Statement of Policy
Excelsior College requires that all faculty who teach and/or develop online courses complete required orientation programs (see Faculty Handbook, “Faculty Roles and Responsibilities”). All new Excelsior College faculty who are hired to teach at the College are required to successfully complete EFT 101 Faculty Orientation Course for Instructors, prior to teaching online courses.
All Excelsior College course developers will be required to complete an orientation for course development provided by faculty program directors in collaboration with instructional designers. This orientation will coincide with actual course development and/or major revisions and will be based on the Manual for Course Development at Excelsior College.
The EFT 101 course and the EFT orientation are considered a condition of the contract with the faculty and are provided without cost or compensation.
Faculty who develop a new course are encouraged to teach it when it is first offered. If so, they will also be required to take EFT 101 before teaching the newly developed course.
Faculty hired prior to August 2007 are not required to take either course, but are strongly encouraged to do so. Any waivers exempting new faculty from taking the required orientation courses must be approved by the provost or the provost's designee.
Procedures for Required Course Instructors Orientation
| A. | When a faculty online account is created, an email will be sent to the new faculty member with a user name and password. All faculty accounts created in SIS will generate an email to the registrar. The registrar will assign each new adjunct faculty member to the next available section of EFT 101. |
| B. | Each EFT 101 course runs for a 30-day period and takes approximately 12-15 hours per week to complete. It is possible to complete the course in less than the 30-day window; however, faculty members must participate in the discussion boards throughout the course. Each section of the course is limited to 20 enrollments. |
| C. | EFT 101 courses are offered monthly. Normally, EFT 101 will start on the Monday following the start date of regularly scheduled online courses. |
| D. | Faculty are required to actively participate in the course discussions throughout the entire course and to complete all assignments. |
| E. | If faculty do not successfully complete the course, the dean may offer the opportunity to retake the course once more. |
| F. | The registrar will record a Pass or Withdraw grade for each participant in the EFT 101 course. The course facilitator will assign a P or W value for each course participant in the "Final Grade" column of the grade book. The course facilitator will inform the registrar that grading is complete. The registrar will pull the P or W grade from the EFT 101 section into the participant's SIS account. The registrar will notify the deans when grades for EFT 101 are completed after each term. |
| G. | At the end of each term, the course facilitator will send electronic certificates of completion to each faculty member who successfully completes the course. |
| H. | The dean or designee must check to ensure that faculty successfully complete the orientation course prior to receiving a teaching assignment. This is viewable within the faculty member’s SIS record. |
| I. | Under special circumstances, faculty may teach a course prior to receiving the required orientation; however, they must complete it before teaching another course. |
| J. | An EFT 101 course evaluation survey is incorporated within the Faculty MyExcelsior page to solicit and collect participant feedback. |
Procedures for Required Course Developer Orientation
| A. | At the initial meeting for the course development process, the staff from OELS and the faculty program director will inform the course developer of the required orientation and direct the course developer to the Manual for Course Development at Excelsior College. |
| B. | Successful completion of the orientation will be determined collaboratively by the instructional designer and faculty program director in charge of the course. The main criterion for success will be completion of the first two modules of a course that meets the standards for course development established by the College and as stated in the Manual for Course Developers at Excelsior College. |
The Faculty Development and Support Steering Committee (FDSSC), within the Office of the Provost, is responsible for oversight the EFT 101. This oversight includes periodic evaluation of the courses and collaboration with the Office of Online Education and Learning Services (OELS) to ensure that course content is integrated with the Faculty Handbook and academic policies and procedures. The FDSSC is also responsible for periodic review of the Manual for Course Development at Excelsior College.
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