select the SUN-CTL Advisory Committee link on the left of the screen. If there is currently no SUN CTL Advisory Committee Member on your campus, contact the SUN CTL Faculty Coordinator. *Note: For information concerning courses that have been determined to be equivalent to the SUN-CTL OIC Course 1 or to have a course reviewed for equivalency, contact the SUN CTL Advisory Committee member at your campus A list of current SUN CTL Advisory Committee members can be found on the Skill Up Network website ( Go to the Professional Development Tab and then select the SUN-CTL Advisory Committee link on the left of the screen. If there is currently no SUN CTL Advisory Committee Member on your campus, contact the SUN CTL Faculty Coordinator. Successful completion of an equivalent course is defined as a B or better. How is equivalency to SUN OIC Course 1 determined and what other courses are equivalent to SUN OIC Course 1? Equivalency to SUN OIC Course 1 is determined by an evaluation from members of the SUN-CTL Advisory Committee. Contact the Advisory Committee member at your school to start the process. A matrix that compares course learning objectives or outcomes from SUN Course 1, Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning, to the course learning objectives or outcomes of the course you have completed is used to determine equivalency. (See Appendix A.) The following courses have been determined to be equivalent to New Mexico SUN-CTL Course 1 and can be counted toward Condition 3 or 4 for SUN Online Instructor Certification: TLOL 1010 Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM EDF 250 Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso, NM EDLT 560 (Formerly CEL 560) New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM EDLT 575 (Formerly CEL 575) New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM Sloan Sloan Certification OL 2000 and OL 2700 Penn State University, World Campus CTLA UMC, University of Maryland Online NM 538/OLIT 528 University of New Mexico How do I apply for SUN OIC Instructor Certification? After successful completion of one of the four conditions listed above, in order to teach courses for SUN Online and receive the designation as a Certified SUN Online Instructor, the candidate must do the following: 3

4 1. Apply for Certification: Complete and submit the SUN Online Instructor Application. This application with directions can be found on the Skill Up Network Website ( under the Professional Development Tab. Select the link entitled SUN Online Instructor Certification. (You will need proof of successful completion of one of the four options listed above.) The application is also included here as Appendix C. 2. Possess a Certified SUN Online Instructor Certificate: Within 30 days of approval of the applicant's application, the Certified SUN Online Certificate will be awarded to the applicant. A copy of the SUN Online Instructor Certificate is included in this Guide as Appendix B. The entire SUN Online Instructor Certification process is represented by the graphic below: MEET CONDITION 1 Pass SUN OIC Course 1 (85% or >) Pass SUN OIC Course 2 (85%+) OR MEET CONDITION 2 Pass SUN OIC Course (85% or >) Course Passes Internal QM Review (all essential standards met & receives 85% of points) MEET CONDITION 3 Pass equivalent to SUN OIC Course 1 (B or >) Pass SUN OIC Course 2 (85%+) MEET CONDITION 4 Pass equivalent to SUN OIC Course 1 (B or >) Course Passes Internal QM Review (all essential standards met & receives 85% of points) 1. APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION (Application can be found at Professional Development Tab, SUN Online Instructor Certification link.) 2. Have in your possession Certified SUN Online Instructor Certificate. (Will receive from your Site Administrator about 30 days after application is submitted.) 4

5 What are the SUN Online Course Certification requirements? Quality Matters has been adopted by SUN Online as the standard for all courses shared in the SUN Online Seat Bank. Therefore, in an effort to ensure excellence in online instruction and delivery, it is the policy of the SUN Cooperative for Teaching and Learning (SUN-CTL) that all SUN Online shared courses will be reviewed internally by two QM Certified Peer Reviewers, with one reviewer serving as the Subject Matter Expert and one reviewer designated as a lead Peer Reviewer. If there is a difference in opinion with regard to whether a course has met QM Standards, a third QM Certified Peer Reviewer will be utilized. The Internal Peer Reviews will use the QM Rubric and follow the same standards as an external Quality Matters Peer Review. That is, in order to receive certification, the course must meet all QM Essential three point standards and receive a minimum of 85% of the total possible points. Each institution participating in the SUN Online Seat Bank will be responsible for the QM reviews of their own courses. All courses offered in the SUN Online Seat Bank must have internal QM Peer Reviews begun by the spring 2014 semester and must pass an internal QM Peer Review by the end of the summer 2014 semester in order to be offered in the SUN Online Seat Bank for the fall 2014 semester and beyond. Thereafter, before a new course can be offered in the SUN Online Seat Bank, it must first pass a Quality Matters Internal Peer Review. A copy of the Quality Matters Rubric can be found on the Skill Up Network website ( under the Professional Development Tab, at the following links: Quality matters Certification of SUN Online Classes > Quality Matters Rubric. There is also a copy of the QM Rubric in Appendix C included with this document. A list of current certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewers listed by institution can be found on the Skill Up Network website ( under the Professional Development Tab, at the following links: Quality matters Certification of SUN Online Classes > Current SUN Quality Matters Peer Reviewers. The timeline for Internal Quality Matters Peer Reviews of SUN Online Courses is represented below: SPRING 2014 Internal Reviews of SUN Online Courses begin. SUMMER 2014 Internal Reviews of SUN Online Courses continue. FALL 2014 Courses must pass internal reviews and meet QM Standards in order to be offered in the Sun Online Seat Bank. The Role of the SUN-CTL Advisory Committee Every institution participating in the SUN Online Seat Bank has one SUN-CTL Advisory Committee Member who can field questions concerning SUN professional development policies and processes and acts as a decision making body for SUN-CTL related activities or offerings. A current list of SUN-CTL 5

