DE Certification Options
The following options will provide multiple levels of Distance Education Certification from basic to advanced. The most basic level will be a short-term certification that can be awarded for emergency teaching and will be valid for one year or until the end of required online teaching due to the emergency, and the most advanced level will provide a badge for the CVC/OEI course exchange. Faculty may start with the basic level and advance to additional levels when interested.
AP 4105 has defined the minimum qualifications for teaching in the distance education modality, and there are four ways in which a faculty member may be considered eligible to teach Distance Education. The following options meet AP 4105 #3 or #4. If a faculty feels they meet AP 4105 qualifications #1 or #2 (experience or education) they are encouraged to submit a request for equivalency to the Distance Education Standard Subcommittee.
Prerequisite for Introductory Courses: When a faculty member requests to participate in their first certificate option or request equivalency, they will be enrolled in a Canvas self-paced module. After reading the content, faculty will take the Online Education Legal Requirements Quiz and must earn a score of 100% . The quiz will be administered via Canvas and can be retaken an unlimited number of times. Once faculty have earned a score of 100% on the Online Education Legal Requirements Quiz, they will be able to progress through the certificate options, and will be awarded a digital badge.
Technology Skills: Technology is rapidly changing and a faculty member with limited technology skills or are unsure where to start are encouraged to seek additional private tutoring with our campus instructional designer, technology trainer, or experienced faculty in your division. A list has been compiled with faculty available and interested in assisting you.
List of the Five Certificate Options to align to AP4105 as approved by ASC 5/22/2020 and revised 9/25/2020:
1. Synchronous Lecture Emergency Certificate (SLEC): 4-hour Flex Workshop.
2. Distance Lecture Emergency Certificate (DLEC): 2-week course. 20 hours total.
3. Teaching Online Certificate (TOC): 6-week course. 60 hours total.
4. Self-paced Teaching Online Certificate (SPTOC): Submission of DE course for review.
5. Capstone -- OEI Badge: Advanced mentoring. aprox 40 hours investment.
While you are waiting for your session to start, you may want to get a jump start and self-enroll in the self-paced Introduction to Canvas Course. This will prepare you for the start of the next term and you will then be able to move through the Certification Course faster.
Participants in all facilitated certificate options will explore guiding principle of course delivery that ensures an equitable and inclusive online learning environment to support the success of diverse students online.
OEI Academy - Cougar Capstone OEI Badge:
This option is designed for faculty who have taught online for at least one semester and are ready to transition their course from a basic to exemplary level. Information and demonstrations will be delivered asynchronously through Canvas with interaction among mentors and colleagues addressing the major factors that impact student success. This option is based on the exemplary criteria from the CVC-OEI’s Course Design Rubric. This option will help the participant push to the next level. Participants revise their course based on equitable teaching practices in four areas of the CVC-OEI Rubric; (A) Content Presentation, (B) Interaction, (C) Assessment, (D) Accessibility. This option may take up to a 40-hour commitment over an agreed upon time period and requires presenting a fully aligned course for review by the CC-POCR. The digital badge will be visible on the CVC Course Exchange.
Spring 2023 Academy Participate Information - Register
Spring 2022 Academy Facilitator Information
Email cwilshus@cuesta.edu for more information.
Teaching Online Certificate (TOC):
This 6-week course has been designed for faculty interested in teaching fully online, hybrid, and/or synchronous (SLEC) courses, now and in the future. Information and demonstrations will be delivered asynchronously through Canvas and through interactions with mentors and colleagues over a 6-week period. There will be an optional weekly office hour for live interaction, but this synchronous interaction is not required. The course provides faculty with an in-depth approach to course design. Participants will explore online learning theory and approaches to online course design, learn how to support the success of diverse students online, foster inclusion through student-centered activities and communications, apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts to the planning and design of your online course; identify the skills you will need to make your course both technically accessible and usable to a broad range of students. This course will require a 10-hour weekly commitment over a 6-week period. Participants will earn an Teaching Online Certificate upon completion of course activities. The certificate will be valid for as long as you teach at Cuesta College. The hands-on activities will give you the chance to master using Canvas and lead to the development of an orientation module and one content module in a Canvas sandbox that can be used for exploration and later transferred to a teaching course if desired. Meets AP4105 # 4.
