Online Instructor Certificate Program

Experience online learning as your students do!

Available to educators nationwide, this series of fully online courses will show you how to design and deliver a quality course via the Internet– free for the University of Michigan-Flint faculty and competitively priced for others.

You may choose any course individually, or you may decide to earn the full online instructor certificate. For the certificate, participants must complete the following courses and receive a score of 80% or higher in each one.

For faculty or staff members interested in this program, please contact the ODE Help Desk. The Help Desk staff will be able to provide you with the promotional code that will allow you to register for these courses for free.

Complete the following:

OPTIONAL: Canvas Basics for Faculty (online, self-paced, instructor-facilitated; $100)
Faculty learn the basics of this learning management system and will have their own Canvas course shell in which to do assignments and practice.

REQUIRED: Faculty Introduction to Online Teaching (online, self-paced; $100)
This course introduces instructional design theory and the basics of what it takes to develop and teach an online course. Includes trends and mechanics of online teaching.

REQUIRED: Intensive Course Development (online, structured, instructor-led; $400)
In this four-week course, participants experience first-hand what it is like to be an online learner, walk through the development process, and create the core of an online course, including learning objectives, syllabus, and course material for at least two complete weeks of instruction.
Prerequisites: Canvas Basics for Faculty and Faculty Intro to Online Teaching

REQUIRED: Copyright Issues in Online Teaching (online, self-paced; $50)
This course provides both an overview for educators of copyright issues and specific information related to the online environment. Topics include instructors’ responsibilities regarding student work, graphic sources and rules for Web-based course content, fair use, database, and digital rights protection, and such legislation as The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the TEACH Act.

REQUIRED: Course Quality Assessment (self-paced; $100)
Using an Excel-based tool, faculty can assess the quality of their courses according to 60 standards and sub-standards related to technology usability and instructional design. This tool provides measurement criteria, benchmarks, ratings, and a weighting system to provide an overview that is as objective as possible.

REQUIRED: Making Learning Accessible (online, self-paced; $25)
Accessible course development is about creating instructional materials that people with disabilities can access the same as those without a disability. You will learn, however, that following accessibility best practices can benefit all students. It also helps you and your institution avoid legal entanglements. We’ll give you an overview and then have you practice some simple steps that you can take to help your students get the most out of your online course materials. The course will take you about 4 to 5 hours to complete.

Course Development Stipends

Online development stipends are available to faculty for course development, contingent on the availability of funds, at $1,500 per course on a first-come, first-served basis, excluding independent study courses. Currently, funds are restricted to online courses developed for the Strategic Transformation initiative.

Please note: This initiative is being funded by Strategic Transformation monies received for FY24. Additional future funding depends on the outcome of the review of the full Strategic Transformation proposal by the Regents.

General Criteria to Qualify

1. Courses must be approved in advance by the department chairperson and College/School Dean to confirm eligibility as a part of the strategic transformation.

2. The faculty member agrees to successfully complete the Intensive Course Development class with a score of 80% or better between 2017 and the present.

3. To maximize the use of university resources, stipends will not be awarded to courses for which other monies have been approved by the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching. It should also be noted that courses developed for the AODC program are likewise ineligible as the stipend limit for those courses is set at $1000 and subject to different development criteria.

Course Specific Criteria

Course must be 50% developed to receive compensation and must have incorporated:

Syllabus outlining the course and assignment schedule in detail.
Instructor contact information is prominently placed in the correlating course area.
“Getting started” or orientation module with details on how to proceed through the course.
- The introduction to this course will feature the instructor actively using media elements to present themselves. Examples include a webcam introduction, a screen recording of a course overview, or a combination of media.
Weekly modules or units with consistent navigation and appearance.
- Use Modules in Canvas to create a structured, weekly or unit-based organization. Start each module with an overview page detailing the unit’s main themes, goals, and a summary of associated resources and activities. This approach ensures clarity and consistency across your course.
Course must demonstrate evidence of frequent and structured interaction planned between students, facilitating collaborative learning and community building.
- Include a minimum of two types of peer interaction mechanisms, such as discussion forums, peer review assignments, or group projects. Guidelines and expectations for student participation in these interactions should be provided in the course.
At least 50% of the course modules/content are developed and include:
- Learning objectives/learning outcomes stated at the beginning of each module.
- Materials, activities, assignments and assessments aligned to the learning objectives/outcomes.
- Grading rubrics are developed for all assignments.
  - Provide students with rubrics or criteria for evaluation beforehand.
  - Explain how each component of the rubric contributes to the overall assessment.
  - Provide examples of exemplary work related to the grading rubric criteria.
- Lecture material with audio or video accompaniment featuring the instructor in at least three of the weekly modules.
- Courses must include original, faculty-developed material to qualify for stipends.
Course must incorporate an assessment within the first 5 to 10 days, utilizing diverse methods to cater to different learning styles and objectives. Implement an initial assessment which may include a quiz, reflective essay, discussion post, etc.
- This assessment should be designed to engage students, gauge their understanding of the material, and provide early feedback.
All course materials meet ADA compliance standards, specifically aligned with WCAG 2.1
Guidelines.
- All multimedia (audio, video) must include accurate, readable, and synchronized captions.
- Instructor-created documents (Word, PDF, etc.) must adhere to accessibility best practices, including use of headers and readable fonts.
- Images must have descriptive or alternative text that conveys the essential information.