UTM faculty have been offered financial incentives to transition their courses fully online.
According to a March 17 email from Amy Mullin, UTM’s VP academic and dean, faculty can apply for funding to make their courses fully online.
The courses would be redesigned over the summer and already be available in the upcoming school year.
“Development of online undergraduate courses at U of T is expanding,” said Mullin, confirming UTM’s involvement with Ontario Online, a provincial online learning initiative. The Online Undergraduate Course Initiative will fund the project.
First-year students will be the most affected, as introductory courses have been given priority. Because the project incorporates universities across Ontario, transfer students will have a new means of obtaining credits. International students considering full-time studies at U of T will also be able to enroll in U of T courses.
The University of Toronto aims to redesign up to 30 courses, introducing 10 new online courses each term.
Not all faculty and students support the initiative, since converting a course fully online eliminates a potentially valuable in-person interaction and opens the door for bigger class sizes. Class size is a well-established measure of student satisfaction.
OUCI is now accepting proposals. The redesigning process is set to begin in May.
