Summer 2024 Online Course Development Bootcamp
CIDI, in cooperation with USU Online, is hosting a 9-week, cohort-based program designed to help faculty systematically build, or rebuild, an online course from scratch.
Applications are due April 19, 2024.
When: May 30–August 2
The bootcamp includes 9-weeks of cohort working time, plus a guided semester in which the course is first taught.
Benefits of Participating
- Learning and Support: The bootcamp features live collaborative learning and working sessions, design consultations, and dedicated help with course content development and setup.
- USU Quality Course Certificate: A course that is completed through the bootcamp will be certified as a USU Quality Course when it passes a course quality review. It will receive a badge that can be displayed on the course home page, and the developing faculty member(s) will receive an accompanying certificate. Certification will last for three years and will be renewable with another quality review.
- Payment for Participation: Payments to faculty (or departments, where applicable) will be paid in two installments: half at the end of the bootcamp and half at the conclusion of the semester in which the course is first taught. Payment is dependent on successful completion of the bootcamp and associated course content. The amount of payment will be up to $2000/credit hour.
If multiple faculty develop a single course, payment will be split among developing faculty. Payment will go to the faculty member's academic department.
Participant Commitments and Deliverables
- Two Live Meeting Times (Choice of In-Person or Zoom Attendance):
- Live meetings are from 9:30-3:00, with a break for lunch.
- For the first meeting, participants can choose to attend on June 3 or June 6.
- For the second meeting, participants can choose to attend on July 8 or July 11.
- Participants who cannot attend both live sessions will not be accepted.
- Four Consultations:
- Two consultations with a CIDI designer during the 9-week session
- A mid-semester and end-of-semester consultation during the first semester the course is taught
- Online Learning: An online curriculum to provide additional assistance.
- Course Design Plan: Early in the 9-week session, faculty will produce a design plan that includes an analysis of their students, the students' learning and performance context, the course goals and objectives, and appropriate assessment methods. The plan will also include a course map, detailing the unit-by-unit progression of learning activity.
- A Fully-Developed Course: A completed course will include a a syllabus, at least one original instructional video per unit, additional content as needed, and fully-developed assessments and assignments. You will be expected to complete two weeks of course content during most weeks of the 9-week session. The course will have an appealing and usable visual design and meet USU accessibility standards.
- Quality Standards Review: A completed course will receive two standardized quality reviews: one by a faculty peer, focused on content and pedagogy, and another by an instructional designer, focused on design and usability. A course that passes both reviews will be considered complete and will be certified.
- A Signed Shared Use Agreement: Courses developed through the bootcamp will be considered USU commissioned works, meaning USU will retain the right to use and adapt the intellectual property as it sees fit, including allowing other faculty to use and adapt the course content. The faculty member who originally developed the content will also retain the right to continue to use the content as they see fit.
Application and Participant Selection
Faculty who are interested in participating should fill out a Bootcamp Application Form. Applications are due April 19, 2024. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of CIDI, USU Online, and other staff from the Office of the Executive Vice President who will select up to twenty applicants. Accepted courses will be approved by their academic department heads.
Courses will be prioritized based upon the following factors:
- potential student enrollment, with priority to higher enrollment courses,
- strategic importance as part of an academic program (multiple courses from the same program are welcome),
- course frequency and immediacy, with preference going to courses that run sooner and more frequently.
Only fully online courses will be accepted. Connect, hybrid, and virtual courses are not eligible. The course needs to be offered in the 2024-2025 school year to qualify. Participants will only be given contracts for a single course.
Attendance at the in-person sessions is mandatory. Participants who cannot attend both live sessions will not be accepted.
Bootcamp Schedule
The 9-week cohort schedule is posted on the general bootcamp schedule page. After the 9-week cohort session, participants will work with CIDI to monitor and roll-out the course for its first semester.