Online Course Review and Certification Program (OCRC)

The Online Course Review & Certification Program (OCRC), developed by Online@JSU, officially launched in January 2023 after undergoing an extensive pilot process. This new initiative serves to achieve the following goals:

  1. Provide a university-wide, standardized process of developing online courses that leads to course certification
  2. Comply with federal guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Education for online (distance education) courses
  3. Provide a framework to encourage faculty to use best practices and strategies when engaging with and teaching students in online courses/ programs.
  4. Collaborate with JSU faculty as subject matter experts
  5. Create an apparatus for continuous course review and evaluation of course effectiveness
  6. Improve student satisfaction with online courses and programs at JSU
  7. Increase student retention in online courses and programs at JSU
  8. Create student enrollment and recruitment opportunities

Review and enhancement of courses are based on several aspects, including:

  • Best practices in course design
  • Best practices in course build
  • Best practices in teaching online courses
  • Local JSU requirements at either the university level, school level, departmental level, or program level
  • Federal guidelines

Read and review the "Online Course Certification Guide: A Guide for Administrators and Faculty" to learn more about the OCRC Program.

The Course Design Workbook: A Guide for Faculty was developed to assist faculty in preparing online courses for a successful review and certification. The workbook is divided into the following chapters:

Step 1: Learning Objectives

Step 2: Assessment & Learning Activities

Step 3: Regular & Substantive Interaction (RSI)

Step 4: Creating a Course Map

Step 5: Course Review & Development Options

Step 6: Standard Canvas Course Templates Package

Appendix A: Worksheets

Appendix B: Worksheet Samples

Appendix C: Course Review Rubric 

 

The instructional design team with Online@JSU has created a standard version of a Canvas course template package that incorporates and supports the goals and objectives mentioned in this workbook. The template package provides a consistent course design to help instructors “pass” a course certification review. The contents of the template package include a homepage, student and academic support modules and pages, and sixteen complete learning units on the modules page that can be edited by instructors as needed.

Online Program Requests

Leaders of 100%, fully online programs at Jacksonville State University may request a program review at any time. During a program’s review period, the program leaders (deans, department chairs, program coordinators, etc.) and instructional designers agree upon a course review schedule/timeline, and instructional designers (IDs) review each online course within the program and work with instructors to revise, or develop, courses if needed. At that time, IDs also offer services such as course building, template building, and more assistance as needed. (Instructors cannot sign up for this option.)

Key Points of Emphasis:

The following conditions are necessary to successfully complete a program review:

  1. The academic leader who requests the review must play an active role in the process.
  2. It is expected that the academic leader has communicated the review request and the review’s expectations to their faculty before the program review begins.
  3. The instructional design team from Online@JSU will review the courses within the program and provide feedback, recommendations, and course templates that instructors may use in any requested course revision.
  4. At this point in the process, the academic leader may request a continuation of the partnership between the instructional design team and instructors to revise the courses together as partners. If this request is submitted, instructors will be expected to partner as subject matter experts (SMEs) with the instructional design team to make course revisions together. Instructors are experts in their field; instructional designers are not.
    1. During this process, if instructors choose not to communicate or collaborate with the instructional design team, or become resistant to the recommendations and suggested revisions, the instructional design team may decide to discontinue the collaborative process and allow the academic leader and the instructors to discontinue the program revision process or to continue the revision process internally within the program. Once the academic leader and instructors believe their courses are ready for another certification review the leader may submit the program for review once more.
  5. Once course revisions are completed as requested, the courses will be reviewed again for certification.
  6. Based on the certification rubric, instructional designers will review and provide recommendations in the following areas:
    1. Learning Objectives
      1. All online courses must be comprised of complete learning units with corresponding module/unit learning objectives. A course review cannot be completed if units and learning objectives are not present.
    2. Course Organization
    3. Course Navigation
    4. Course Alignment
    5. Course Engagement (instructor to student; student to student; student to instructor; student to content)
    6. Accessibility
    7. Mobile Compatibility
  7. Instructional designers will not do the following:
    1. Change the content instructors teach.
    2. Require that content be taught with specific course material.
    3. Require that content be taught using specific teaching strategies in lieu of preferred strategies.
    4. Note: Instructional designers may suggest trying different teaching strategies or incorporating types of material or resources to achieve different objectives for certification, but instructors have complete control of these decisions.

Online Course Review Requests

If you teach an online course at Jacksonville State University, you may request a course review at any time. At the time of the request, instructors will indicate whether they are requesting:

  1. Course Review Only: a course review with feedback and suggestions provided for improvement, or
  2. Course Review for Certification: a course review that leads to certification.

Option A: If Option A is selected, instructional designers will review the course, provide feedback, provide suggestions or recommendations for improvement, and work with the instructor, if requested, to assist the instructor in making the recommended changes to the course.

Option B. If Option B is selected, the instructor has completed much of the course development either on their own, with a partner, or with a team prior to the request. In this situation, it is expected that the course is already close to certification at the time of the request.

 


Request a Course or Program Review

Complete the Form

 

  1. How is COI+ connected to the OCRC?
    • The COI is an optional professional development course that certifies instructors. The OCRC is a program that certifies courses. However, faculty who complete COI+ will complete the program with a certified course.
  2. How long does a certification last?
    • Once a course is certified, the certification lasts for three years. Once this period concludes, the course will be reviewed again.
  3. Is this program for my course?
    • The OCRC is for ALL online courses at JAX state, including synchronous and asynchronous courses.
  4. Am I required to attend the OCRC workshops?
    • No, the workshops are optional. All information needed can be found in the Online Course Certification Guide and the Online Course Design Workbook.
  5. Can I meet with an instructional designer to discuss this process and my online course(s)? 
    • Absolutely! We will be glad to meet with you. Email us at online@jsu.edu. We can meet in person or online in Microsoft Teams.
  6. Does this process infringe on my academic freedom as an instructor?
    • Absolutely NOT! At no point in time will the process require an instructor to teach content or exclude content. YOU are the expert in your field.
  7. Can I schedule a workshop or series of workshops specifically for my program or department? 
  8. How long does it take to complete an online program review?
    • The timeline varies from program to program and depends on a number of variables. 

Please direct all questions about the OCRC to Online@JSU at online@jsu.edu  or 256-782-8172. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to Noon, and 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm.