Alternative Documentation of Faculty Development
for Online Instruction
Academic Affairs PPS 02.03.20: Maintenance and Improvement of Quality in Teaching establishes that the university must ensure that the highest quality of teaching is met. The university does so by:
- awarding faculty who demonstrate excellence in education,
- evaluating teaching, and
- providing training for faculty to improve faculty pedagogy.
This policy requires that distance education faculty complete:
Instructors with prior training, extensive experience teaching online, and other qualifications may submit alternative documentation to meet the first requirement.
The alternative documentation application will be evaluated by an instructional designer and distance learning administrator. Once the review process is complete, the instructor may be provided with a waiver of Texas State's requirement for a professional development program. Faculty who are provided a waiver for the professional development program will be provisionally certified to teach online and hybrid courses at Texas State and will be asked to complete a short professional development supplemental course in Canvas, “Teaching Online at Texas State: Supplemental,” which includes information essential to teaching online at Texas State specifically. Faculty who are provisionally certified become fully certified upon successful completion of the supplemental course.
You may save this form at any time to complete within one week. To expedite your completion of the online Alternative Documentation form, we recommend you assemble the following documentation before beginning the online form:
- Online teaching certificate copy (if applicable);
- PDF example of previously instructed online or hybrid course that demonstrates best practices in online teaching;
- Copy of syllabus from previously instructed online or hybrid course; and
- Other materials that demonstrate experience and knowledge in developing online courses.