All courses offered at a distance have undergone the same curriculum development, review, and approval processes than those taught in a traditional delivery method. Degree program requests to create or modify undergraduate, graduate, and professional educational programs are processed in accordance with Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Degree Program Guidelines.
The development process for all educational programs originates with the faculty. Programs are submitted, reviewed, and approved through a standard process involving University faculty and administration. Proposals originate within departments where they are reviewed by curriculum committees for academic quality, student demand, and resource requirements. Successful proposals must include a statement of learning outcomes and procedures for ongoing assessments. Proposals that are approved by the department are then forwarded to college-wide curriculum committees and subsequently to the University Curriculum Committee. Review at these levels focuses on the relevance of the proposed program to the University’s mission, its relevance to existing programs, and the capability of the department to support the program.
Program proposals that are approved by the University Curriculum Committee are recommended to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who in turn reviews them and forwards those that are approved to the President. The President then forwards these proposals to the Texas A&M University System and to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents for approval and then to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
Once a program has been approved, the curriculum committee at each department will select a delivery modality. The proposal of courses being considered for distance learning delivery is carefully analyzed by the curriculum committee and it must include a statement of learning outcomes and procedures for on-going assessment. Once the Dean of the College approves the proposal, the process of development/adaptation begins with the faculty member that will develop the course materials.
A quality assurance program was adopted by Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) through the Distance Education and Instructional Technology Committee (DEITC) in September 2011 with the purpose of ensuring the quality of its online courses. TAMIU has adopted the nationally recognized Quality Matters (QM) program for its peer-based approach. The course developer is an integral part of the internal review process with shared responsibility and ownership.
NOTE: All online instructors are required to participate in QM professional development workshops on how to apply the QM rubric in constructing or revising their online course.
Courses developed (through the development process listed below) will be required to meet at least 85% of QM standards in course review(s) in order to be QM recognized.
Visit TAMIU's Quality Matters website for more information.
TAMIU has the intent to provide high quality online courses to its students. The Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services office, powered by the Office of Information Technology (OIT), is responsible for providing support to faculty in all stages of the development process: planning, designing, and delivery. OIT is also responsible for archiving course materials developed by faculty contracted as "work-for-hire" for the University.
The following procedures will be followed for developing online courses.
Before any course can go online, the following conditions must be met:
If you need a form, please contact us at 956-326-2792 or at elearning@tamiu.edu.
A requirement for course development includes the completion of Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR) workshop offered by Quality Matters. For more information over QM Professional Development, visit our TAMIU QM web page on training sessions. Contact eLearning (elearning@tamiu.edu) to be registered for the next available workshop.
View our Online Course Development Manual for detailed explanations of online course development at TAMIU, including development procedure, course development recommendations, syllabus recommendations, etc.
Online Course Development Manual
Click link above to view flipbook.
Office of Information Technology
Instructional Technology & Distance Education Services
Killam Library, Room 259
Phone: (956) 326-2792
Fax: (956) 326-2299
E-mail: elearning@tamiu.edu