TN eCampus works from a Master Course model in which a single course is developed and then taught by multiple instructors from multiple institutions. A course is approved for development by a Curriculum Committee, developed by a subject matter expert, and sent through a Quality Review process for final approval. Once approved, the developed course becomes the Master Course Copy of that specific course. The Master Course Copy is never taught from, nor does it ever have students enrolled into it. It is used simply as an original version of the course which is kept updated as the most recent and relevant copy of the course.

TN eCampus is continuously adding new courses to its inventory of online offerings. Any proposed course must already be an approved course in one of the Tennessee Board of Regents institutions. Proposals are not accepted for courses which have not gone through a local institution’s curriculum committee and approval process. Additionally, courses which have prerequisites will not be approved unless the prerequisite courses are already in the TN eCampus course inventory. When a course is proposed, it is assumed that the program which that course falls into is already an approved program.

Yes. A course proposal must be completed and submitted for each course development. The proposal provides information to the Curriculum Committee which assists them in making decisions regarding your course. Each proposal is reviewed by an appropriate subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee and is then submitted to the full committee for review. The subcommittee or the full committee can return the proposal to you if either has questions or concerns about any part of your proposal.

In order to consider a proposal received, you must:

• Submit the completed proposal with all necessary campus signatures
• Submit a current resume/vita
• Submit a one-page example of what you think a representative module within the course will look like.  Example must follow the TN eCampus Sample module format, and list the types of files, content, assessments, etc.

Proposals will not be considered official or complete until the printed copy with all required signatures is received at the address below:

TN eCampus Course Proposals
ATTN: Dr. Nicola Wayer
Tennessee Board of Regents
1 Bridgestone Park
Nashville, TN 37214

Proposals which are submitted with incomplete information will be returned to the sender. To submit a proposal, use the Course Development Proposal Form (downloadable Word document). 

You should answer “yes” to all of the questions below when deciding whether or not to build an online course. If you answer “No” to any of the questions, contact a campus faculty trainer to determine steps you need to take.

• Do I have a computer (preferably a PC) in my office that is at least a Pentium III with a minimum of 64 MB of RAM?
• Am I familiar with basic PC skills (file structure, copying, moving files, keyboard and mouse functions, screen and windows features, etc.)?
• Can I create and manipulate documents (formatting, copying, pasting, attaching and retrieving them)?
• Am I willing to learn new software applications needed to teach on the Web? 
• Have I taken an online course?
• Have I looked at online courses of other faculty teaching at the college?
• Am I prepared to invest the effort and time needed to deliver a course online?
• Will using this technology help me reach the students I teach more effectively?
• Updating the course prior to the beginning of each semester to make sure that it is ready to be cloned for sections taught during a specific semester.
• Make continual modifications and improvements to the course through a collaborative process with faculty members who are actually teaching the course and suggestions from students who have taken/are taking the course.
• Continually look for additional content and resources which might be added to the course to further enrich students’ learning experiences.

It takes about a semester to build your first online course. 

There are numerous considerations that need to taken into account before you begin your course development. These are typically design-related issues that may not relate directly to course content, but can create troublesome issues within an online course if they are not considered during the development of your course.

• Fonts
• Modules
• Consistency of Naming Schemes
• Instructions
• Assessments
• Due Dates
• Grades
• Images
• File Formats

A Quality Review takes place on two different occasions. Initially, your course is reviewed approximately 30-45 days after you begin development. This first review looks at your initial development to make sure you’re on the right path. Your Homepage, Getting Started module and your first module of course content are reviewed to determine if any adjustments are needed early in development process. This review eliminates the need for repetitious rework in future modules.

After you have completed your development, the Quality Review committee looks at the entire course one more time and uses a tool to review it against accepted program standard, guidelines and practices. You receive formal communication concerning any modifications needed prior to formal course approval and acceptance. 

Once the development process is completed for a course and the course has passed the Quality Review process, the course is placed into course inventory and is offered through the campus registration systems. Continuing responsibilities for course developers include:

• Updating the course prior to the beginning of each semester to make sure that it is ready to be cloned for sections taught during a specific semester.
• Make continual modifications and improvements to the course through a collaborative process with faculty members who are actually teaching the course and suggestions from students who have taken/are taking the course.
• Continually look for additional content and resources which might be added to the course to further enrich students’ learning experiences.

The traditional face-to-face Course Developer Training (CDT) has been revised into an all-online model of performance support called the Course Developer Program (CDP). The CDP provides direct learning support, instruction and resources, as well as an incremental course development process to keep faculty developers on track and on time with their course development or redevelopment projects.

With the new CDP, TN eCampus embraces the performance support model of professional development. This approach has been shown to be more effective in providing the just-in-time support that our elearning professionals need day-to-day in a fast-paced and dynamic teaching and learning environment.

The CDP provides a holistic approach to performance support for course developers and includes:

• An asynchronous, fully-online course, focused on the course development process. The course will coincide with the commencement of work on the course development or redevelopment project. This will provide additional support for course developers while they work.

• Mandatory Accessibility Training (online and in person in the regions)

• Access to an online community of practice that provides networking, camaraderie, peer learning and support, and a centralized communication hub for TN eCampus and TBR elearning professionals, and

• Attendance at the TN eCampus annual Summer Academy and 3-D Course Developer Conference for face-to-face networking, learning opportunities, and support.