eLearning Initiative Program Development

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Summary

The University seeks proposals from academic departments and Colleges at the University of Southern Mississippi for the development of model online programs with potential to add new enrollments. Qualifying programs must have already been approved by the Academic Council or Graduate Council and other appropriate governing bodies.
Programs selected through the RFP process will receive significant institutional support through a partnership with the Learning Enhancement Center to ensure the success of the online program including:

• Program development and planning support
• Program marketing and recruiting services
• Faculty incentives for course design (or redesign)
• Instructional design support to assist instructors with planning and implementation of consistent, high-quality online course design
• Faculty development for course instructors and developers
• Enrollment management, retention strategy, and program assessment support.
  

Departments seeking to take advantage of this RFP will have the opportunity to redesign existing online courses and develop additional courses with the help of instructional design expertise and focused faculty development. Departments and faculty receiving support under this RFP agree to work with the Learning Enhancement Center and be receptive to recommendations for providing consistent, high-quality course design, course scheduling and delivery, and program marketing and enrollment management. (Note: Course recommendations primarily address presentation, organization, and delivery of material; course content is determined solely by faculty.) Participating faculty will be expected to complete training addressing online pedagogy and Blackboard Campus Edition 8, and to invest time in re-development of their courses using consistent templates and standards.

Programs accepted into this program will begin work immediately for a launch (or re-launch) target of the Spring 2010 semester.

Interested department or program chairs should submit a written response, including all items detailed under the Proposal Procedure section. Applications should be submitted to the Director of the Learning Enhancement Center no later than August 10, 2009. The University anticipates accepting 2-3 programs, based on a competitive review by the eLearning Initiative Executive Committee with guidance from Blackboard Consulting as described in the Criteria section below.

Purpose

The University of Southern Mississippi, in partnership with Blackboard, has made a strong commitment to the strategic development of quality online programs consistent with the institutional mission and strategic plan for the University. The University recognizes that online learning provides access for learners across the state, region, and nation who might not otherwise be able to attend traditional classroom programs. The University also recognizes that successful online programs require an overall strategic vision as well coordinated effort and support across the institution. This RFP represents a significant step toward a University strategy for online learning by providing support to develop exemplary online programs that are of high-quality, engage learners, and have potential for attracting new audiences of students. Significant support and expertise will be provided to participating departments to ensure success with developing, launching, and growing the program. The institutional goals for this project include:

• Improving the coordination of web-based program development campus-wide
• Ensuring consistency in the elearning course environment as experienced by our students
• Maintaining a consistent high quality of educational experience in online courses and programs
• Developing complete, marketable programs for online delivery (e.g., a complete major program)
• Attracting new students to the university and/or increasing retention of students currently enrolled.
  

Proposal Procedure

Appropriate program faculty and the department chair may consult with Sheri Rawls, Director of the Learning Enhancement Center prior to submission of a proposal.

Complete proposals will include the items below.

1. The name of the department.
2. A description of the program, including a summary of completion requirements.
3. A listing of the courses in the program including course number and credits, if they have been developed for online delivery or not and the date of approval to be offered online by the Academic or Graduate Council.
4. Identify pre-requisites for program courses and other program entry requirements. (it is not necessary that all of these are offered online)
5. 2-year, historical enrollment summary for courses in the program.
6. Discussion and data supporting the market need for the program in an online format and potential to attract new students.
7. 2-year projections of expected or desired enrollments.
8. 2-year proposed schedule of course offerings. Include an analysis of faculty staffing requirements for projected expansion of course offerings.
9. A list of proposed faculty to serve as course developers and content experts.
10. A statement agreeing to the following:
    1. Participating faculty agree to complete work for a program launch in Spring 2010.
    2. All courses in the program will use the University course management system (Blackboard Campus Edition 8).
    3. All courses will employ a program template that will give each course a standard look and feel and will add student coherence to each course.
    4. Courses developed for this program will follow recommended standards for course quality and design.
    5. Programs will be delivered completely online. (Use of proctored tests meets the definition for online delivery).
    6. Programs agree to work with the LEC to establish a means for student orientation to the online program will be established.
    7. All courses will comply with recommendations for accessibility as defined by Federal Section 508 standards.
    8. All faculty teaching and developing online courses in this program will complete required faculty development for elearning.
11. Statements of support from the department chair and dean.
    

Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Complete degree or major program. Qualifying programs must have already been approved by the Academic or Graduate Council and other appropriate governing bodies.
2. Number of courses in the program already existing online and ability to launch in Spring 2010 semester.
3. Potential to attract new students to the University at the graduate or undergraduate level.
4. Ability and willingness to grow and scale the program as needed to meet demand.
5. Departmental and College support, including a supportive and engaged faculty.
6. Statement of agreement to items listed in item #10 under Proposal Procedure above.
7. Availability of institutional resources to support the program.
8. Completeness of application materials and the degree to which the proposal aligns with the project goals.
   

Deadline

Completed proposals should be submitted through the electronic proposal form online at http://www.usm.edu/lec/des/elearning/form.php no later than August 10, 2009.

Questions

Please contact: Sheri Rawls, Director of the Learning Enhancement Center via phone at 601-266-5518 or via email at Sheri.Rawls@usm.edu

Revised 07-13-2009

Last modified: May 19, 2009 2:52 PM | Questions or Comments?
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