INDIANA UNIVERSITY OFFICE of ONLINE EDUCATION

Transcription

1 INDIANA UNIVERSITY OFFICE of ONLINE EDUCATION Memorandum of Agreement For the Development of a Collaborative Academic Program in [Degree level/type] in [Academic Discipline] Indiana University, [Academic unit] Indiana University, [Academic unit] Indiana University, [Academic unit] Indiana University, [Academic unit] Indiana University, [Academic unit] Established: Month, XX, 20XX With a spirit of respect and partnership, the undersigned campus representatives and university representatives agree to collaborate with each other, the Office of the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs, and the Office of Online Education and develop, deliver, and maintain a Collaborative Academic Program for the [degree level/type] in [academic discipline]. The three Memoranda of Agreement documented below provide the details of this collaboration. Phase 1: Documentation of Interests and Responsibilities 1. Purpose of the program Identify the target audience and key goals for the program. a. Target audience As examples, audience may include undergraduates, graduate students, working adults, degree completers, transfer students, returning adults, corporate groups, etc. b. Key goals for the program As examples, key goals may include: i. Meet student demand / address student choice ii. Generation of new tuition revenue iii. Growth in student enrollments iv. Extend reach of program to new student populations v. Grow numbers of citizens with targeted degrees vi. Respond to programs offered by external competitors vii. Provide an affordable, quality alternative to students viii. Reduce costs/improve efficiency of program delivery ix. Minimize duplication in delivery of online courses across campuses x. Share scarce instructional resources across IU campuses xi. Enhance IU s reputation for innovation by extending to this academic program Page 1 of 11

2 2. Statement of Responsibilities Office of the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs and the Office of Online Education agree to work with collaborating campuses and other administrative groups to provide the following services in support of the program: Clearinghouse and facilitation for collaborative academic programs. Provide information and guidance, as requested, such as examples of documents, curricular structure, models for course sharing. Work with the SVPCFO office, campus leadership, and committee representatives to identify potential demand for program and develop financial projections for the first five years of enrollment. Assist the campuses in guiding the resulting proposal through the approval process, including obtaining Higher Learning Commission approval for the joint degree. Compliance to all applicable federal, state, and accreditor regulations for online education, and covering fees associated with federal and state regulations. elearning Design and Services including instructional design and development. Maintenance of infrastructure (technical systems, policies, processes) necessary for online courses and programs. IU Online web portal. Market analysis and funding projections for new online programs. Marketing and advertising of IU Online brand, collaborative academic programs, and online courses listed on IU Online Class Connect. Memberships to relevant associations, such as Sloan Consortium, Quality Matters, Education Advisory Board Continuing & Online Education Forum, UPCEA. Accounting and reporting of data and metrics for tracking online courses and programs. Support services for online students, include recruitment, application and admissions processing, orientation, initial advising (in development). 24/7/365 Call Center for online students (in development). Campus academic administration representative to the committee agrees to: Collaborate with representatives from the other campuses to develop the Collaborative Academic Program MOA for the degree program and (if a new degree program) to develop a new program proposal following Indiana Commission for Higher Education format and guidelines. Maintain regular communication with campus academic leadership as to the committee s progress. All parties agree that: Though consensus agreements are preferred, on occasions when a vote is necessary, each campus shall have one vote, regardless of size of campus or number of representatives on the committee. No campus will be required to sign the resulting Collaborative Academic Program MOA, but no campus may stop other campuses from moving forward with the collaborative program. Page 2 of 11

