Online Course Readiness Checklist‘Minimum Standards’ for Online Course Development
Fresno Pacific University
Course provides essential information and orients students to the course.
Course Header includes a course-relevant image, course title/banner, catalog description, and relevant course resources.
Instructor Profile Block contains an appropriate (professional-looking) photo of the instructor along with basic contact information (email, phone, office hours – at least once per week).
Course Orientation Video provides students with an overview of the course topics and instructions on how to get started.
A “Start Here” page includes a course roadmap identifying overall plan of the course, listing work by week that provides students with an overview of the activities and assignment due dates.
News/Announcement Forum is available for the instructor to post announcements to students.
Student Introductions A forum or icebreaker activity invites students to introduce themselves to the class.
Student Questions Forum (water cooler type) is available for instructor-to-student and student-to-student discussion.
Faith Component Course includes faith component(s) that clearly distinguishes this as a course reflective of FPU as a Christian University (e.g., prayer request forum, devotional, scripture, faith integration subjects, etc.).
Syllabus is current and complete, including: instructor contact information, course description, measurable student learning outcomes (SLOs), detailed calendar of topics with weekly assignments, readings, course materials, and assessments; important due dates, grading criteria/policies, expected response time for email and assignment feedback, and university policies (http://registrar.fpu.edu/catalog) (recommend using the FPU Online Course Syllabus Template).
* Synchronous Session link and information for virtual class meetings is posted (currently using Adobe Connect).
University Resources Course contains links to extensive university resources as well as course specific resources.
II: Organization and Design
Course content is logically sequenced to support learning.
Navigation Course is easy to navigate, well organized, intuitive, logical, and consistent throughout, keeping course pages to a comfortable length with white space and minimizing the need for extensive scrolling.
Modules or weeks are clearly labeled with corresponding calendar of topics and a timeframe (dates) for completion.
Module Overview is provided at the beginning of each module (text or video), outlining the topic, purpose, learning outcomes, and assignments for the week or module.
Labeling of course resources, activities, assignments, and hyperlinks is descriptive and consistent with the syllabus and gradebook; Weekly graded assignments are numbered (e.g., 1.1 Label, 1.2 Label; 2.1 Label, 2.2 Label) for easy gradebook navigation.
Titles and Headings are used to organize the course materials and activities within modules.
Graphics/Images are used in course design to support course content.
Color and Texture do not overpower the course information and content.
III: Interaction and Engagement
Course provides opportunities for students to introduce themselves and various ways to interact with the content and each another.
Collaboration Students are provided opportunities to collaborate and interact with classmates a minimum of once per week (e.g. discussion forums, group discussions, group projects, peer reviews, group presentations, etc.).
Discussion Timelines include deadlines, which are early enough to allow for student responses (e.g., initial posts in a forum are due by Thursday to allow time for all students to read and post responses by Sunday).
IV: Content Materials & Lectures
Instructional material and activities support a variety of learning styles and a rich learning environment.
Content Resources Course includes a minimum of one media element and/or interactive object in every module, providing a rich learning environment. A variety of content resources are integrated throughout the course (e.g., video, text-based content, lecture notes, lecture capture or tutorials, outlines and organizers, multimedia, external links, resources, articles, journals, narrated PPTs, image-based presentations, audio, websites, graphs, slideshows, animations, video-recorded lectures, etc.).
Learning Activities engage students in a minimum of two learning experiences each week, encouraging meaningful interaction with the content to support critical thinking (e.g., questioning, inquiry, research, content creation, analysis, discovery, curation, creative activities, data collection, organization, comparison, etc.).
Learning Outcomes Alignment The learning activities are clearly linked to the stated learning objectives and Course Student Learning Outcomes (CSLOs).
Instructions or prompts provide clear directions to students about how to engage with the content and complete/submit assignments.
YES / NO / V: Assessment
A variety of appropriate assessment types allow students to evaluate their learning and progress in the course.
Week-One Assessment A minimum of one graded assignment is due by the end of the first week before the student drop period ends.
Learning Assessments are used throughout the course (e.g. not just final exam) and include multiple assessment types, allowing for diverse learning styles and providing varied opportunities for students to demonstrate their content knowledge and/or skill attainment (e.g., quizzes, tests, discussions, essays, projects, case studies, research papers, surveys, creative or digital projects/productions).
* Seelio Integration A Seelio (portfolio-based) assessment is included, allowing the integration of critical thinking, work, and academic experience and other aspects critical to course outcomes.
* Signature Assignment A Taskstream Signature Assignment is included (if required for this course in the program).
Gradebook corresponds with the grading schema (point values and/or weightings) outlined in the syllabus (e.g., all graded items listed in the syllabus are easily identified in the course grade book; ‘student view’ lists graded items in the order in which they are due for each module/week).
Due Dates for major assessments are Sunday or Monday evening to allow students weekend time to complete them.
VI: Technology Effectiveness
Course Technology and media are appropriately integrated, varied, and functional.
Technology Integration Course makes effective use of web-based instructional tools. Technology and selected media are effective in the delivery of the course content and support student engagement.
Technology Functionality Selected multimedia elements (e.g., audio, video, images, animations…) meet standards for quality, volume, size consistency, and loading efficiency. All links are functional (no broken links).
VII: Accessibility & Compliance
Course provides an accessible learning environment with equivalent alternatives to text, auditory, and visual content and reflects the university’s Accommodation policy.
Accessibility The course header section provides a link to the university’s Accommodation Policy for students. (http://www.fresno.edu/students/academic-support/services-students-disabilities).
Text Typeface is easy to read and font type/size is consistent throughout the course; hyperlink texts are descriptive (avoid “click here”); Sufficient contrast between text and background. Documents (Word, PDFs) are screen reader friendly.
Images are accompanied by text descriptions (Alt text) or captions for images that require a more complex description.
Audio materials (mp3, wav, etc.) are accompanied by a transcript.
Videos Instructor-generated videos (lectures, screencasts) are closed-captioned when possible or are accompanied by a transcript. (Third-party content such as YouTube often has closed-captioned options already included).
Credit Hour Equivalence The course content aligns with the workload credit hours listed in the syllabus.
Grammar and spelling are accurate throughout the course (e.g., assignments, prompts, explanations, transcripts).
Copyright Materials used in the course are cleared for copyright, include attribution where necessary, and meet ‘fair use’ guidelines.
*Requirements may vary by course or program – consult with program director.
1
Online Course Readiness Checklist_ Approved by Online Advisory Committee2016.9.10.