Faculty Development and Support FAQs
- At IU South Bend, what are distance learning courses that are funded by Extended Learning Services?
- What do I need to do if I would like to propose the development of a DL course?
- What happens after a proposal has been submitted?
- How much time and effort does it usually take to develop a 3-credit course?
- I already teach an online class. Is there money available for revision of an existing course?
- How would I know if a distance learning version of my course would be appropriate considering my teaching style?
- Why does IU South Bend need any more distance learning courses than it already has?
- What kinds of support and what technological tools will be available to faculty to develop DL courses? If there is a stipend, what is it? How do I get paid?
- If there is a stipend, what is it? How do I get paid?
- Can I have the stipend funds deposited in a university account that I can use for other purposes (e.g., research expenses account)?
- Can my department get some of these funds for other purposes: for example, to pay online tutors, release time, or for S&E (supplies and equipment) monies?
- Can I collaborate with someone? If so, how is the allocation of stipends decided?
1. At IU South Bend, what are distance learning courses that are funded by Extended Learning Services?
The Distance Learning courses at IU South Bend that are funded by Extended Learning Services (ELS) are usually high demand/high enrollment undergraduate courses offered as a General Education requirement. There are a few exceptions, however, and they are decided by the Distance Learning Review Committee. Spring 2008 marks the offering of three inaugural courses under the Distance Learning Initiative. They are: MATH M111 Mathematics in the World developed and taught by Dennis Wolf; CSCI A201 Intro to Programming I developed and taught by Dr. Hossein Hakimzadeh; and BUS X310 Business Career Planning and Placement developed by Dr. Mark Fox and taught by Arica Ostreicher.
Distance Learning courses at IU South Bend are offered completely online using several synchronous and asynchronous computer-based delivery systems. Faculty members may offer their courses using a combination of the following systems: a) IU's open source course management system, Oncourse CL, b) audio recordings of Powerpoint presentations using Camtasia software program, c) podcasts and/or vodcasts, d) video streaming, and e) Adobe Connect, also known as Breeze.
Please visit the following websites: for more information on our Distance Learning Initiative, go to distance.iusb.edu; and for the Distance Learning Five Year Strategic Plan, go to http://www.iusb.edu/~extendsb/Distance_Learning_Strategic_Plan.pdf
2. What do I need to do if I would like to propose the development of a DL course?
Each semester, a Call for Proposals (CFPs) will be announced by the Distance Learning Initiative at IU South Bend inviting faculty to submit a proposal to develop a distance learning course. CFPs will include guidelines for the application process, an application form, and deadline for application submission. Aside from hard copies, this information can also be found at distance.iusb.edu. Faculty members are encouraged to discuss their plans with their department chairs. A stipend is awarded to faculty members who will then work closely with staff in IT, IMS and UCET. UCET will be offering Q&A sessions to coincide with the CFPs. For additional information, interested parties may request a meeting with the UCET Instructional Strategies Consultant by emailing ucet@iusb.edu.
The application form asks for a clear description of the distance learning course, including what technological tools will be used to develop and deliver the course. A syllabus should be included. Several signatures are required in the application form: the faculty member developing the course, the department chair or director, and the school dean.
3. What happens after a proposal has been submitted?
All applications will be reviewed by the Distance Learning Review Committee. After the committee has deliberated and selected the faculty awardees, each faculty member will meet with a sub-group to discuss his/her plans and expectations for the course. A development plan will be created and a formal agreement will be initiated. The plan will highlight the scope of work, the kinds of technological tools that will be used (including who will be assisting the faculty and in what capacity), and a development timeline. The formal agreement will be signed by the faculty member, the Department Chair or Director, the School Dean, the Chair of the Distance Learning Advisory Board Program Development Subcommittee, and the Director of Extended Learning Services. The developer will receive half of the stipend after the formal agreement is signed and the other half once the course development is complete.
All successful applicants will be required to attend the Distance Learning Seminar which is a combination of face-to-face sessions as well as online activities and interactions. Faculty members who have already used Oncourse CL for their earlier courses may not be required to attend the tutorial.
4. How much time and effort does it usually take to develop a 3-credit course?
The amount of time needed to develop an online course is similar to the development of any 3 credit course. If it is a course that you already teach, most of what you need is already prepared. The only additional component is actually deciding how to use your material in an online format. We have support available to help you adapt the course content to online delivery. This is a great opportunity to learn new computer skills with personal instruction.
5. I already teach an online class. Is there money available for revision of an existing course?
Yes, you can use this money to revise an existing course, if it meets two conditions. The first condition is that the course falls under the Distance Learning Initiative's priorities for online course development (e.g., a required General Education course). The second condition is that you intend to do a substantial revision of the existing course with the support of this grant. If your existing course meets these two conditions, feel free to submit a proposal.
6. How would I know if a distance learning version of my course would be appropriate considering my teaching style?
Distance learning may fit some course content and teaching styles more smoothly than others. Distance learning may be more challenging for highly interactive, hands-on teaching and learning, such as in science labs in contrast to traditional lectures. However, distance learning has been applied in creative ways to conduct, for example, online testing and group discussions. We encourage you to find out how others within your discipline and across the university are applying distance learning in their teaching. You may also want to discuss your pedagogy and practice with the Instructional Strategies Consultant at UCET (email ucet@iusb.edu).
7. Why does IU South Bend need any more distance learning courses than it already has?
One of President McRobbie's educational priorities is to increase distance learning programs throughout Indiana University. At IU South Bend, our goal is to make education as accessible as possible. Distance learning courses make it possible for rural residents to complete some of their course work from home without a long drive to campus. It also makes education much more available to students with disabilities, working students, and students with family obligations. In addition, students who are taking face-to-face classes often take some courses online that they can complete from home or from residence halls. Students can reduce commuting time while completing their degrees efficiently. The development of more distance learning courses will assist the university in meeting its retention and graduation goals by making classes flexible and more widely available. Today's students are requesting for online courses, and we want to offer them several opportunities to realize their academic pursuits.
8. What kinds of support and what technological tools will be available to faculty to develop DL courses?
Staff from Information Technologies (IT), Instructional Media Servies (IMS), and University Center for Excellence in Teaching (UCET) provide various kinds of support. UCET staff offers both pedagogical and technological support to faculty awardees and works closely with IT and IMS. UCET has some of the latest hardware and software (such as Camtasia) that allows a faculty member to record their voices with their Powerpoint presentations. These recordings can be uploaded as a resource within Oncourse CL. UCET staff will help faculty design their courses using several technological tools, including the different features of Oncourse CL, and develop other web-based materials.
IMS has digital cameras and camcorders available. IMS assists in the recording of podcasts and vodcasts, and other kinds of video and audio recordings.
IT assists with streaming video presentations produced by faculty through IMS or acquired with permission from publishers. Faculty can also get an account to use Adobe Connect (a.k.a. Breeze) to hold synchronous online classes, with the capability to archive these classes for later viewing by students who were either absent from class or seek a review. Other emerging technologies are under review.
9. If there is a stipend, what is it? How do I get paid?
Stipends have been established to support the development of new courses. The intent of the financial incentive is to motivate the development and implementation of new courses for our distance learning offerings. Therefore, those who are developing new courses, or who are significantly revising existing courses (to reach more students, to explore new or emerging technologies, or to significantly revise the pedagogical approach) should consider how this funding might support their work.
Currently, the stipend program is based on the credit-hours awarded for the course rather than other metrics. Courses that offer three to four credit-hours receive greater developmental funding support than those courses that award one to two credit-hours.
Faculty stipends are as follows:
- $4,000 for 3-credits or more courses
- $3,000 for 2-credit courses
- $2,000 for 1-credit courses
Similar to any salary paid to faculty, stipends are processed as direct deposits. In this case, the award is made in two installments: half as the development effort begins, and half by the time the course is offered. Alternatively, faculty members receiving a stipend may request a departmental budget account be established to hold the funding. If this approach is chosen, the entire amount is added to the account when it is established. The account must be kept separate from other departmental accounts, and the funding must be used expressly for development and implementation of the distance learning course for which the award was made.
Further, the department of the online course developer will receive 25% funding based on the amount given to the developer. For example, if the faculty member was awarded $4,000 then an additional $1,000 will be given to the department to be used at the department's discretion in support of distance learning (e.g., to pay for online tutors, purchase software) or it may be used for any other purpose that is unrelated to the department’s distance learning initiative. This additional fund will come from ELS as well.
10. Can I have the stipend funds deposited in a university account that I can use for other purposes (e.g., research expenses account)?
As stated above, the funds cannot be added to an account established for another purpose. It is expected that these funds will be dedicated to developing the distance learning course.
11. Can my department get some of these funds for other purposes: for example, to pay online tutors, release time, or for S&E (supplies and equipment) monies?
As long as the department can show that the funds were spent as a means to support the development and/or implementation of the distance learning course, then yes, the department can do these things. Keep in mind that if your department seeks any additional stipends, the review committee will seek an accounting of how previous stipends were spent. Such data will be expected to be included in the new application.
12. Can I collaborate with someone? If so, how is the allocation of stipends decided?
Collaboration on course development is encouraged. Just like any other team-teaching endeavor, the members of the team will be responsible for establishing guidelines for distribution of the funds. Keep in mind that the focus of the DL Initiative is on the course, not the coalition involved in the development of the course.
