The Course Essentials Express Grant is a professional development opportunity for faculty who seek to build new knowledge and skills in pursuit of improving one of their online or blended courses. The program is delivered as a semester-long online blended course that is individually focused. Participants will complete an online workshop, attend course quality consultations, and complete course improvement tasks to help them design a course that meets the essential standards of the research-based and education driven Quality Matters Rubric for Higher Education.
Course Essentials Express Grant Objectives
- Apply research-based course design strategies to an existing online, for-credit course at NC State.
- Improve an existing course based on the Quality Matters essential standards which include:
- Course Overview and Introduction
- Learning Objectives
- Assessment and Measurement
- Instructional Materials
- Course Activities and Learner Interaction
- Course Technology
- Learner Support
- Accessibility and Usability
- Submit the course for an official QM course review.
Who should participate?
Full-time faculty (at least .75FTE) currently teaching an online or blended course. Each participating faculty member will choose one specific course to work on.
What courses are eligible?
Eligible courses include any online or blended/hybrid for-credit NC State course for which the faculty is the instructor of record, and which has been taught online or in a blended or hybrid form at least twice.
- Definition of “online”: 76% or more of the content and instruction is provided in an asynchronous online format and is mediated by technology.
- Definition of “blended” and “hybrid”: Approximately 25-75% of the course takes place in a face-to-face (or online synchronous environment). Seat time is reduced proportionately to the percentage of the course delivered online.
- Courses that are not eligible: Please note that face-to-face, remote learning, and web-enhanced courses in which 100% of the instruction occurs in regularly scheduled synchronous sessions (either in person at a campus location with the instructor on a regular basis or in a real-time setting mediated by technology) are NOT eligible for a Course Essentials Express Grant.
Prerequisite
All participants are required to successfully complete the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop prior to participating in the Course Essentials Express Grant.
Length and delivery
The Course Essentials Express Grant is a semester-long program that is delivered as an online course through Moodle. The total commitment of time expected will be at least 60 hours. This includes completing a four-week online workshop, attending synchronous meetings and applying improvements to your online course according to the course schedule.
Participants are expected to devote about 4 hours per week during this four-week online asynchronous workshop. The IYOC workshop is an official QM workshop that is led by a certified DELTA facilitator, and includes multiple opportunities for interaction, including discussion forums and assignments.
Participants will attend one orientation session and two group check-in meetings facilitated by a DELTA Course Quality team member. Meetings will be held via Zoom.
Participants will meet individually with an assigned DELTA Course Quality advisor a minimum of three times to receive feedback on their course improvements. Meetings may be via Zoom or in person.
Participants will need to set aside time (minimum 39 hours) over 16 weeks to make improvements to their courses. This time will be dedicated to applying the best practices covered in the online training portion and incorporating feedback from the consultations. Participants will be expected to complete course improvement tasks and assignments according to established deadlines. After completion of the Course Essentials course, participants will be expected to submit their course for an official QM course review.
Incentives for Completion
- $4000 Award
- DELTA covers the following costs:
- APPQMR workshop (value $220)
- IYOC workshop (value $165)
- Official Quality Matters course review and certification (value $1,300)
- Aggregated feedback from official peer reviews of the online course
- National recognition for the course when it meets Quality Matters standards
A course receives Quality Matters Certification once it meets QM Rubric Standards at the 85% threshold or better and meets all essential standards during a QM-Managed Official Course Review. The Course Quality Team will provide the course representative with a letter certifying the course for QM Certification which includes a certification of completion and a QM Certification mark to display in their course or program website. A copy of this letter will be forwarded to the department chair and college dean for their files.
How to Apply
The Course Essentials Express Grant is administered through the DELTA Express Grants process.
View DELTA Express Grants application information
For more information specifically about the Course Essentials Express Grant, please contact Bethanne Winzeler.
Please direct any questions about the submission process or DELTA Grants generally to deltagrants@ncsu.edu.