CAMPUS NOTICE

 

OFFICE OF THE SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR -
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

November 4, 2010

ALL SENATE FACULTY MEMBERS

SUBJECT:    UC Online Instruction Pilot Project - Call for Letters of Intent - Internal Deadline: December 6, 2010

Dear Colleagues:

UC Office of the President has announced a new Online Instruction Pilot Project. Please see the announcement letter below. This planning phase includes an invitation to Academic Senate faculty to submit brief letters of intent for online courses. Undergraduate, high enrollment, lower-division classes are the primary target, however proposals for other courses may be submitted. The letter along with additional information regarding guidelines for submission and selection criteria can be found on our Academic Affairs website at:

http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/newsdocs/UCOnlineInstruction/

Letters of intent must be uploaded to the UCOP website no later than December 13, 2010. As an endorsement from the SVCAA is required (listed as Provost in the UCOP documents), my office will need to see your proposals in advance. Please send proposals to Associate Vice Chancellor - Undergraduate Education Barbara Sawrey (AVCUE@ucsd.edu) no later than December 6, 2010.

Please note that there are two telephone information sessions scheduled, one of which will take place this Friday, November 5. Interested faculty are encouraged to participate.

We hope that UC San Diego will be well represented in submission of letters of intent. Should you have any questions after reviewing the documents, please feel free to consult with Associate Vice Chancellor Sawrey on academic issues and ACMS Director Jeff Henry (pjhenry@ucsd.edu) regarding any technical concerns.




Suresh Subramani
Senior Vice Chancellor

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November 1, 2010

EXECUTIVE VICE CHANCELLORS

Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the kick off a systemwide Project to evaluate the potential application and effectiveness of online instruction in UC's undergraduate curriculum.

We seek brief (3-5 pages) Letters of Intent (LOI) from UC Academic Senate faculty who are interested in participating in the planning phase of the Project.

LOI are due on December 13, 2010. They will be reviewed by a small interdisciplinary review committee that will make recommendations to the Provost in January 2011 about which to select.

Please circulate this announcement to your faculty and refer interested colleagues to the project website where they can find more information about the Project and details about the LOI - its requirements and submission and review processes. The website is now live at:

http://onlineeducation.universityofcalifornia.edu

Project staff will hold two informational phone conferences to answer questions about the call for LOI, the submissions process, and the Project. The sessions are scheduled for:

Friday, November 5, 2010 from 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Monday, November 8, 2010 from 3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

To participate, dial (866) 740-1260 and enter the access code #9870772.

The Project seeks to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of online instruction in delivering a UC-quality undergraduate education. LOI are sought in particular from faculty who are passionate about teaching and learning, and who are curious about the roles technology may play in support.

In their LOI faculty will identify the undergraduate course or courses they would like to develop as part of the Project and provide some additional information, e.g. about themselves and their approach to determining content scope and learning objectives. In this request, online refers to courses that are largely or wholly online.

In the planning phase, selected faculty will bring their creativity and their expertise as subject specialists and as teachers to bear in thinking about the online learning environment and the course design principles that will be used for the Project. They will also advise in the development of an evaluation framework to assess the Project's progress and the efficacy of online instruction in UC's undergraduate curricula.

Faculty will work as part of a team that includes experts in online instruction and course design and in the assessment of learning effectiveness. They will participate in two, one-day workshops and up to eight hours of conference calls between January and March 2011. Travel and accommodation costs associated with workshop attendance will be reimbursed and honoraria of up to $1,000 per LOI will be paid in support of faculty participation.

In March 2011, faculty who participate in the Planning Phase will be invited to submit full proposals to continue into the Project's Implementation Phase (April 2011 - December 2012). In the Implementation Phase, faculty will develop their online course or courses, deliver them to undergraduates in UC credit bearing classes, and assess their effectiveness.

Up to 25 full proposals will be selected for the Implementation Phase, contingent upon the availability of Project funds and the quality of proposals received. Given the exploratory nature of the Project, faculty who are selected to develop courses within this context will receive up to $30,000 per course (and possibly more for multi-term sequences and/or particularly innovative proposals). These funds may be used by faculty for course release, summer salary, or as contribution to research or lab funds. Additional funds will be available for educational technology and other support staff who will work closely with faculty to build their online courses and to support their delivery in instruction. The total amount of any single award is expected to vary to take into account differences, such as, the number of credit hours that may be available for different courses, the availability of local technology and other expert support, etc.

Thank you for sharing this exciting opportunity with faculty on your campus.



Sincerely,




Lawrence H. Pitts
Provost and Executive Vice President
Academic Affairs