Teaching online is a completely different experience from teaching in the face-to-face classroom. New online instructors face many challenges when transitioning to this new instructional delivery method. They need to understand the pedagogical differences and the student-centered nature of online education. They will need an understanding of how to work with learners in a virtual classroom and the unique challenges that these students face. In order to prepare instructors for the challenges and rewards of teaching online, a comprehensive faculty development program is necessary to prepare new faculty for the experience of transitioning their skills to the online classroom. Educational institutions offering online courses are faced with the task of delivering such faculty development to new instructors. At Bay Path College, we have developed the Excellence in Online Education initiative, a three-tiered approach to online faculty development, consisting of a comprehensive orientation, mentoring, and ongoing support. Our goal is to ensure that instructors are comfortable with the technology, knowledgeable in effective online learning pedagogy, and are prepared to successfully teach their first online course. By reviewing our three-tiered approach and hearing about the successes we have had with this program, attendees will discover strategies for faculty development that they may be able to incorporate into programs at their own institutions. Attendees will be able to identify key components of a comprehensive online faculty development program that contribute to the success of both faculty and students, explain the benefits of utilizing mentorship and ongoing support in working with new online faculty, and understand the need for incorporating quality control measures into faculty training and online course development processes. The first component of the Excellence in Online Education initiative is the requirement to successfully complete the Faculty Orientation to Online Education course, regardless of their previous online teaching experience. This allows us to ensure that all our instructors have an understanding of how online learning works at Bay Path. This facilitated, online course runs for eight weeks and begins with an introduction to online learning pedagogy and covers such topics as building community in an online course, how to assess online learners, and how to integrate web 2.0 tools into the virtual classroom. It takes faculty through the process of developing their course content and setting up their course site in the LMS. Upon the completion of the orientation, instructors have a fully developed and approved online course that they are prepared to teach. By requiring that the orientation be completed at least four weeks before the commencement of the instructor's first course, we can easily identify any concerns or problems early in the process and work with the instructors to help them be better prepared, ultimately improving the quality of the students' experience in the course. The second component of the Excellence in Online Education initiative involves mentorship. At the start of the orientation, participants are assigned a mentor who is currently teaching an online course. Participants are given guest access to their mentors' course so they can benefit from seeing a live class, observing asynchronous discussions in progress, and having an additional resource available to them when they have questions. In working with the mentor and the orientation facilitator, participants are engaged in a supportive, interactive process designed to prepare them to teach their first online course successfully. Once the course is developed, it is reviewed by our Center for Distributed Learning as well as by a content expert in their field. The course review process involves the use of a Syllabus Checklist and Course Quality Checklist that we have developed to ensure that all essential parts of the syllabus and course are in place. Participants are presented with a copy of the checklists at the start of the orientation and the checklists are used throughout the course review process to assist in making modifications to the course prior to its approval. Providing feedback during course development, along with other ongoing technical and instructional support services available to faculty, make up the third tier of the Excellence in Online Education initiative. This three-tiered approach to faculty development allows our faculty to gain confidence in their ability to successfully teach online. A recent survey we conducted shows that faculty satisfaction with the orientation is high. Participants responded with high ratings indicating that the orientation made them feel better prepared to teach online (4.67 on a 5 point scale) and that the experience was valuable to their professional growth (4.5 on a 5 point scale). One instructor who had taught online elsewhere before remarked that our orientation was "more thorough and substantive than the previous training that I received". Another stated "I never received the amount of ‘Grade A' support and feedback until I went through this training". The Excellence in Online Education initiative has allowed us to ensure that all faculty who will be teaching online courses have received instruction in online education and our expectations for how online learning works. The course development and approval process that occurs helps to ensure the quality of the courses that will be delivered, and helps the institution to guarantee that our students have the best opportunity possible to meet the prescribed learning outcomes for their online courses. The support and training that faculty members receive during the orientation helps them develop a solid working relationship with our Center for Distributed Learning. This relationship is important to faculty; they learn where they can go for assistance with the LMS and with online learning-related issues. This continuing support that is available to them helps reinforce their confidence in their online teaching abilities and helps ensure that students have a positive experience in their online course. Comprehensive support and development for online instructors is a key component of a strong online learning program. We feel that our Excellence in Online Education initiative is unique compared to those offered at many other institutions. We feel our program is distinctive in that it includes mentorship throughout the orientation and extended, on-going support during course delivery.