3 There will be no competition between IU campuses with online programs, and no duplication of online programs between campuses without clear distinctions. Therefore, if competing Program MOAs are developed, the Office of Online Education will determine which MOA will be sent forward for approval. A revenue-sharing fee may be assessed to participating campus(es), as determined by the University SVPCFO based on market analysis and anticipated revenue for the degree. 3. Agreements regarding basic compliance Collaborating campuses agree to comply to and hold each other accountable for compliance to all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies relating to online courses and programs, including but not limited to: a. State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements; b. Americans with Disabilities Act; c. Quality Matters course evaluation rubric and peer review processes; d. Indiana University Academic Program Approval process; e. Indiana University academic policies; f. Indiana University policy on intellectual property; g. No competition between IU campuses with online programs, and no duplication of online programs between campuses without clear distinctions; h. Use of common resources first and to build out campus-specific infrastructure only as needed. 4. Deadline for development of Collaborative Academic Program Proposal and Memoranda of Agreement Deadline for completion of this collaborative academic program proposal and supporting memoranda of agreements is. This deadline is fixed unless all parties, including the Office of Online Education, agree to extend it. 5. Names of designated curriculum representatives for participating campuses Provide list of representatives from each campus to serve on: a. Curriculum Planning Committee. b. Program Steering Committee. Page 3 of 11

4 PHASE 1 MOA SIGNATURES: Assistant Vice President, Indiana University Office of Online Education Page 4 of 11

5 Phase 2: Curriculum Planning and Market Analysis 1. Statement of need and program demand Summarize results of the market analysis for the program here. 2. Curricular structure MOA must adhere to the following principles and include the following documents: a. Curriculum must stay under faculty governance. Memorandum agreements must recognize that the curriculum belongs to faculty, and that faculty are responsible for curriculum integrity. b. Curriculum must use normal operations of university and collaborating campuses. Because academic program governance occurs at the campus level, the curriculum must be approved by the relevant campus faculty committee(s). c. A curricular framework must be agreed upon by collaborating campuses, and provided as an appendix to this MOA, stipulating learning outcomes, pre-requisite courses, required courses, elective courses, specialization areas, and providing a sample degree map. 3. Curricular framework MOA must articulate the following elements: a. Learning outcomes b. Pre-requisite courses c. Required courses d. Elective courses e. Specialization areas f. Degree map 4. Curricular sharing MOA must stipulate agreements for course sharing established by collaborating campuses. The following principles should be considered when establishing curriculum sharing agreements: a. Avoid continual re-development of the same course, regardless of model used for offering courses. b. Campuses must agree upon which courses in the curriculum will be taught by which campuses, and whether any courses will be taught by all campuses. Campuses must respect each other s competence to offer quality courses, and therefore the MOA should articulate plans for compliance to Quality Matters standards for course development. c. As much as possible, it is beneficial to have equal distribution of course delivery across participating campuses. In some cases, such as a lack of faculty resources on a campus, assignments may not be equal. d. Course caps. Faculty express concerns about large courses putting a heavy teaching load on instructors and taking students away from other campuses. However, this strategy may be used as a way to scale up programs. The committee should determine whether and where in the curriculum there may be places for large courses, as well as where there should never be large courses. Page 5 of 11

6 5. Faculty selection and assignment to teach in program Specify agreements regarding how faculty will be selected to teach, be reviewed, and be given feedback to improve the program; how often a faculty member may teach in the program, and what teaching support will be provided. What percentage of courses will be taught by part-time/adjunct faculty, and how will this be managed and monitored? 6. Use of learning resources Specify any agreements regarding the use of learning resources in the program: a. Textbooks and e-texts b. Libraries c. learning management systems 7. Admissions requirements a. Identify requirements for who can be admitted into the program. Take into account the target audience for and purpose of the program, as identified in #1 above. b. Identify requirements for transfer, prior learning assessment, satisfactory progress, and disqualification from program. 8. Standards for assessment and evaluation. Articulate agreed upon standards for student assessments and end-of-course evaluations. Also, develop a schedule for revision of courses. a. Standards for student assessment. b. Standards for end-of-course evaluations. c. Schedules for course revisions. Page 6 of 11

