Course Development

  COURSE DEVELOPMENT & DELIVERY ISSUES

Approvals required for distance learning delivery

1. Approval of deans and / or chairs or directors. No course may be delivered in a distance-learning format, including web-based or ITV delivery, without the approval of the relevant dean and/or department chair or school director.
2. Inter-campus ITV courses. Inter-campus ITV courses should enhance the offerings available to students on both campuses and are offered with the approval of the relevant Chairs, Directors, or Deans at both campuses. Such courses should be appropriately promoted at both campuses.
3. Receiving ITV courses from other institutions. Chairs, Directors, or Deans may propose that FDU receive a course delivered by another institution via ITV. This option may be exercised in situations in which the department, school, or college certifies to the College EPC, the Dean and to the Campus Provost that it is unable to provide the course, or that receiving the course from another institution allows for more efficient and effective deployment of faculty resources within the department, school, or college.
4. Delivering ITV courses to other institutions. Chairs, Directors, or Deans may propose that FDU deliver an ITV course to another entity or academic institution. An appropriate intellectual property and faculty compensation plan should be determined by all parties prior to the course delivery, consistent with the Educational Technology Intellectual Property Policy.

Supported courseware for web-based or web-enhanced courses

1. Supported systems. Instructors are urged to create new web-based or web-enhanced courses using the course management software (“courseware”) currently supported by the Office of Educational Technology. Please visit the Office of Educational Technology website for the most up-to-date information about supported courseware.
2. Courses not using supported courseware. If an instructor prefers to develop a web-based course “from scratch” using a web editor, or use some other technology to support his or her class, he or she is free to do so. However, the Office of Educational Technology cannot devote staff or technical resources to support such classes. Furthermore, all instructors and course developers are obligated to follow the policies concerning student privacy and copyright. The chosen course technology must also work within the University’s technological infrastructure. Course developers using non-supported technologies are encouraged to consult with personnel in the Office of Educational Technology or the Office of Information Resources and Technology for advice.
3. Central administration. All state-of-the-art course management systems are centrally administered, which means that student user names, passwords, and enrollment are managed by a courseware administrator. Faculty teaching the courses and staff supporting the classes must be in frequent communication.
4. Administrative access to classes. No individual employed by or contracted to work for the University may access class material without the instructor’s knowledge and consent for any reason other than performing technical maintenance on or service to the class. Access for maintenance purposes will be restricted to a small group of qualified individuals (the “courseware system administrators”). Courseware system administrators are required to maintain confidentiality concerning course materials or other information that may be visible while performing such technical maintenance or service. If however the courseware system administrator observes material that is obviously illegal or contrary to University policy, he or she is obligated to report the incident to the Assistant Provost for Educational Technology, who is obligated to address the problem with the faculty member, and appropriate campus authorities if necessary.
5. Course security. The University will take reasonable steps to protect courses housed on University servers, or server space leased to the University, from unauthorized intrusion. The University recommends that you keep backups of your course materials and cannot be responsible for lost or compromised data.
6. Access to courses after the end of a term. Student access to a given section of a will be available for six months after the end date of a course, after which time access will generally be removed. Faculty access will remain active indefinitely. Courses delivered prior to Fall 2003 are archived, but available to faculty by contacting the Office of Educational Technology

Use of copyrighted material in a technology-enhanced course.

1. Copyright law. Course developers or instructors may not use another person’s intellectual property in a way that would violate law. Course developers or instructors must ensure that use of any copyrighted material is governed by “Academic Fair Use.” If “Academic Fair Use” does not apply, provision must be made for obtaining permission to use the copyrighted material.
2. Copyright permissions. Course developers should recognize that even if “Academic Fair Use” appears to apply to a given use of copyrighted material, the best protection is afforded to the instructor, course developer, and University if appropriate permissions are obtained to use all copyrighted materials used in a class.
3. Reading list. The Office of Educational Technology and the University Libraries will maintain an up-to-date reading list on copyright issues.
4. Faculty development. The Office of Educational Technology and the University Libraries will periodically offer faculty development opportunities pertaining to use of copyrighted material.

Assessment of course pedagogy and effectiveness

1. Need for assessment. Integrating technology into a course will likely have substantial impact on student learning and engagement, and may be relevant to accreditation. For this reason careful attention should be given to assessing all technology-enhanced courses.
2. Assessment resources. The Office of Educational Technology will serve as a resource to those wishing to develop assessment plans for their technology-enhanced courses. Please contact our office at least one semester prior to the start date of the course for which you wish consulting assistance.

Enrollment in technology-enhanced courses.

1. Course instructors may not open their technology-enhanced course to students who are not presently registered for the course via Enrollment Services in that academic semester or session.

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