Online Teaching Institute (OTI)

This training fulfills UWRF Faculty Senate motion 2017-18/126 Distance Education Qualification articles, 4.14.1 Faculty and Staff Requirements for teaching online courses and 4.14.2 Training in Distance Education. View.
 
Individuals may participate in the Online Teaching Institute (OTI) to develop a new course or to redesign an existing course for online delivery. OTI will help individuals think through the pedagogy of online teaching in addition to learning more about the technology used to deliver the course.
 
Individuals may NOT participate in OTI while also teaching, in an online format, the course they are developing through the OTI.
 
The OTI is a hybrid course with synchronous and asynchronous components.  The cohort will meet synchronously, each week for about an hour over 6-7 weeks, early in the semester. The asynchronous modules take 2-4 hours to complete for a total of 10-15 hours.  In addition, you will be working on designing your online courses which can take an additional 3-5 hours per week depending on your needs. The completed course design is due within 2 months of starting the OTI.
 
Individuals will be selected to participate in the OTI program for each of the Fall, Spring and Summer terms based on their application answers and adherence to the instructions. Preference may also be given to those who have not participated recently. 

Please note that to participate you must be on contract or, if your OTI participation occurs during the summer, you must be returning in the fall. 

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR FALL 2025

The Office of Online and Professional Learning Resources (OPLR) has partnered with the Provost's Office and CETL to offer a self-paced course for online teaching development and qualification. The course consists of three smaller courses: Planning Your Online Course, Developing Your Online Course, and Teaching Your Online Course. The course will run from August 25-December 1. An OPLR facilitator will communicate weekly with participants to help everyone stag on track and provide additional support. You can expect about 48 hours of total work time and a stiped ($1000) will be provided to all participants who complete the program. Space is limited. You can sign up below. Questions? Contact Cyndi Kernahan: cynthia.kernahan@uwrf.edu 

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY SIGN-UP

Application Process

If you have any issues, please contact fasdb.

• Complete an application (linked below), including the Department chair's electronic signature. You will identify your chair, and once the application is submitted, this person will receive an email asking to provide an electronic signature. Please note that your application is not complete until your department chair signs off on the application.

The deadline to apply for the Spring 2026 OTI is Friday, December 5, 2025.

Application

Important:

If you haven't received a final email that tells you that your application was sent to the committee, please check on the progress. The application is not considered complete until all parts, including your Chair's signature, have been submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the due date.

Upon successful completion of the OTI: 

•    Participants will  receive a payment of $1,000

Please email Rachelle Haroldson with any questions.