Online Courses

CAC Policy on Online Courses

The following policy for undergraduate online courses was adopted by the Curricular Affairs Committee on March 27, 2006 and reported in the Four Hundred Forty-Second Report of the Curricular Affairs Committee.

• World Wide Web-enhanced courses combine traditional classroom and World Wide Web-based instruction. Courses that are web-enhanced require a classroom and are scheduled in the usual manner. When appropriate, proposals for new courses should address the extent to which and how the course is Web-enhanced.

• Web-based courses are delivered entirely online. The Curricular Affairs Committee believes that this delivery method has a significant impact on learning and teaching and requires a separate curricular approval process.  Web-based courses are designated as Online in the catalog and in scheduling materials.

Approval Procedures

Following is the procedure for seeking approval to offer existing courses using web-based instruction. We expect the interactive supplementary on-line course form is on the web at  www.uri.edu/gsadmis/GradFormsPage.html  under the heading "For Faculty/Staff.

1. The faculty member who is proposing to teach a course entirely on-line will demonstrate that the online version of the course meets all appropriate content and outcomes requirements.

2. The faculty member will explain how assignments and examinations will be accommodated in the online course; this includes grading criteria. 

3. The faculty member will demonstrate that the student workload for the online class is equivalent to the in-class and out-of-class work in its face-to-face equivalent. (See section 8.31.10 of the UNIVERSITY MANUAL, “Basis for Credit.”)

4. The faculty member will present a plan for delivering the course online i.e. clearly explain how the course and related materials will be prepared, modified and made available for online offering. This is particularly important for courses being offered online for the first time.

5. The academic department will review the syllabus and relevant materials for the online course, as well as the implementation plan, and the chair will certify that the course to be offered meets all content and outcomes requirements as determined by the department faculty.  If a course has been approved for online teaching by one instructor, the department will certify that online proposals for the same course by different instructors are equivalent.

6. Forward electronic proposals for online courses for the Curricular Affairs Committee (100-, 200-, 300- and 400-level courses) to FSO@etal.uri.edu and electronic proposals for new online courses for the Graduate Council (400-level courses for graduate credit and 500- 600-l and 900- level courses to gradnewc@etal.uri.edu.   All  signed original proposals (paper copy)go to Sheila Black Grubman, Faculty Senate Office, Green Hall. 

7.  The Curricular Affairs Committee will review the materials and certify the course for scheduling.  A list of approved online courses will be forwarded to Enrollment Services for scheduling and included in the CAC’s reports to the Faculty Senate.