ECPS Guidelines for Approval, Development, and Staffing of Online Courses

• Courses reside in Departments, and therefore ECPS is the steward of all its courses, whether offered face-to-face, online and/or off campus, under its rubrics (EPSE, CNPS, VRHC).

• It is understood that the courses within the Department are the intellectual property of the Department and that intellectual property cannot be allocated to anyone or any entity outside the Department.

• These Guidelines apply to new courses or programs that are specifically proposed as online, or for courses that are changing from a face-to-face format to a fully online format.

• Initiatives for online courses may originate from a number of sources, but course proposals must proceed through the normal channels for approval

  • Program area
  • ECPS Council
  • Department
  • GCAC or CCASA
  • Faculty of Education
    

• Online course proposals must come from a full time ECPS faculty member, although sessional instructors and students are encouraged to share suggestions with the faculty.

• Proposals for online courses should include a statement of the purpose of the course, intended audience, relationship to other courses, technical support needs, and the anticipated frequency with which the course will be scheduled. A complete syllabus and curriculum change form are required.

• Course and program development is a core activity of the Department and its faculty. As such, developing and teaching courses whether they are online or face-to-face is a part of the normal conditions of employment. Contracts outside of those bargained between UBC and the UBC Faculty Association for this work are neither necessary nor legitimate.

• Not withstanding the above, resources for the development of online courses may come from a variety of sources, including service units such as EPLT, other external funding, or be a part of a faculty or sessional workload, either on load or off load. A case-by-case assessment is required to determine the source and level of resources to successful develop an online course.

• Online courses will be supported by EPLT, the Faculty of Education service unit, by providing technical support to course developers for mounting courses and to faculty and students when the course is delivered.

• Sessional appointments to teach online courses may be done through the Department or EPLT, and in the latter case, all hires must be approved by the Department in advance.

• There must be an opportunity for students taking online courses to submit student evaluations, appropriate for the medium, of these courses.