Coming Soon: Apply for an online course development grant
Teaching Online at UCSB
Online courses at UCSB are most commonly offered during Summer term. This page briefly explains the support available to faculty developing an online course.
Instructional Support
Faculty designing online courses receive support from the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), including instructional design assistance. Online resources are provided for faculty to learn more about best practices for teaching and learning online. Consultations are available by appointment for personalized advice, idea generation, and course design support. Professional development is also regularly offered to the community of faculty engaged in teaching online at UCSB.
Financial Support
Grants are available to support the development of new online courses, updates to existing online courses, or integrating innovative online instruction within onsite courses during the regular academic year. Grant funds often include faculty stipends, course development costs, and student workers.
Fall, Winter, and Spring courses are funded by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost’s and administered by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Summer courses are funded by Summer Sessions. Grant funding is limited. Funding amounts and terms are updated annually. Details are provided in each Call for Proposals for Online Course Development Grants.
Community of Practice
The Office of Teaching and Learning has created a Teaching Online - Community of Practice (TO-CoP) to facilitate peer-to-peer support and discussion of best practices, enable focused communications from university stakeholders, and provide relevant professional development and resources. Visit our website to learn more about the TO-CoP.
Application Support
The OTL Team supports the completion of grant applications and course approval requests for online courses. Grant applications are reviewed by a committee consisting of faculty, staff from OTL, and Summer Sessions. Online course approval requests are approved by the Academic Senate, including the Faculty Executive Committee for each college and the Committee on Courses and General Education.
Technical Support
The OTL team can advise faculty on the selection and use of educational technologies for their online course. We provide Canvas support, guidance for creating accessible course content and assistance with planning and creating media content.
FAQs
Your chair and department curriculum committee are the initial reviewers of your online course proposal. Summer courses also need approval from the Office of Summer Sessions. The Faculty Executive Committee for your college and the Senate Committee on Courses and General Education review and approve course application requests before a course is forwarded to the Registrar. This approval process takes 3-6 months total.
The time commitment and timeline for developing an online course varies greatly. CITRAL recommends beginning the process 12-18 months prior to your desired course delivery date, especially if you need course development funding. There are four main phases of the online course design, approval and development process at UCSB, as follows:
- Ideation and Funding
- Formal UCSB Online Course Approval Request (CAR)
- Course Development
- Teaching and 2-year Renewal
Keep in mind that students cannot enroll in an online offering of a course until the course has completed the full Academic Senate review process for new online courses, and been added to GOLD before student registration begins. Exceptions for emergency or temporary remote teaching are managed by your department.
The Academic Senate sets expectations for online courses at UCSB through their review of online course application requests. The Office of Teaching and Learning offers guidance, best practices, and recommendations for faculty designing online courses. Additionally, federal funding requires that online courses must demonstrate regular, substantive, interaction with students.
The majority of online courses at UCSB contain both asynchronous and synchronous learning elements. CITRAL can help you determine the best modality for your course according to UCSB Senate guidelines.
While learning outcomes for online and onsite courses should be equivalent, the instructional approach and assessment strategies will likely need to be designed specifically for the online environment. Appropriate strategies to promote academic integrity should be considered when planning an online course.
A specified number of seats may be offered to the broader UC community in consultation with UC Online, your department, and the Office of Summer Sessions, if it is a summer course. Approved courses would be advertised on the UC Online website. At this time, UC Online is not offering their own course development grants, but you can apply for UCSB funding to develop a cross-campus course.