CALL FOR PROPOSALS
General Education Online
Development Program (GOLD)
INNOVATIVE LEARNING INSTITUTE/TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES
OCTOBER 14, 2015
RIT is seeking to increase the number of General Education courses that students who are not on campus can
complete online throughout the year. We expect this to increase scheduling flexibility for undergraduate students
and to help improve the on-time graduation rate.
To support this goal, the Innovative Learning Institute, through Teaching and Learning Services, will support
faculty development through a professional development program in which faculty will:

Participate in and contribute to a face-to-face Faculty Learning Community on designing and teaching
online courses

Attend professional development workshops and other events

Receive individual support for instructional design and media production during their course design,
development, and delivery

Receive a $2,000 grant, released in two equal increments, contingent on (a) a complete course design
that conforms to a standardized quality rubric, and (b) a post-delivery reflection of the course, including
specific plans to revise and improve the course for subsequent deliveries.

Be eligible to receive a grant of hardware and/or software to support online course activities
In awarding these grants, there will be a strong preference for approved courses verified by the department chair.
ELIGIBLE FACULTY AND COURSES
Each participating faculty member must be full-time (i.e. tenure-track and tenured faculty, senior lecturers,
principal lecturers, or lecturers with multiple year contracts). Faculty who have completed any previous iteration of
the GOLD program within the past 2 years are excluded from this iteration.
The practical demonstration of professional development in this program will involve designing or redesigning an
online course. Although this program’s assessment includes crafting a course design, faculty members will be
compensated for participation in the development program, not for course development per se.
Department Heads must verify that the participating faculty member has sufficient time to participate and succeed
in this professional development program. Preferably, this faculty member will have had experience teaching the
course, though not necessarily online.
Eligible courses must be designated as General Education and must be likely to enroll enough students in order
to run. Eligible courses include those that address the seven Perspectives Categories, as well as popular
Immersion Courses. Because of the effort and resources involved in the design, development, and
implementation of these courses, to increase the likelihood that they will run, colleges are encouraged to select
courses with proven enrollment history. Enrollment history will be a factor in the selection of courses that will be
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
funded through this program. In the case of new courses, Department Heads are required to include a rationale
for demand. This may be included in the Demand Profile section of the application form.
Courses must be delivered fully online, and can be delivered in any of RIT’s term schedules:

5-week summer TigerTerm

10-week summer TigerTerm

16-week semester
Departments must agree to offer the completed online course at least once per year for the next five years. At
least two of these offerings must be during summer or intersession. At minimum, summer or intersession offerings
must be available to students every two years.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Design Consultation
All faculty will have a TLS Instructional Design Researcher and Consultant (IDRC) assigned to them to provide
assistance throughout the online design and teaching process, including strategies for accelerated course design.
Faculty Learning Communities
Faculty will meet face-to-face, as part of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC), with peers to explore and share
issues related to online course design and teaching.
It is expected that group members and an IDRC facilitator will meet five times during the program term, and that
faculty are expected to attend at least three meetings. These meetings will include a short presentation on course
design or academic technology, but are mainly an opportunity for faculty to collaborate, solve problems, and
share progress.
Technology Support
TLS will provide targeted technical support for developing and teaching online courses, including:

On-demand training sessions on pedagogy and technology, such as: myCourses, Adobe Connect,
Camtasia Studio, RIT Wiki, etc.

A provision of relevant technical equipment and software, based on proven need.
Course Review

Design Review: Teaching and Learning Services will review course designs and materials against a
course design rubric, and will provide specific feedback on any issues to be addressed before course
launch.

Week 2 check-in: During Week 2 of course delivery, IDRCs will review the course with the faculty
member to identify any issues, and to address any questions or concerns from faculty.
Reflections on Course Delivery and Improvement Plan
After the course has run, faculty will submit a plan for improving the next offering of the course. Teaching and
Learning Services will provide a structured template for this reflection and improvement plan.
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
Program Completion Requirements
Faculty who develop and teach the course will receive a grant of $2,000 in two equal payments: $1,000 on
delivery of a course design that passes a course design review by Teaching and Learning Services, and $1,000
upon submission of a post-delivery reflection/plan to improve the next offering of the course.
To receive the grant, this faculty member must:

Collaborate with their Department Head on the course proposal

Participate in the Development Program (as described previously in Development Program Components)

Attend at least three of five Faculty Learning Community meetings during the program. Meeting times will
be scheduled based on the availability of accepted faculty.

