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  1. Home

A-10: Online Courses

Purpose

To establish policies to deliver administratively approved “online courses” for Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital College, that facilitate instruction, which provide structured online experiences through course management software and other media for quality student learning at a distance recognizing that in-residence learning is still our mission.   All courses offered as a hybrid or online course must go through the approved process prior to being offered at Penn State Harrisburg.

Introduction

Online courses use digital technologies to provide learning with multimedia sources; allow for multiple learning strategies; comply with University policies concerning access; include flexible scheduling; integrate off-campus, technology-based learning, student-faculty and student-student interaction; and broaden the concept of learning communities.

Guidelines

Defining an Online Course

An online course is delivered entirely online, with no required classroom sessions. Some courses may require proctored exams. Students may be enrolled in courses offered by a single campus or in courses originated by multiple campuses. The schedule of courses designates online courses by indicating WEB in the Day/Time column, and indicates a Digital Learning Cooperative course with ELEARNING in the Section Info column. All courses that are listed as WEB must go through the consultation steps and approval process listed below.

Consultation and Approval

  1. The Program Faculty should meet to determine which courses are appropriate to offer as an online course for the Program and designate a course author.
  2. Once a program has identified courses suitable for online delivery, the author is strongly encouraged to take a self-assessment to determine if an online course would be compatible with the instructor’s style.
  3. The course author must complete the Request for Proposal for Online Course Development Form, gain the signature of Program Leadership, and submit the proposal to the School Director at least two semesters before the course is to be offered for his/her approval.
  4. The course author must sign the AD-69 Agreement.
  5. The School Director will submit all approved proposals with the  Center for Teaching Excellence to arrange for an initial with the proposer and the development of an action plan.
  6. Faculty will then work with an Instructional Designer in the Center for Teaching Excellence to develop the course.

Development of Online Courses

The length of time needed for a online course redesign varies based on the faculty member’s prior experience in online teaching, learning, and course design, the amount of time the faculty member can devote to the redesign effort, the amount of revision required, the number of online sessions to be designed, and the need for multimedia development. Typically, at least two full semesters of design and development time are needed to create a new online course

All online course development completed in the Center for Teaching Excellence follows the design standards set by the Penn State Quality Assurance Standards. The standards are intended to provide a measure of quality assurance for online courses to serve the e-learning needs of Penn State students. In addition, the Center for Teaching Excellence adheres to Senate Policy 42-23 and ensures that all course meet the hours of equivalent instruction.

The faculty member is the subject matter expert who provides the course content. The instructional designer lends expertise in implementing the course in a professional and pedagogically sound manner.

We recommend that each course is reviewed every three (3) years at a minimum to determine if an online course is still needed and to revise/update content.

Intellectual property rights

Faculty should read and understand the University’s policy regarding intellectual property rights by referring to the University’s Policy IP03, Courseware. Additionally, school directors must present faculty with the Courseware Copyright Agreement to be completed for each course prior to the start of its online development

Assessing online courses

Online courses should be available for peer review as any other class offered at the College. Once the online course is developed, either the Program Leadership and/or School Director will preview the proposed course to ensure that it meets School and College standards of quality. For this review, faculty peers or administrators should use the Peer Review Guide for Online Teaching at Penn State instrument.

Presented to College Faculty Senate: March 22, 2012
Approved by Academic Council: April 24, 2012
Revision presented to College Faculty Senate: October 26, 2017
Approved by Academic Council: November 29, 2017

Academic Guidelines and Policies

  • A-1. Management of Special Courses
  • A-2. Final Examination Policy
  • A-3. Obtaining Approval for Simultaneous [Concurrent] Degrees and Multiple Majors [With Sample Form]
  • A-4. Establishment and Management of Centers, Institutes, and Consortia
  • A-5. Moving, Sharing, Acquiring, Offering, and Proposing University or College Majors and Minors at Capital College
  • A-6. Management of First Year Seminar
  • A-7. Administration of the First-Year Seminar Requirement at Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital College
  • A-8. Limitations on Registering for More Than 19 Credits per Semester
  • A-9. Hybrid Courses
  • A-10: Online Courses
  • A-11. Graduation Requirements
  • C-1. Selecting the Capital College Faculty Commencement Marshal
  • C-2. Governing Commencement Ceremony Practices at Capital College
  • C-4. Cancellation of Classes Unrelated to Weather
  • C-5. College Operations during Periods of Inclement or Dangerous Weather Conditions or Other Weather-Related Emergencies
  • C-6. Inviting and Receiving Short-Term (Six Months or Less) International Scholars to Penn State Capital College
  • C-7. Academic Integrity Policy - Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital College Implementation
  • F-1. Implementation of the AC-40 Extended Review
  • F-2. Summer Compensation for Teaching Faculty
  • F-3. Compensation for Faculty Performing Non-Teaching Duties During Summer Sessions
  • F-4. Governing Overload Compensation for Faculty
  • F-5: Use of the Penn State Global Funds
  • F-6. Internship Compensation during Summer Session
  • F-7. Faculty Consulting Agreements
  • F-8. Capital College Faculty Teaching at Other Penn State Locations
  • F-9. Course Release for Faculty Senate Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Senate Officers
  • F-10. Processing New Adjunct Faculty (FT2)
  • F-11. Faculty Workload Policy
  • F-12. Academic Policies and Forms for Graduate Programs
    • Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate Student Processes
  • F-13 A. Promotion and Tenure Criteria for Penn State Harrisburg, The Capital College
    • School of Behavioral Sciences and Education: Promotion and Tenure Criteria
    • School of Business Administration: Promotion and Tenure Criteria
    • School of Humanities: Promotion and Tenure Criteria
    • School of Public Affairs: Promotion and Tenure Criteria
    • School of Science, Engineering and Technology: Promotion and Tenure Criteria
  • F-13 B. Guidelines and Criteria for Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
    • School of Behavioral Sciences and Education: Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
    • School of Business Administration: Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
    • School of Humanities: Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
    • School of Public Affairs: Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
    • School of Science, Engineering and Technology : Promotion for Full-Time Non-Tenure Line Faculty
  • F-14. Faculty Salary Supplements
  • R-1. Guidelines Governing the Submission, Administration, of Grants and Contracts at Capital College
  • S-1. Submission of Petitions to the University Faculty Senate
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Penn State Harrisburg

A comprehensive college in southcentral Pennsylvania offering more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs.
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