CTL Initiatives

Fast and Focused is what we are calling accelerated 8-week courses. With a Fast and Focused course, all of the content in a 16-week course is being delivered, all of the course competencies are being addressed and the students have the same amount of direct instruction as a 16-week course, it is simply compressed into an 8-week course. That said, there are definitely some techniques that can be used so students do not have cognitive overload and so faculty can still provide detailed excellent feedback to their students in a timely manner.

Learn more about 8-week courses.

According the the Completion by Design webpage, Understanding the Student Experience: Loss and Momentum Framework, "The Loss Momentum Framework aims to identify where students become sidetracked, and will help institutions identify where additional resources can be used to ensure program completion. Following students through the four main stages of their interaction with college—Connection, Entry, Progress, and Completion—the LMF helps colleges identify where students stumble or become sidetracked, and, thus, where there are opportunities to prevent students from dropping out and improve their momentum toward program completion."

Learn more about the Loss Momentum Framework.

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that are copyright-free or have been released under a copyright license that permits others to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute them. 

Examples of OER include: full courses, course modules, syllabi, lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games, simulations, and many more resources contained in digital media collections from around the world.

Learn more about OER.

"Zero Week" is that week before the first day of online instruction in which the courses are open and students are encouraged to engage, interact and get oriented prior to the “official” start date of classes. During the Fall 2014 semester, 5 Faculty, under the leadership of the CTL, are implementing a number of zero week activities and the CTL and teaching faculty have been evaluating the impact that these measures have had on student success.

Learn more about Zero Week.

Quality Matters (QM) is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to continuous improvement in online education and student learning. Quality Matters (QM) is a nationally recognized, research-based, faculty centered, peer review process for online and blended (hybrid) courses. QM subscribers include community and technical colleges, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and systems, government agencies, corporations, and other education-related organizations.

Learn more about Quality Matters.