CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Grants for Online General
Education Courses
INNOVATIVE LEARNING INSTITUTE/TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES
JANUARY 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 of online GenEd courses through a professional development program in which faculty will:

Participate in and contribute to a 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

Be eligible to receive a grant of hardware and/or software to support online course activities

Receive a $2,000 grant
In awarding these grants, there will be a strong preference for courses that will be delivered during Summer 2015.
ELIGIBLE COURSES
Existing courses are eligible for this support must be designated as GenEd, adhere to the RIT General Education
Framework, and demonstrate a history of consistent student demand. Eligible courses include those that address
the seven Perspectives Categories, as well as high-demand Immersion Courses.
Courses must be delivered fully online, and can be delivered in any of RIT’s term schedules:

3-week intersession TigerTerm

5-week summer TigerTerm

10-week summer TigerTerm

16-week semester
For each proposed course, Department Heads will identify a full-time faculty member to participate in the course
development program. Preferably, this faculty member has experience teaching the course, though not
necessarily online.
In order to qualify for the grant, 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.
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
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.
Kickoff/Orientation
Faculty will attend a 60–90-minute Kickoff event that will provide:

An overview of the professional development program for online faculty

An overview of TLS services and resources

Faculty support and incentives

Online course design completion and review expectations

“Lessons learned” from RIT faculty who have taught online courses

Information on addressing organizational and logistical issues, such as course assignments/schedules
and development of multiple-section courses
Faculty Learning Communities
Faculty will become 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 Instructional Designer facilitator will meet five times during the spring
semester (faculty should plan to attend at least three meetings) to collaborate, solve problems, and share
progress. If desired by FLC members, some meetings can be conducted online.
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.

Theory and Practice of Course Multimedia workshop

Fundamentals of Course Multimedia Production workshop
Capstone Event
Faculty will meet as a large group to share their experiences and examples, provide feedback on the design
process, and discuss any outstanding issues.
Course Review

Design Review: Teaching and Learning Services will review course designs and materials against the
Quality Matters Online Course Rubric, and 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.
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
Post-delivery Assessment
Faculty will complete a short narrative based on their reflection journal and Course Assessment Matrix to
document their online course experience, including skills developed, lessons learned, and opportunities for
continuous improvement.
PROGRAM COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS
Faculty who develop and teach the course will receive a grant of $2,000, in two equal payments.
To receive the grant, this faculty member must:

Collaborate with their Department Head on the course proposal

Complete the Development Program as described

Design the online course

Keep a personal reflection journal related to the course design, development, and delivery process

Ensure that the completed course is in myCourses and available for review at least two weeks before the
course is available to students.

Teach the initial offering of the course

After the course has run, complete an assessment and narrative on the course development and delivery
experience, including ideas for improvement
COURSE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
This timeline is for courses that will be offered Summer or Fall 2015. Timelines for courses to be delivered during
Intersession, Spring, and Summer 2016 will be announced in May 2015.

Proposals submitted ....................................................................................................... February 11

Course acceptance ......................................................................................................... February 16

Kickoff event ..................................................................................................... Week of February 23

Detailed course outline submitted .......................................................................................March 30

Capstone event........................................................................................................ Week of April 27

Course review/Initial grant payment
Summer courses........................................................................................................ Week of May 4
Fall courses .............................................................................................................. Week of July 27

Course complete in myCourses
Summer courses..................................................................................................................... May 22
Fall courses ....................................................................................................................... August 14

Post-delivery assessment submitted and final grant payment
Summer courses................................................................................................................ August 21
Fall courses .................................................................................................................. January 2016
Course reviews must align with the Quality Matters Online Course Rubric,. Reviews will be performed by ILI/TLS
staff.
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL
Department Heads and faculty should collaborate on the Online GenEd Course Proposal and submit the
completed application by February 11, 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 Jeremiah
Parry-Hill, Instructional Design Program Coordinator, at Jeremiah.Parry-Hill@rit.edu.
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
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:
How many online courses have you designed?
How many online classes have you taught?
Have you taught the proposed course before?
None
1–2 courses
None
1–4 classes
Yes, Online
Yes
3–5 courses
No
>5 courses
5–10
classes
>10 classes
Yes, in the classroom
No
COURSE OVERVIEW
To be completed by the Department Head
Course Catalog Description
(Insert the Course Catalog Description here)
Is this course designated as GenEd?
Is this course currently taught online?
How often is this course offered?
Yes
Yes
No
No
_________________________________________________________
Mode for the redesigned course:
16-week semester
3-week intersession
10-week summer
5-week summer
Initial delivery target:
Summer 2015
Fall 2015
Intersession 2016
Spring 2016
Summer 2016
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
DEMAND PROFILE
To be completed by the Department Head
Characterize the anticipated student demand for this course. Use data such as previous registration, wait list
numbers, transfer credits accepted for comparable courses, 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.
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?
ANTICIPATED SUPPORT NEEDS
To be completed by the Department Head
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)
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Online General Education Course Development Grants
Would you need any media or web conferencing software or hardware to deliver your course?
HD Webcam
Wireless headset
Camtasia Studio (editing software)
Other (specify)
TO SUBMIT THIS PROPOSAL
Proposals should be emailed to Dawn Severson, Senior Staff Assistant, Innovative Learning Institute at
dawn.m.severson@rit.edu by February 11, 2015.
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