Program in Course Redesign

The University of Southern Mississippi

Course Title: World Literature
Redesign Coordinator: Michael Salda

The University of Southern Mississippi redesigned World Literature, a required general education course that enrolled 1000 students each term, in order to eliminate course drift and inconsistent learning experiences. The traditional course was offered in 16 multiple lecture sections (~65 students) per term, with eight sections taught by full-time faculty and another eight by adjuncts. The redesign placed all students in a coherent single online section and replaced the passive lecture environment with media-enriched presentations that required active student engagement. In the redesign, a course coordinator directed the team-teaching of four faculty members and four graduate assistant graders. Each faculty member taught his or her area of expertise for four weeks. The faculty team offered course content through a combination of live lectures (optional attendance) and required, Web-delivered, media- and resource-enhanced presentations. Cost savings were produced by teaching the same number of students with fewer instructors, significantly reducing faculty time in the classroom by sharing the load, eliminating adjuncts, employing graduate assistants for basic but time-intensive grading of writing assignments, and shifting course management to WebCT. The university initially estimated that the cost per student would decrease from $70 to $31, a 56% savings. The results of the completed redesign can be found by following the links listed under Final Report.

Initial Planning (as of 7/1/01)

Interim Progress Report (as of 12/31/02)

Final Report (as of 10/31/03)

 

Program in Course Redesign Quick Links:

Program In Course Redesign Main Page...

Lessons Learned:
Round 1...
Round II...
Round III...

Savings:
Round I...
Round II...
Round III...

Project Descriptions:
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