Standardizing Your Course

Online Course Design Guidelines and Minimum Recommendations

Please use these suggestions in creating and maintaining your online course.

Each course should contain an online syllabus that is available in a Web-ready form (not as a Word document download) and printable.

Each course should contain a course schedule (calendar) that is independent from the syllabus.

Each course should contain an introductory email welcoming students to your class and/or an introductory assignment

Each course should contain a course guide explaining what the student should do in the class and how to be a success in the class.

Each course should contain a list and link to any drivers needed to open and view supplemental media tools that are being used in the course. Media tools such as Flash player, Quick Time, Adobe Acrobat, etc. Instructional design strategies should include material in different formats to reach a wide variety of learners.

Each course should contain learning outcomes that are equivalent to those in a traditional course.

Each course should state clear objectives for the course and specify what the student will be able to do after completing the course (syllabi).

Each course should allow students to interact and share their information with the instructor and each other. Install a discussion forum/message board.

Each course should have readily accessible links to the communication tools that will be used during the semester, (email, discussion board, chat room).

Each course should have a link on the homepage for students to access their grades.

Make your course compact. Web users are more impatient and will want you to get to the point quickly. Chunk your content into smaller, easy-to-digest pieces. Try to follow the no-scrollbars rule. If you have a document with a lot of text make it a separate page that opens in its own window or as a downloadable RTF or PDF file.