opposed to redevelopments. For example, after a course is offered, instructors might suggest adjustments to questions on assessments or clarifying instructions for an assignment. The SME will receive this feedback and implement needed changes in the primary course shell.
Additionally, the SME is responsible for ensuring that the course design and learning activities conform to the standards of online instruction to cultivate regular and substantive interaction throughout the course. When the results of assessments suggest that a change in a course or learning activity is needed, administrators should coordinate course changes with the program coordinator and SME. See 4.1 – Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in Online Education.
The SME is also responsible for collaborating with online faculty and Faculty Mentors to review critical indicators of course health. The data will come from several sources in ad hoc or regular reports. Relevant items to review will include,
Metrics of student success at the course level.
Metrics of student success at the assignment level.
Outliers in student performance at the question level of assessments.
Metrics of student engagement with course content within each module.
Student responses on end-of-course surveys.
Feedback and suggestions from faculty instructors.
Feedback from Faculty Mentors.
The SME will implement improvements in the primary course shell to ensure the online course is as effective as possible. All changes to development course shells must be completed six (6) weeks before the beginning of the subterm in which it will be deployed. This will allow for the changes made in the development shell to be copied to the primary course shell, which will then be used in course copy to create sections of the course. Course copy begins four (4) weeks before the subterm start date.
SMEs must select electronic textbooks to be integrated directly into the LMS. Exceptions for printed resources must be approved by the Office of Online Education through the process described in the policy for Course Developments and Redevelopments.
If a course requires an update due to a textbook edition change of the current textbook, then the SME will request a course development shell by contacting the Office of Online Education. Once the Office of Online Education provides access to the development shell, the SME will update the course test banks, chapters, appropriate reading prompts, etc. The updates must be completed at least six (6) weeks before the next term, but the bookstore needs to be informed about a textbook change five (5) months in advance.
Note: When textbook-related changes are made to an online course, the bookstore must be informed five (5) months in advance, and changes made to the online course must be completed in the development shell at least six (6) weeks before the next term.
After a course has been updated in the development shell, the program coordinator and Director of Online Education will review the updates. The program coordinator will ensure that learning outcomes are met and that the course meets RSI standards. The program coordinator must have all reviews completed five (5) weeks before the next term. If the program coordinator finds
Commented [JM62]: Ensure this section matches the policy document for course developments and redevelopments.
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Commented [JM62]: Ensure this section matches the policy document for course developments and redevelopments.