6 Advisory Committee Members can be found on the Skill Up Network website ( under the Professional Development Tab, and the link entitled SUN-CTL Advisory Committee. The Role of the Site Administrator Every member institution has a Site Administrator (SA) who is responsible for awarding the Certified SUN Online Instructor Certificates, updating information about the online courses, instructor certification, QM Certified courses, and handling the Seat Bank interactions. The SA has a secure login to access the Seat Bank area of the SUN Online website. The SA uses a template to provide information about each course her/his institution will share. SUN Online Instructor Certification Course I SUN CTL Online Instructor Certification Course 1, "Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning," is a three week course conducted completely online. This course involves examining readiness for online teaching and explores the best practices in the field. It is intended to prepare effective online facilitators. This course is available in various Learning Management Systems throughout the Skill Up Network. Lists of current offerings with registration information can be found on the Skill Up Network Website ( under the Professional Development Tab and the SUN OIC Course 1: Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning or by contacting the SUN-CTL Advisory Committee Member on each campus. Advisory Committee members are listed on the Skill Up Network website ( under the Professional Development Tab, SUN-CTL Advisory Committee. The Course Learning Outcomes for SUN OIC Course 1 are as follows: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to 1. demonstrate the ability to use Learning Management System tools for teaching online (Discussions, Messages, Learning Modules, Assignments, Assessments, etc.), 2. create and discuss the importance of facilitator presence and a sense of community in an online learning environment, 3. provide feedback with a discussion topic, 4. discuss the importance of timely, ongoing and constructive feedback to support student learning. 5. create a feedback and communication plan for online learning. SUN Online Instructor Certification Course 2 SUN CTL Online Instructor Certification Course 2, "Designing Quality Courses" is a seven week course conducted completely online. This course guides students through the Quality Matters Standards. Students will design two complete Learning Modules based on QM standards and will participate in a peer review using the QM Rubric. This course is intended to prepare students to design an entire course that meets Quality Matters Standards. The Course Learning Outcomes for SUN OIC Course 2 are as follows: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to 1. Identify and utilize best practices in the design and development of an online course. 6

7 2. Demonstrate the ability to adopt and develop course content, learning activities, and assessments suitable for the online environment. 3. Develop course materials that meet quality matters standards. 4. Demonstrate the ability to utilize LMS tools for designing and teaching online. 5. Apply the Quality Matters Rubric to self-assess and peer review the content and design of course shells created in the course. Terms Quality Matters - Quality Matters is the standard that has been adopted by the Skill-Up Network for all courses shared through the SUN Online Seat Bank. Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. QM has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education. Originating from a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant project, QM is now a self-supporting organization offering institutional subscriptions and a range of feebased services including QM-managed course reviews and an array of professional development opportunities. With nearly 700 current subscribers, ranging from four-year colleges and universities, technical and community colleges to other academic organizations, Quality Matters is the leading provider of tools and processes used to evaluate quality in course design Seat Bank Seat bank refers to the collection of online courses available for adoption by any SUN Online institution. Site Administrator SA is the representative from each SUN Online institution who keeps updated information on Quality Matters certified courses, SUN Online Certified Instructors, shareable online courses and handles all Seat Bank interactions. SAs are the conduit for information from one institution to another. They are responsible for tracking students and grades, communicating with providing faculty, and adding seats to the seat bank. SUN-CTL Advisory Committee- The SUN-CTL Advisory Committee consists of one member from each of the colleges or universities participating in the SUN Online Seat Bank. The purpose of this committee is to guide the professional development activities of the SUN-CTL and to serve as a point of contact for questions on his or her campus concerning SUN professional development policies, procedures, and opportunities. 7

8 APPENDIX A Equivalency Matric New Mexico SUN OIC Course 1 Matrix for Instructor Certification Approval Course: SUN Objective/Outcome: Objective #: 1. Demonstrate ability to use LMS 2. Create and discuss the importance of facilitator presence/sense of community 3. Provide feedback within a discussion group. 4. Discuss the importance of timely/constructive/ongoing feedback. 5. Create a Feedback/Communication Plan Is this course equivalent to SUN Course 1? (Met or Not Met) 8

9 APPENDIX B Certified SUN Online Instructor This certificate is presented to First Name Last Name as evidence of successful completion of the requirements to teach courses in the SUN Online Seat Bank as prescribed by The SUN Cooperative for Teaching & Learning. Awarded this day of 20. Name of New Mexico College/University XXXX XXXXX, Site Administrator 9

10 APPENDIX C Part I. General Requirements SUN Online Instructor Certification Guidelines In order to teach a course on the SUN Online Seat Bank, an instructor must be a certified SUN Online Instructor. Any course taught on the SUN Online Seat Bank must have passed, as a minimum, an internal QM Peer Review. In order to schedule an internal QM Peer Review, the instructor/designer may contact a member of the SUN CTL Advisory Committee or the SUN Site Administrator at his/her institution. Part II. Application Requirements SUN Online Instructor Certification may be awarded when any one of the following options has been met: Option 1: Successful completion* of the SUN CTL Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) and successful completion* of the SUN CTL Course 2 (Designing a Quality Course). Option 2: Successful completion* of the SUN CTL Course 1 (Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning) and successful internal QM Peer Review** Option 3: Successful completion* of a SUN CTL Course 1 Equivalent*** and successful completion* of the SUN CTL Course 2 (Designing a Quality Course). Option 4: Successful completion* of a SUN CTL Course 1 Equivalent*** and successful internal QM Peer Review**. * Successful completion shall be defined as a grade of C or better. ** A Successful internal QM Peer Review shall be conducted by at least two QM-certified Peer Reviewers and shall adhere to QM standards for a peer review. All three-point standards shall have been met, and the course shall have received 85% of points possible. *** A SUN Online Course I Equivalent is defined as any online instructor training course, workshop, or program which includes the following minimum objectives: 1) Demonstrate of the ability to use LMS tools for teaching online (discussions, messaging, learning modules, assignments, assessments, etc.) 2) Discuss of the importance of facilitator presence and identify ways to create a sense of community in the online learning environment. 3) Provide feedback within a discussion forum. 4) Discuss the importance of timely, ongoing, and constructive feedback to support student learning. 5) Create a feedback and communication plan for online learning. Part III. Applying for SUN Online Instructor Certification An instructor who wishes to teach a course on the SUN Online Seat Bank must complete the application form (page 2 of this document), and possess a SUN Online Instructor Certificate (will be awarded within 30 days after application process is complete). Part IV. Supporting Documentation Proof of successful course completion may be a certificate, unofficial transcript, or letter/memo from the institution, organization, or instructor. Proof of successful internal QM Peer Review may be a completed QM Peer Review Worksheet, signed by the lead QM-certified Peer Reviewer, or a letter/memo from the lead QM-certified Peer Reviewer. 10

11 Applicant Information SUN Online Instructor Certification Application Name (as you would like it to appear on certificate): Date of application: Institution: Department: address: Phone 1: How did you complete the SUN Online Instructor Requirements? Please indicate the option by which you have met the requirements for SUN Online Instructor Certification: Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Enter Institution and/or Instructor where you completed SUN CTL Course 1 or Equivalent: Date of completion: Enter Institution and/or Instructor where you completed SUN CTL Course 2, or Enter Name of QM Reviewer: Date of completion: Supporting documentation Option 1: Check here if you are attaching proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 1 AND proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 2. Option 2: Check here if you are attaching proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 1 AND proof of successful internal QM Peer Review. Option 3: Check here if you are attaching proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 1 Equivalent AND proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 2. Option 4: Check here if you are attaching proof of successful complete of SUN CTL Course 1 Equivalent AND proof of successful internal QM Peer Review. Applicant signature I have read and understand the SUN Online Instructor Certification Guidelines. I understand that in order to teach on the SUN Online Seat Bank, I must be a Certified SUN Online Instructor. I have attached proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 1 or Equivalent. I have attached proof of successful completion of SUN CTL Course 2 or proof of a successful internal QM Peer Review. I understand that any course I teach on the SUN Online Seat Bank must have passed an Internal QM Peer Review. Upon approval of this application, I understand that I will receive a SUN Online Instructor Certificate. Signature of Applicant: Date: To be completed by Applicant s Dept. Chair or Dist. ed. Coordinator I have reviewed the applicant s supporting documentation, and I approve this application. I will forward this application and the attached supporting documentation to the SUN Site Administration for this institution. Signature of Dept. Chair or Distance Ed Coordinator: To be completed by SUN Online Site Administrator I have received this application. Within 30 days, I will send or the applicant a SUN Online Instructor Certificate. Date: Signature of SUN Site Administrator: Date: 11