Please choose the appropriate selection criteria for your course:
New courses | Existing courses
Selection Criteria For New Courses:
Need – 20 points
- Extent to which the proposed course fills a gap in the current online curriculum at the college, district or state or approaches the online teaching of a subject in a new way
- Extent to which the course’s design or content can inspire or otherwise assist other community college faculty
Interactivity and Community – 20 points
- Extent to which the course will include student:student, student:faculty, student:material interaction and/or support collaborative learning, group problem solving, or sharing of ideas
- Will the course include means by which students can interact with the instructor and each other or with the material?
- Will there be ongoing opportunities for collaboration, group problem solving, discussion of assignments, and sharing of ideas?
Use of Multimedia and the Internet – 10 points
- Extent to which the course will include various types of media and activities that would enhance learning and support diverse learning styles
- Will the course use multiple forms of media and is the multimedia used in ways that advance learning?
- Is there any indication the course will make effective use of the Internet through inclusion of online resources that enhance the learning experience?
Assessment – 15 points
- Appropriateness of planned assessments in relation to the subject matter and to stated learning objectives
- Will there be multiple measures for assessing learning?
Commitment to accessibility – 15 points
- Extent to which the designer has presented a feasible plan for assuring that all course components are accessible. To be eligible for consideration, nominated courses must meet critical Section 508 standards for accessibility. (In cases where accessible materials cannot be provided online, instructors must have a plan for providing materials to students in the appropriate alternate format when necessary.)
Feasibility – 20 points
- Extent to which the course proposal and its author(s) appear to have a realistic development plan and the necessary skill to successfully complete it by the April deadline
Selection Criteria For Existing Online Courses
Courses will be judged and awarded points on the following:
Educational Content – 20 points
- Does the course include substantive content equivalent to or surpassing the learning experience a student would receive in a site-based course?
- Is the site content the original work of the nominees?
- Does the site deal appropriately with copyright issues, including provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?
- Does the content seem appropriate for the course being taught?
- Is the content likely to be clear to students who use the site?
- Does the site make it clear what the student is expected to do to successfully complete the course and is a method provided for keeping the student informed of his/her progress?
- Are high expectations for student performance clearly communicated?
Layout and Usability – 10 points
- Is the site attractive?
- Does it provide clear and intuitive navigation paths?
- Is the site design flexible enough to allow the student to easily find, access, and/or review content?
- Does the site suggest that the author(s) planned the layout to serve the educational purpose of the course?
- Are links to other sites current and functional?
Instructional Design – 20 points
- Does the site utilize effective instructional design and learning principles?
- Are expected student learning outcomes clearly stated?
- Does the course present the information in diverse ways to accommodate different learning styles?
- Does the course support learning by providing a variety of activities and experiences that encourage active engagement with the course content?
- Are there opportunities to measure prerequisite skills, assess that learning is taking place, and apply knowledge or skills presented?
- Does the course use multiple methods of assessment to measure student learning in relation to stated learning objectives?
- Extent to which the course’s design or content can inspire or otherwise assist other community college faculty
Use of Multimedia and the Internet – 15 points
- Does the course use multiple forms of media and is the multimedia used in ways that advance learning?
- Are clear instructions provided for accessing multimedia? (e.g., links to media players, plug-ins, etc.)?
- Does the course make effective use of the Internet through inclusion of online resources that enhance the learning experience?
- Can pages be downloaded within a reasonable period of time even without a broadband connection?
Interactivity and Community – 20 points
- Does the course include means by which students can interact with the instructor and each other or with the material?
- Does the design of the course encourage frequent student-student, student-faculty, and student-material interaction?
- Are there ongoing opportunities for collaboration, group problem solving, discussion of assignments, and sharing of ideas?
Accessibility – 15 points
- To be eligible for consideration, nominated courses must meet critical Section 508 standards for accessibility. (In cases where accessible materials cannot be provided online, instructors must have a plan for providing materials to students in the appropriate alternate format when necessary.)