A Professional Development Program for Faculty Teaching Blended and Online

The Online Course Improvement Program (OCIP) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) blends formats and technologies- including using the Quality Matters framework for course design- to provide professional development (PD) for faculty teaching blended and or online courses (http://ocip.nmsu.edu/). Six years of evaluation data clearly show OCIP is growing in both total and unique number of participants as well as attracting wider participation across six colleges.  Faculty and student feedback on redesigned course evaluations indicate redesigned blended and online courses are having a positive impact on engagement and learning. Additionally, in developing, implementing, improving, and evaluating the Online Course Improvement Program, the team has learned some valuable lessons worth sharing concerning programming, support, mentorship, and implementation of Quality Matters on our campus. The OCIP framework, processes, content, strategies and technologies for delivering blended professional development as well as successes, challenges, impact and lessons learned will be shared. Handouts and other resources including pre-program planning processes, development of checklists for online course designers based on the Quality Matters standards, example timelines, and online open resources will be shared.
OCIP' s blended approach to professional development  helps the program meet its goals and serve a wider audience beyond main campus faculty, including branch campus participants and non-NMSU participants.  Program services available to a global audience include the OCIP Resource Center (http://bit.ly/pQM0ZO).