Global Campus instructors include University of Illinois faculty from the University’s residential campuses, as well as highly qualified teaching professionals hired by The Global Campus to teach part-time.
All Global Campus instructors are required to take the Global Campus Instructor Orientation Course. This self-paced course introduces instructors to Global Campus-specific policies and procedures, Desire2Learn (our learning management system), pedagogical rationales for online teaching techniques, and additional technical and academic resources. Throughout the course, instructors are required to complete specific tasks to document the completion of each section and the acceptance of specific policies and procedures before being provided a teaching assignment.
All Global Campus instructors are also required to participate in and “pass” the Global Campus Instructor Certification Course. This four-week, instructor-led course introduces instructors to Global Campus pedagogical philosophies regarding online education and provides hands-on opportunities for the instructors to orient themselves to Desire2Learn. Throughout the course, instructors are required to participate in online discussions and adequately complete assignments before being offered a teaching assignment.
The Global Campus Instructor Portal has links to documents, such as the Instructor Handbook, that provide relevant policies and procedures. New Global Campus instructors are assigned a mentor who is knowledgeable about policies and procedures of importance to instructors. In addition, Instructor Services staff will be available to answer questions.
Instructors have a variety of ways to get help. The Help Desk accepts and responds to both phone and e-mail requests. Instructor Services helps with courses, programs, academic policy, and Learning Management System issues. The instructor portal contains useful information, as well as phone numbers and e-mail addresses for both the Help Desk and Instructor Services.
Online instructors are granted a great deal of flexibility in their working hours and teaching schedule. However, Global Campus instructors are required to put in the needed amount of time to teach, communicate with and respond to students, assess student work, and provide quality feedback as outlined by the instructor responsibilities section of the Instructor Handbook.
Global Campus instructors are required to set, advertise, and maintain a specific number of virtual office hours based on the number of courses assigned. Instructors will use a variety of technologies for their office hours, including telephone, e-mail, and videoconferencing technology such as Elluminate or Skype.
Global Campus instructors are required to post the dates and times that they are available and will most likely be checking e-mail and responding to students. Therefore, instructors are also required to list days and times of the week that they will be away from their computers. They will be required to provide students with instructions for obtaining technical and academic help during those times.
To ensure that quality standards are met and students are provided with the highest quality of education, instructors will be evaluated in a variety of ways. Global Campus instructor evaluations will include input from Instructor Services staff, students, and instructor self-reflection and evaluation surveys.
Instructors are also asked to evaluate the course assignments and activities, the technology, processes and procedures, and instructor support. Our goal is to continuously improve both the instructor support and student learning environments.
