UIS - CSU Model

Online collaborations between Chicago State University and the University of Illinois at Springfield began in 2001 with a grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Working together in building faculty expertise in both the pedagogical and technological aspects of online teaching and learning, the two universities made campus visits and held workshops. The collaboration expanded into the offering of stipends to faculty members who began offering online team-taught classes. These included:

• Meetings were held on both campuses (and via Web conferencing) to explain program to the faculty and to encourage collaborations
• An online clearinghouse of faculty members and classes seeking collaborations to facilitating pairings
• Team teaching agreements were developed by the pairs of teachers
• Stipends (originally) of $1,500 for faculty members conducting semester-long collaborations and lesser amounts for shared modules
• Students sign up at home institution
• Shared Blackboard site
• Some synchronous meetings via Elluminate
• Faculty members graded own students but provided materials, interaction, and answered questions from all
• An evaluation report was submitted by both faculty members after the term