Step 2: Course Development

Once a course is approved for development by the DDLC, faculties/departments can hire a course developer/subject matter expert to develop a flexible course. Up to $9,000 will be available for course development. The money can be used for such things as paying the SME to develop course content and assessments, to pay a research assistant and/or to assist with a course release (permission from faculty required) while the DDLC funded course is being developed.

Note: The DDLC grant does not have to be used to pay for course development supports from the Flexible Learning Instructional Design (ID) Team. The DDLC funds will be available for two years from the time a course is approved for funding.

Development Timelines

A course that is mostly asynchronous typically takes about 8-12 months to develop after the initial meeting. This means that approved courses would not not have a first delivery date until at least three full semesters from the time a DDLC call closes. Keep in mind that the DDLC approval process takes about 2-3 months after the call close date.

A course may be considered for a shorter development timeline (4-6 months) if all of the following criteria are met:

the course material and scope of the project lends itself to a shorter timeline
expected first delivery is at least two full semesters from the call close date
the course in question has been previously offered in a primarily asynchronous online format or a blend of asynchronous online and synchronous (in-person and/or Zoom) but has not had the support of an instructional designer or graphics/multimedia developer to enhance the course. (Some materials in UR courses may exist.)
the course developer/subject matter expert can dedicate concentrated time to developing the course in the shorter timeframe
the finished course will be delivered in either “primarily asynchronous” format or a “balanced blend” format as defined in the DDLC criteria document.

Note: Eligibility for a shorter timeline would be determined through consultations between the faculty or department, course developer/subject matter expert and an FL instructional designer.

Course Development Process

To get a better sense of the five steps involved in the course development process see the Flexible Learning Course Development Guide.