Initiative #1: Community of Practice

The XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning is recruiting faculty who are invested in online education at UC Riverside for a Community of Practice dedicated to celebrating the experiences and disseminating the wisdom of faculty who teach online courses.

The OCoP will provide an opportunity for those currently teaching online to discuss their experiences teaching online with other faculty teaching online in order to receive support and develop their courses further, as well as to inform the wider campus community about best practices in teaching online. Participants can join the community either formally or informally. Formal participants will develop an agreed-upon deliverable (e.g. a workshop series, a white paper, a series of resources, etc.) to be determined by the participants, and will showcase that deliverable at the end of the Fall 2026 quarter.

Have Questions?

Contact Debbie Nelson (dnels009@ucr.edu) for more information.

Initiative #2: Online Course Enhancement Initiative

Call for Proposals: Participation Details

Up to 20 UC Riverside instructors of online courses can qualify to earn a certificate and $1000 stipend. Participants are eligible to receive 25 hours of production support for course enhancements from the XCITE Studios team.

Participation is based on acceptance of proposals to enhance courses according to at least one standard in the Quality Matters framework for hybrid and online course quality, and with regard to at least one of the following tracks:

• Technology: Identify a campus-supported tool you either: 1) don’t currently use but would like to integrate for course development or for teaching & learning, or one that you 2) already use but that you would like to use in a new way
• Inclusive Teaching: Implement at least one dimension of the UCR Inclusive Course Design Rubric in order to make your course more inclusive
• AI: Revise your course in at least one way to: 1) teach either with or about AI, and to 2) either incorporate AI, or to be more AI resilient, based on your most immediate needs or your long-term goals and teaching philosophy- in order to improve student learning outcomes
• Wildcard: Propose a track not reflected in this RFP

You will be expected to meet 1:1 with an instructional designer within 2 months of proposal acceptance. Information and resources will be provided to support your chosen path.

Here are some details about the program goals, award requirements and distribution. This program is funded through UC Online’s “Block Grant” awards.

Goals

• Improve the student learning experience in your course through implementation of the Quality Matters framework for hybrid and online courses
• Explore avenues for course enhancement in accordance with at least one chosen “track” to improve student outcomes
• Share your experience to implement the Quality Matters framework and course enhancement strategies to support student success, including actual or anticipated outcomes.

Criteria for Participation

• UC Riverside instructors of existing online courses
• Selected courses must be ones participants have previously taught, at least once

Schedule, Format, and Modalities

Participants will access information and resources asynchronously in Canvas. Upon program acceptance, participants will participate in an initial 1:1 consultation. Drop-in hours will be held synchronously over Zoom every Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-3:00pm, beginning Tuesday, November 4th through June 10th. Drop-in hours can carry themes by request, and participants are also invited to schedule additional 1:1 meetings, based on needs and availability.

Award Deliverables and Release Requirements

Deliverables:

• Completion of a Quality Matters self-review
• Submission of a written reflection about key takeaways and ways you enhanced/will enhance your course through the program (a form/template will be provided)
• Launch of enhanced version of course to be offered fully online no earlier than Spring 2026 and no later than Spring 2027

Participate in program/course activities, including:

• Meet 1:1 with a UCR instructional designer about your goals and strategies to enhance your course within 2 months of proposal acceptance
• Attend at least 2 drop-in hour sessions per term through Spring 2027 to: check-in informally, engage with other participants, ask or answer questions, participate in discussion, or receive support
• Attend at least one Online Community of Practice meeting
• Share your experience to implement the Quality Matters framework and course enhancement strategies to support student success, including actual or anticipated outcomes through either:
  • A program “showcase event, or
  • A 3-5 minute video showcasing what you did to enhance your course while discussing actual or anticipated outcomes, and, how you implemented, or plan to implement, your enhancements

Upon meeting the above requirements, you can expect to have earned a certificate and $1000 award.

Participant Award Disbursement

$1,000 to faculty via research funds.

Course Site

The companion "course" for this program is being hosted through UCR's Canvas instance.

Have Questions?

Contact Samantha Eastman (samantha@ucr.edu) for more information.