The Development Process
for a
Cohort World Campus Course

Cohort courses are typically developed in a two-semester time frame. The specific course development process is outlined below. It is important to note that the World Campus course development process is a team effort utilizing the strengths and resources of content experts ("authors"), instructional designers, technology specialists, graphic artists, instructional materials designers, etc. Therefore it is necessary to clearly delineate individual roles and responsibilities, as well as target dates assigned to each task in order to ensure that the process runs smoothly and that key units, such as World Campus Learner Support, have the information they need in order to serve World Campus students.

The first semester is used to generate the raw content for the course. The majority of the effort expended during the first semester falls on the course author(s), with the instructional designer serving in a consulting role. During that time frame, the course author(s) meets with the instructional designer approximately every two weeks.

• At first those meetings will be used to orient the course author(s) to the World Campus and the World Campus course development process. The instructional designer will begin by trying to learn as much about the course in question as possible from the author. If possible, the author shares a copy of the syllabus from the resident instruction version of the course, as well as any other relevant materials (such as handouts or even URLs for Web sites used for the RI offering). The author(s) and instructional designer then layout the general scope and sequence of the course and begin to discuss how it might be taught through the World Campus.

   

• Shortly after the first meeting, the instructional designer initiates the generation of an intellectual property agreement which will be signed by the course author(s). The agreement...
  • sets up the time frame for the delivery of materials,
  • identifies a signoff point for quality control (by the academic department),
  • describes the author's work as a "work for hire" and indicates the amount of author compensation,
  • establishes University ownership of the particular expression of an idea (but allows author to quote up to 10% of the entire work without having to request permission - the author still maintains ownership of the course content "ideas" if they are expressed in a substantially different manner than in the copyrighted work),
  • identifies a date when course materials should be reviewed for currency, and
  • identifies a date after which copyright reverts to the author.

   

• The instructional designer also works with the author to develop a course development schedule that outlines specific milestones and "due dates" for each component of the course development process. That document serves as an informal "contract" among all members of the development team.

   

• One of the first tasks for the author(s) is to generate a detailed course outline to convey to the instructional design his/her general plan for the course. The instructional designer reviews the outline with the author and they work together to refine the document if necessary. A final outline is then forwarded to the appropriate department head for approval.

   

• Next, the author is asked to generate a set of sample course materials (e.g., sample lessons, sample exam/answer key, etc.) as agreed upon with the instructional designer. The instructional designer then reviews these and drafts a prototype to illustrate how the resulting World Campus course might be presented. This is shared with the author(s) so that a discussion can take place to determine what, if any, refinements to the initial instructional design model need to be made at that time. Once a model is agreed upon and refinements are made, the sample content is forwarded to the appropriate department head for approval.

   

• For the remainder of the first semester, the author continues to generate the rest of the course content, as well as any information that is needed for the course Welcome Pages (the public information site for the course). The ongoing meetings during the first semester are used to touch base with the author, review progress, discuss any issues that arise, capture initial ideas for learning activities and assessments, etc.

   

• When needed and appropriate, time is also spent helping course authors gain the technical skills and pedagogical strategies that they may find useful while developing a distance education learning environment. In addition, course authors are given access to an on-line World Campus faculty development resource, called "Fac Dev 101," that is designed to introduce World Campus faculty to issues involved in authoring and teaching a course in a distance education environment.

   

• By the end of the first semester, all of the core (draft) course content is to have been generated by the course author(s), including "lectures," quizzes/exams, identification of textbook and other required readings, identification of any other supplemental resources (such as on-line resources), and information needed for the course welcome page.

The second semester of the development timeframe is used to develop the actual course materials and to design and integrate learning activities and assessment strategies into the course. This includes the development of the course Welcome Page site, a publicly accessible informational site for the course. Welcome Page site includes an on-line syllabus, a course checklist outlining the materials and technology needed by students, information about the nature of the learning environment used in the course, and section-specific information such as a detailed course schedule of activities and assignments. Much of the site is based on a standard World Campus template.

The majority of the effort expended during the second semester typically falls on the instructional designer and other members of the development team (graphic artist, Web specialist, instructional materials designer, technical typist, etc.), however in some cases individual authors may desire to take on a portion of the actual technical development, based on personal interests and skill sets. As the instructional designer works through the draft content and puts it into its final form (Web pages, pdf documents, print study guide, etc.), s/he incorporates comments, questions, and suggestions pertaining to issues such as course content, learning activities, and assessment strategies. "Marked up" course materials are then given back to the course author for review and revision. This is typically an iterative process, with the author and instructional designer exchanging materials and revisions multiple times as items are finalized.

Related Resources

World Campus Instructors' Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/public/ID/instructorfaq.shtml

Examples of a course Welcome Page site
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/welcome/adted507/
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/welcome/ae565/

World Campus 101 (our student orientation to the World Campus)
http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/wc101/

Faculty Development 101 (our author/instructor training resource)
http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/facdev101/