Sell It So They Buy It: Continuously Improving Faculty Buy-In to a Statewide Online Course Quality Initiative
Concurrent Session 2
Brief Abstract
Based on one state’s dual (college/university) system approach to designating “quality” online courses, this session will address practical needs of instructional designers vis-a-vis facilitating faculty adoption of and engagement with “continuous improvement” quality assurance efforts for online course design.
Presenters


Extended Abstract
Catalyzed by a state university system strategic plan for online education, the combined institutions of the Florida College System (FCS) and State University System of Florida (SUS) are engaged in an ambitious initiative to recognize high quality online course design and excellent online teaching. Laudably, buy-in for this initiative has been fostered at the highest levels of the two systems and throughout the senior academic leadership of the individual colleges and universities. Efforts have been directed toward constructing a non-evaluative, continuous improvement-oriented quality assurance initiative. However, it is in the daily work of the instructional designer and online instructors where such an initiative will succeed or fail. If faculty do not engage willingly and meaningfully in course design quality reviews and course updates, or if instructional designers are not able to build trust with faculty and add value to the course review/revision process, the intended benefits of a statewide quality initiative cannot be achieved.
In this session, lessons learned and best practices for successful ID/faculty implementation will be summarized. Session participants will be invited to share the successes and challenges of implementing quality review initiatives at their home institutions and systems. The presenters, co-chairs of the statewide workgroup underpinning this dual system quality initiative, will draw upon their broad and deep perspective to engage with session participants during the session and afterward. An explicit emphasis will be placed on participant interaction and personal application of session topics.
A draft outline for the session appears below:
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[5 mins] Why You?
Session participants invited to participate in a pair-and-share exploration of their home contexts and felt needs for attending this session. -
[5 mins] Why Quality?
Context for a dual-system course design quality initiative. -
[5 mins] “Why Should I?”
Navigating perceived costs and benefits for faculty in engaging in the online course review process. -
[20 mins] How Can I?
Summarizing institutional processes, communication strategies, and individual instructional designer practices that have proven helpful in fostering meaningful faculty engagement with course quality reviews/revisions. -
[10 mins] How Do We?
Guided discussion with those in attendance about how to apply lessons learned in the context of our broader community of OLC institutions and instructional designers. Possible directions include but are not limited to, email distribution list, shared GoogleDocs, follow-up conference sessions, etc.