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University of Missouri-Columbia University of Missouri  

Educational Technologies at Missouri
A division of the Office of the Provost

Series on Academic Transformation: Course Redesign

Academic Transformation is for departmental teams committed to redesigning one or more key large-enrollment courses for teaching and learning improvement. For this project, "transformative change" involves sustainable technologies coupled with pedagogical practices which improve teaching and learning by addressing one or more of these goals:

  • Increasing student-faculty interactions
  • Improving retention and reducing the retake and/or withdraw rate
  • Meeting enrollment pressure, and/or addressing staffing issues
  • Meeting the needs of unique student populations
  • Establishing interdisciplinary teaching collaborations
  • Articulating learning outcomes and improving assessment
  • Advancing the scholarship of using technology in teaching
  • Integrating diversity and/or international components within the curriculum

The National Center for Academic Transformation has identified 6 Models for Course Redesign.

Funding

All proposals must have departmental matching funds or significant, documented, in-kind support. Academic Transformation funds may be used for the following expenses:

  • Hardware and/or software; specialized equipment
  • Student worker or other clerical wages for specified production activities which are not already covered by other departmental budgets
  • Up to one course release time per semester for two sequential semesters in one academic year (The dean’s pre-approval must be documented in the application. Deans are encouraged to underwrite part or all of the cost of release time as a match for funding)

Exclusions: Academic Transformation funds may not be used for salary or wages for faculty involved in the grants project, other than the Release Time provision noted above.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty members are eligible to apply. Only one proposal per department may be submitted in any funding cycle. Previous awardees with incomplete projects may not re-apply.

Application Overview

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss project ideas ahead of time with the Director of ET@MO and to seek instructional design consultation before developing a proposal. The specific forms available online to guide the proposal process include:

Proposal Narrative

Proposals must be clear, concise, and suitable for review by colleagues as well as ET@MO staff. The Selection Committee suggests that applicants ask colleagues to proofread their proposals for clarity and quality of content before submission. To be successful, the narrative should include sufficient supporting documentation and demonstrate how the project meets the program’s funding preferences.

Deadlines

Proposals should be submitted to Dr. Danna Vessell, 249 Heinkel, by May 29, 2009. The Selection Committee will choose the courses no later than June 15.

Proposal Review and Evaluation

Proposals are evaluated by the Selection Committee through a competitive process. Projects impacting the largest number of students and/or significantly reducing course delivery costs will be given priority.

Project Period

We realize each team and discipline will have its own specific characteristics and needs. Generally, work will begin in the summer term to identify project goals, training needs, curriculum development, etc. This work will continue in the fall term with the expectation being the course beta test will occur the following spring term.

Additional Terms and Conditions

Due Diligence and Departmental Buy-In: If computing hardware/software purchases are requested, written verification from the appropriate departmental technology representative must be attached to the application, indicating that the hardware/software is not available and that it is compatible with networks and Mizzou computing standards. The department will be responsible for ensuring ongoing support/maintenance of the hardware and software. The department chair must also sign the form before consideration of the proposal and transfer of funds to the department for purchasing.

Applicants must attach written verification of the availability of production materials, equipment, research resources, media services, and training so that any direct purchase does not duplicate resources that are available within the Mizzou Community.

Reporting Requirements: Project teams (faculty, teaching assistants, department technology representative, department chair, etc.) agree to meet monthly with designated ET@MO staff for ongoing project support and progress updates. Online report forms are available to the award recipients who must submit brief progress reports each semester detailing:

  • Current status of the project
  • Plan for completing the project
  • Projected date of project completion
  • Projected date of final report submission

Each recipient must submit a final online report at the completion of the project summarizing:

  • Summary of project activities
  • Expected and unexpected results of the project
  • Overall evaluation of the significance of the project

In addition, the final report must verify that any publication/presentation resulting from the project acknowledges ET@MO funding.

Completion of Project: Projects must be completed during the designated time period/academic year for which they are funded. Funding may be withdrawn from recipients who do not show consistent progress toward project completion. Additionally, participants in funded projects are obligated to make a presentation on their project results to their department in addition to an appropriate event designated by ET@MO (e.g., TeAchnology, Teaching Renewal Conference).

Copyright: All materials produced are owned by the Curators of the University of Missouri. All rights reserved. DMCA and other copyright information. An equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Intellectual Property: Instructional materials developed as part of this Academic Transformation project will have shared ownership among the faculty involved, the appropriate department, and Educational Technologies at Missouri.

The person developing the instructional materials maintains the rights to use the materials that they developed solely for publication in any format. If the instructional materials were developed collaboratively, then each contributor must provide permission for publication.

The person developing their portion of the instructional materials maintains the intellectual property rights to use the materials for teaching the content or parts of it at other institutions if no longer employed by the University of Missouri.

The department chair will oversee the process for handling requests to purchase or license the instructional materials and will notify each of the shared copyright holders regarding the requests. The department will be able to offer the instructional materials from this project, even if the developer does not teach it.

University of Missouri online courses are copyrighted by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri.

Additional Resources