A Note About the Deadlines
Deadlines are a critical part of the online/hybrid development process: not only is there a required review of your partial content before the schedule of classes is published, but industry standards tell us that a new online or hybrid course will take anywhere from 60 hours to upwards of 250 hours to build.  These deadlines help to encourage you to give your new course the time it deserves so that your first experience teaching an online or hybrid course is a positive one for you and your students.   

*See the Course Review Process tab for details.

New online or hybrid courses are reviewed by a sub-committee of the Committee on Educational Technology.  The reviewers will be looking at the bulleted items, below, and using a modified version of the SUNY recommended OSCQR Rubric to evaluate progress.  Courses that are approved by the sub-committee will receive "Provisional" status and are eligible for a partial payment (25%) of the financial award ($375): 

• A course syllabus, with online office hours noted, is posted. 
• The semester schedule includes specific assignments, as well as evaluation and grading criteria for the assignments.
• A welcome announcement and/or a “course map” is present and describes how the course will be run and where students can find critical information, content, and assignments.
• A well-organized and efficient course menu.
• Well-defined learning units or modules. 
• At least 25% of the course content.  This may include, but is not limited to, some or all of the following:
  • Posting lectures
  • Posting readings, external web-resources, videos, etc
  • Creating assignments
  • Creating discussion/blog/journal/wiki areas
  • Creating tests and quizzes

After you have taught the course, you will complete the development process by reporting on the experience and “closing the instructional loop” through one of the following methods:

• Plan a presentation at the TLC on best practices or lessons learned during your online or hybrid experience.
• Plan to attend a meeting of the Committee on Educational Technology (CET) and report on your experiences to the committee.
• Plan a presentation for your department; you must also extend an invitation to the presentation to the CET so a representative can be present.
• Submit a written report describing your experiences.

Upon completion, you will be awarded the balance (75%) of the financial award ($1,125) and a certificate verifying your readiness for online/hybrid instruction.  

Click to download a printable version of the checklist.

1.  Submit workflow request in my.newpaltz.edu.
2.  Complete on-boarding survey.
3.  Attend one-hour introductory meeting with Instructional Technology staff.
4.  Develop 25% of course.
5.  Have course reviewed by CET sub-committee.
6.  Receive "Provisional" status and 25% of financial award.
7.  Complete and teach the course.
8.  Complete "Closing-the-Loop" requirements.
9.  Receive "Approved" status, the 75% balance of the financial award, and a certificate of completion.
10.  Your development is complete!*

*You are approved to teach for three years, at which time you must complete Continuing Education hours.

Prior Experience Policy

Faculty who hold certification or verification from another higher education institution can be verified to teach online or hybrid formats at New Paltz with documentation. Valid documentation includes a dated certificate verifying completion of development or a letter attesting to successful online teaching from the Educational Technology Coordinator or Department Chair. Faculty who present documentation can be scheduled to teach online or hybrid courses immediately, but are not eligible to later participate in the New Paltz development process and receive a certificate and monetary award.

Off-site or Third-Party Development Policy

If a faculty member wishes or is asked to teach an online or hybrid course after the deadline for development for a particular semester has passed, and if this occurs under non-emergency and/or non-extenuating circumstances (see the policy for expedited development for more information), the faculty member may elect the following non-certificate bearing, non-award bearing option in order to teach in the next semester: The faculty member secures development through a recognized agency such as Educause, Sloan or Quality Matters or the department can provide a suitable mentor. The TLC will be contacted by the department chair and outline the development plan. The TLC will set up a Blackboard development site and change the faculty member’s status so they can be scheduled. The faculty member will develop the course, teach it, and follow the “closing the loop” process. Upon completion of this, the faculty member will have a status of “certificate,” which indicates that their development took place outside of the New Paltz development process.

Expedited Development Due to Extenuating Circumstances Policy

In cases where faculty take over a course close to the start of a semester due to emergency or extenuating circumstances, the following guidelines, below, should be followed for expedited faculty development.

Initial Approval

The department chair and the instructor will draft a mutually agreeable development plan that will be submitted to appointed members of the CET committee and TLC staff for final approval of expedited development; the plan should include the following:

1. A statement of why development needs to be expedited and what alternatives were explored to avoid having a faculty member go through expedited development.
2. A statement of the development method being followed (see step 2 in the Guidelines for Expedited Development, below):
   • Name a mentor within the department who will train and assist the faculty member undergoing development on an ongoing basis.
   • OR name the outside course(s) the faculty member will take to fulfill development training and state how the financial obligation for taking the course(s) will be covered (i.e. by the department, by the faculty member, etc).
3. Designation of the person within the department (most likely the chair or the mentor) who will do the review of the faculty member’s course alongside representatives from the CET and TLC (see step 4 in the Guidelines for Expedited Development, below).

Guidelines for Expedited Development

1. The faculty member will take the onboarding survey and set up the one-hour introductory meeting with TLC Staff; during this step the instructor will receive the course evaluation rubric.
   • The TLC will update the instructor’s development status to “in-progress” so the faculty member can be scheduled.
   • The TLC will set up a Blackboard development site for the instructor to use in building the course.
2. The faculty member will secure development through a recognized agency such as (but not limited to) Educause, The Online Learning Consortium (formerly Sloan), or Quality Matters OR the department can provide a suitable faculty mentor who is a verified instructor of online or hybrid teaching.
3. The faculty member will develop the course.
4. A subcommittee composed of a CET member, a TLC member, and the department personnel designated in the development plan will review 25% of the course by the midpoint between the date when the expedited development was requested and the start of the semester, but no less than two weeks before the course is scheduled to begin.
5. The faculty member will (1) teach the course, (2) follow the “closing the loop” process to complete the online faculty development procedure, and (3) commit to teaching the course at least one additional time.

NOTE: Faculty following the expedited development method will receive their full monetary award and certificate upon completion of the closing the loop process; the 25% partial payment available through the standard development method is not applicable for expedited development.

Financial Award Policy

An award of $1,500 is associated with completion of the verification process, with partial payment (25%, or $375) upon confirmation of provisional approval and the balance (75%, or $1,125) upon confirmation of “closing the loop,” at which time the faculty will receive a certificate verifying readiness for online/hybrid instruction. Please note: To receive either portion of the $1500 award, a faculty member must be on the payroll at the time of payment. Faculty who complete the verification process agree to teach online or hybrid a second time within two years.