Spring 2023 Sessions
- 6 week # 1 - December 19th - January 29th - Register Now - (Existing Employee Link) | (New Hire Link)
- 6 week # 2- March 6th - April 16th - Register Now - (Existing Employee Link) | (New Hire Link)
Summer 2023 Sessions
- @ONE Course available to meet certification - Intro to Course Design
Fall 2022 Sessions
- 6 Week # 1 - October 21 - December 4th - Registration Closed
- @ONE Course available to meet certification - Intro to Course Design
Self-Paced Teaching Online Certificate (SPTOC):
This equivalency option is designed for faculty who have dedicated a lot of effort into creating a fully online or synchronous course and believe their course meets the Minimum DE course structure and content requirements. Faculty may have completed training or professional development on their own, may have taken workshops on campus on related to online teaching topics, or self-studied effective distance education delivery. Faculty should have a solid understanding of DE definitions and regulations, ADA compliance, and effective student interaction. Faculty may request an experienced DE certified instructor in their own division to help assess their course for alignment with the DE Certification Rubric. This option does not require enrollment in a facilitated course and is designed to be a self-paced. Faculty selecting this opportunity use a checklist to self-identify that their course meets the same standards as the Teaching Online Certificate (TOC). Participants will have access to mentors for questions and guidance. Participants will be awarded either a Teaching Online Certificate (TOC) or an Emergency Certificate (SLEC) or (DLEC) once their fully designed course has been reviewed by the CC-POCR and the faculty member took the Online Education Legal Requirements Quiz with a score of 100 %. Faculty that receive the TOC will also able to request a review for the CVC-OEI digital badge that will be visible on the CVC Course Exchange. Meets AP4105 # 3 and can be designated as temporary if requested.
Available every term
- Review the Checklist to Self Review prior to requesting approval (enter SPTOC for Start Date).
Not Currently Offered
- Synchronous Lecture Emergency Certificate: This 4-hour Flex Workshop is designed for faculty interested in delivering synchronous lectures (SLEC) during emergency situations (disasters, pandemics, etc). Information and demonstrations will be presented in a live session with resources and hands-on activities in Canvas. Participants will take a tour of the Cuesta College's Learning Management System (LMS) Canvas, identify tools for delivering synchronous lectures (focus on Zoom, and Canvas Conferences), become familiar with FERPA compliance, learn how to use Canvas tools to structure and organize course content, assignments and assessments for digital delivery, and collection. Create an accessible course welcome letter, create an inviting Canvas Home Page with an accessible syllabus, contact information, links to resources, instruction on how to access live lectures and course materials. This will be an intense session, and attendance is required for all 4 hours, and upon completion of the activities, participants will earn a temporary online teaching certification to teach SLEC courses for one academic year or until the end of required online teaching due to the emergency. Meets AP4105 # 4 on a temporary status.
- Distance Lecture Emergency Certificate: This 2-week course has been designed for faculty who are interested in delivering asynchronous (DLEC) or a combination of synchronous (SLEC) and asynchronous instruction during emergency situations. Information and demonstrations will be delivered asynchronously through Canvas and practiced through interaction with mentors and colleagues. There will be an optional weekly office hour for live interactions, but this synchronous interaction is not required. Participants will take a tour of Cuesta College's Learning Management System (LMS) Canvas, begin to create interactive learning space, begin to structure and organize their course for an online environment, create accessible course welcome letters, post accessible syllabus and materials, identify tools and resources to meet Regular Effective Contact, and add a human online presence. They will be introduced to the basics of online course design using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This training will require a 10-hour weekly commitment over a 2-week period. Upon completion of course activities participants will earn temporary online teaching certificate for fully online or hybrid courses for one academic year or until the end of required online teaching due the emergency. Meets AP4105 # 4 on a temporary status.
