Online Teaching
The Dean of Curricular and Faculty Development, along with Thorpe's Instructional Design team, coordinate routinely with Faculty to develop IWU's approach to online teaching. As online learning becomes more prevalent, it is more important than ever to encourage best practices for all instructional modalities. We are here to support you in that endeavor!
Online Learning at IWU
To ensure IWU meets HLC Accreditation standards and Title IV funding requirements for online learning, all of the following items must occur for an online course to run:
- Course Approval: The course content/proposal is approved by CC for the curriculum.
- LMS Approval: The Canvas course LMS must be approved by the Thorpe Center for use in online instruction, based on the IWU Online Course standards. .
- Instructor Approval: The instructor must meet the online teaching criteria outlined below.
Online Teaching Criteria
Each instructor teaching an online course must be approved to teach online by the Provost Office/Thorpe Center. The instructor can be approved for online instruction in one of two ways:
IWU Online Cohort (Preferred)
The instructor has completed the IWU Online Course Development Cohort. This cohort runs every Spring. Visit our Events and Workshops section to register.
Demonstrated Evidence of Excellence
If the instructor is unable, or chooses not, to complete the IWU Online Course Development Cohort, they can receive approval by demonstrating a history of excellence in teaching online through the submission of the Excellence in Online Teaching Evaluation (), which includes both of the following:
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- Evidence of acting as the lead instructor within the last 5 years of at least 1 fully online course
- A self-evaluation of recent (within the last 5 years) online teaching experiences.
The self-evaluation portion asks the instructor to describe how measurable, regular and substantive interaction is facilitated in their online course. The Provost Office/Thorpe Center collects the evidence of online teaching development for each instructor and adds it to the permanent faculty file, which is required for online teaching accreditation.
Note: Exceptions to this process may be made in extenuating circumstances. Please direct questions to the Dean of Curricular and Faculty Development.
FAQs
The Thorpe Center offers an annual Online Course Development Cohort, The Design and Practice of Online Teaching, and is the preferred method for completing instructor approval to teach online at IWU. Details and registration can be found under Events and Workshops.
The stipend for the Spring 2025 cohort is $500 for completion of the 12-week cohort course. The expected workload includes a 1 hour in-person meeting and 1 hour of asynchronous work each week.
Please note: Stipends for future semesters have not been determine.
Below are some articles that provide best practices for online teaching and learning.
There are four ways to get support with Canvas courses.
- Complete the asynchronous Canvas Course, , which includes self-paced modules with content, activities, and examples. While no
feedback is given throughout the modules, they can be used for self-evaluation.
- Access both instructor and student Canvas Support through these .
- Attend a Canvas Support Pop Up Event. Check our Event page for upcoming dates.
- Schedule a meeting with the Instructional Design team.