Enhanced Online Instruction Micro-Certificates

Micro-Certificates in Enhanced Online Instruction

As part of Columbia’s local efforts to offer ongoing opportunities to enhance online instruction, our Local Peer Online Course Review (POCR) Team is offering six micro-certificates to take steps in aligning your courses with the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric, Sections A-C. This is not part of evaluation and is meant as an opportunity for you to get clear, specific feedback from peers on how you can make progress toward aligning your fully online asynchronous courses to the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric. The following are the 6 micro-certificates available for the 2025-2026 academic year. Access Detailed Criteria for all Micro-Certificates or click the linked headings below to go to the detailed criteria for that micro-certificate.

Compensation

A stipend of $500 is available for each individual micro-certificate earned. We have limited funding to support 15 certificates this academic year. Our goal is to work with 15 individual faculty members, but if there are not 15 different applicants, we will consider supporting multiple certificates for faculty members interested in pursuing more than one certificate this year.

Who can apply?

All Columbia faculty (full-time and part-time) who teach a 3-unit, fully asynchronous online course are welcome to apply for this opportunity! Apply to join one or more of the certificate pathways! Apply Now! (Applications due November 30th)

Process & Timeline

The DE Coordinator will conduct the first review of the course and use the checklist below to review a 3-unit, fully asynchronous course for the criteria listed. Faculty participants make adjustments/updates using this feedback and submit for second review by the set due date. Second Review takes place by one of the POCR leads. 

1. Interested faculty apply to participate by November 30th.

2. Those accepted will be notified during the first week of December and given an outline of next steps.

3. Faculty participants copy their 3-unit, fully asynchronous online course for review to the sandbox created by the DE Coordinator and shared with the review team by no later than January 30th.

4. DE Coordinator conducts initial review and provides feedback by February 13th.

5. The faculty participant revises the course as needed and submits for a second review by March 13th.

6. A Lead Reviewer completes a second review and provides feedback by March 27th.

   • If aligned, faculty participants earn their micro-certificate/stipend.

   • If not aligned, the faculty make adjustments for a third and final review.

7. The faculty participant finalizes any further revisions and submits for final review by April 3rd.

8. A different Lead Reviewer reviews the final draft to determine if standards for aligned have been met. If aligned, faculty participants earn their micro-certificate and stipend. If not aligned by this third review, the stipend and micro-certificate cannot be awarded. A stipend and the micro-certificate can only be earned if faculty meet alignment standards by this third review. 

Columbia's POCR Team

• Ashli Bumgardner, DE Coordinator, POCR Lead & Peer Reviewer (bumgardnera@yosemite.edu)

• Daniel Barsotti, DE Instructional Support Specialist, POCR Revision Support (Drop by the Online Learning Lab During Open Lab Hours or make an appointment)

• Kim Pippa-Tonnesen, English Faculty, Peer Reviewer

• Rebecca Slate, English Faculty, Peer Reviewer

• Shannon Van Zant, History Faculty, Peer Reviewer

• Teresa Borden, Spanish Faculty, Peer Reviewer

What is "POCR"?

Peer Online Course Review (POCR) was established through a partnership by the CCC Chancellor's Office, CVC@ONE and the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges (ASCCC) to create a process and framework for high-quality online course design. CVC@ONE’s role is to assist and support colleges in creating their individual Local POCR processes to align with the quality standards of the CVC Course Design Rubric. Local POCR Certification is the culmination of a process where the college's POCR team demonstrates fluency with the Course Design Rubric and illustrates an effective peer review process to implement the quality standards in the rubric. Columbia is a POCR Certified Campus.

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