Design the online course

Ensure that the completed course is in myCourses and available for final review at least two weeks
before the course is available to students.

Teach the initial offering of the course

Complete an assessment and reflection narrative on the course development and delivery experience
after the initial offering of the course has run. This assessment should include ideas for improvement of
the online course based on the faculty member’s observations and experience during the course, student
performance, student evaluations, and other evidence gathered during course delivery.
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
COURSE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
This timeline is for courses that will be offered during Summer or Fall 2016.

Proposals submitted ........................................................................................................ November 20, 2015

Proposal acceptance ......................................................................................................... December 7, 2015

Kickoff meeting ...................................................................................................... Week of February 8, 2016

Detailed course outline submitted ....................................................................... Week of February 22, 2016

Course review/Initial grant payment
Summer courses........................................................................................................... Week of May 2, 2016
Fall Courses ................................................................................................................. Week of July 25, 2016

Course complete in myCourses
Summer courses......................................................................................................... Week of May 16, 2016
Fall Courses ............................................................................................................ Week of August 15, 2016

Post-delivery assessment submitted and final grant payment
Summer courses...................................................................................................... Week of August 29 2016
Fall Courses ........................................................................................................... Week of February 6, 2017
Course reviews will be performed by ILI/TLS staff.
SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL
Department Heads and faculty should collaborate on the Online GenEd Course Proposal and submit the
completed application by November 20, 2015.
Proposals should be emailed to Dawn Severson, Senior Staff Assistant, Innovative Learning Institute at
dawn.m.severson@rit.edu.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
If you have any questions or comments about completing this proposal application, please contact Marty Golia at
mdgtwc@rit.edu.
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
APPLICATION FORM
Online GenEd Course
Proposal
INNOVATIVE LEARNING INSTITUTE/TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES
Course number and title:
College:
____________________________________________________________
______________________________ Department:
Department Head name:
Faculty name:
Email:
____________
_____________________________________________ Email:
Title:
Full time:
Yes
No
How many online courses have you designed?
None
1-2 courses
35 courses
>5 courses
How many online classes have you taught?
None
1-4 classes
5-10 classes
>10 classes
Have you taught the proposed course before?
Yes, Online
Yes, in the classroom
No
COURSE OVERVIEW
To be completed by the Department Head
Course Catalog Description
Is this course designated as GenEd?
Yes
Is this course currently taught online?
How often is this course offered?
Yes
No
No
_________________________________________________________
Mode for the redesigned course:
16 week semester
10 week summer
5 week summer
Initial delivery target:
Summer 2016
Fall 2016
A later term:
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
DEMAND PROFILE
To be completed by the Department Head
Characterize the number of students the course is likely to enroll. You may refer to historical enrollment patterns,
transfer credit coming in to RIT from equivalent courses, the number of waitlisted students, unmet needs, etc.
PROPOSED DESIGN
To be completed by the faculty member
Online Instructional Strategy
In one paragraph, please articulate the overall strategy for achieving the student learning outcomes effectively in
an online format. Include planned use of media, web conferencing, special software or applications, publisherprovided resources, etc.
Challenges
What instructional challenges, if any, has this course posed in the past (such as DFW rates)?
What challenges, if any, do you foresee in teaching this course effectively online?
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General Education Online Development Program (GOLD)
ANTICIPATED SUPPORT NEEDS
To be completed by the faculty member
Please list any support you would like from TLS to help you successfully develop and deliver this course,
including:

Faculty technology training

Online design consultation

Media production needs

myCourses support

Web conferencing assistance (e.g. Adobe Connect)
Do you foresee the need for any specific hardware or software to create or teach the course? If so, please list
those needs and an explanation.
REFERRAL:
How did you hear about this program? (Please list the name of the person that referred you)
TO SUBMIT THIS PROPOSAL
Proposals should be emailed to Dawn Severson, Senior Staff Assistant, Innovative Learning Institute at
dawn.m.severson@rit.edu by November 20, 2015.
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