7 PHASE 2 SIGNATURES: Director, Indiana University Office of Online Education Page 7 of 11

8 Phase 3: Collaborative Academic Program Administration 1. Program committee structure Academic unit representatives must establish a committee structure for overseeing the collaborative academic program. There may be one general steering committee, or there may be more than one committee with separate responsibilities (for example, an administrative committee and a curriculum review committee). The following agreements must be established: a. Committee structure and responsibilities b. Membership selection process and term of appointment c. Committee chair selection process, term, and responsibilities d. Ex-officio members, if any e. Frequency of meetings f. Every campus participating in the collaboration has one vote, regardless of size. g. The committee(s) should hold regular meetings to maintain legislatively-mandated degree maps, align pre-requisites, review articulation agreements, update and align the program s master course inventory, and to engage in collaborative enrollment management. 2. Promotion, marketing, and recruitment This section articulates any agreements or commitments made that support the collaborative academic program through promotion, marketing, and recruitment of students. 3. Enrollment management This section articulates any agreements or commitments made that support delivery of the curriculum through course planning and enrollment management. 4. Assignment of students to campuses for enrollment a. Identify policy for classifying students as being in either an online or an oncampus program. Students must be classified appropriately in order to receive the correct degree map, adequate advising and other support, and to ensure appropriate reporting to federal, state, and accrediting authorities. b. Identify rules for assignment to campus of in-state students who are outside IU regional service areas. This is important because it impacts state apportionment. Approaches could be to divide state into service areas for particular degrees, or to use a random assignment system. Ultimately students have the final say in which campus they attend. 5. Provision of student services Address how the program will provide academic advising, LMS infrastructure support, financial aid, registrar, library services, counseling, and mental health support. Address how the program will provide services for initial marketing, recruitment, application, admission, orientation. Student services for academic program should generally be provided by the campus of enrollment (a student s home campus), rather than the campus of instruction (the campus which delivers a single course to a student). Page 8 of 11

9 6. Commitment to faculty development Agreement should stipulate whether and how teaching in this program will impact faculty promotion and tenure, when and how faculty will receive Quality Matters training, and how peer review of courses will occur. Clarify how often faculty will have opportunities to meet. 7. Tuition, fees, and revenue sharing The IU Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer has authority from the Board of Trustees to determine fees for online programs and courses. Therefore, any and all language in this agreement regarding tuition, fees, and revenue sharing should be considered suggestions or recommendations, subject to the final approval of the SVPCFO. When making recommendations, collaborating campuses should consider: a. Relevant instructional fee policies of IU s Board of Trustees or the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. b. Broader online market. What do competitors charge? What are prospective students willing to pay? c. Distance education fees. These fees should be considered when accounting for operating expenses and net profit of the collaborative program. d. Revenue-sharing. In Collaborative Academic Programs, courses are shared across campuses through IU s Online Class Connect (OCC). OCC works on a revenuesharing model in which the campus of instruction received 70% of tuition, while the campus of enrollment receives 30%. This split should be considered when accounting for operating expenses and net profit of the collaborative program. 8. Data needs and reporting Stipulate data needs and reporting periods for program planning and monitoring. 9. Program review & changes Stipulate timeframes for the review of student end-of-course evaluations, data from student assessments, course designs, and program evaluation. Determine who will be responsible for reviews, and for sharing results. This may also be specified in the Phase 2 MOA, above. These reports should provide information to support the MOA review 10. Review of Collaborative Academic Program Memorandum of Agreement This memorandum will be in effect for a period of five years from the date of the agreement. At that time, the IU Office of Online Education will call for a review of the program s Memoranda of Agreement by the leaders of the participating campuses and program committee(s), during which collaboration members may engage in a re-consideration of MOA. 11. Waiver of participation, or separation of campus from collaboration. a. Any campus may waive the right to participate in the collaboration, but may not withhold, veto, or in any other way create barriers to the involvement of other campuses in this or any other collaborative program. Page 9 of 11

10 b. Campuses that waive the right of participation or withdraw from the collaboration may not offer an online degree program in the same disciplinary level and at the same academic level as long as the collaboration remains in existence. c. Any appeals for relief from this rule must be made to the IU Office of Online Education, and will be addressed by the IU Academic Leadership Council Executive Committee. Page 10 of 11

11 PHASE 3 SIGNATURES: Director Indiana University Office of Online Education Page 11 of 11