CETI Course Developments: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

Elevate Your Course. Empower Your Students.

Faculty-Centered Course Development at NKU

Northern Kentucky University is proud to offer faculty the opportunity to develop or revamp online and hybrid courses through a structured, supportive, and high-quality process^*.

Whether you're creating a new course from the ground up or giving a legacy course a much-needed refresh, this initiative offers personal support, a clear process, and a stipend upon successful completion.

What’s In It For You?

One-on-One Instructional Design Support: Collaborate directly with an experienced instructional designer throughout the process.
Stipend Eligible: You may be able to earn a stipend once your course passes final review.
Nationally Recognized Standards: All developments are reviewed using a rubric adapted from the Quality Matters rubric—the gold standard in online education.
Professional Growth: If you haven’t already, you’ll also participate in our Course Design Institute (CDI)—a foundational, faculty-focused experience that’s also stipend-eligible.

*This process is a separate process from Risepoint, formerly AP.

What Does the Process Involve?

New Course Development

Crafting a course map
Designing a syllabus that aligns with best practices
Applying backward design principles
Creating meaningful assignments and accessible course materials

Course Redesign / Update

Updating learning outcomes, content, textbooks, and lesson plans
Reviewing and revising your course map
Ensuring the course meets current accessibility and pedagogical standards

Note: Redeveloped courses must show substantial updates and improvements. This is more than a simple refresh—it’s an opportunity to reimagine your course for today’s learners.

The Process

Person writing in a notebook and looking at a laptop

You'll work with an instructional designer through one-on-one meetings to come up with a course development that optimizes student-centered learning while taking into account your specific needs as an instructor or course coordinator. We're there to answer questions and offer feedback throughout the process so that when it comes time for the review, your course is ready to go!

Your instructional designer will conduct:

An initial course review to identify key needs
A final review based on the Quality Matters rubric to ensure course excellence

Want a review of your course without the redesign? Looking for a targeted review? We will be starting those this fall, too!

What we look for (a sampling):

Assignments aligned with Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Comprehensive syllabus including academic integrity policies and full course schedule
Accessibility compliance and UDL (ADA & WCAG 3.0)
Inclusion of student support resources (tutoring, tech help, accommodations, and more)
Materials that are relevant to the course outcomes, relevant, and appropriate for today's students.
Instructor presence and voice that is welcoming and respectful of student needs.

Ready to Get Started?

Faculty interested in participating should email instructionaldesign@nku.edu with the following:

Course name and code
Planned first semester of delivery
Whether there’s an existing development shell (for redesigns)
Name and email of the faculty member(s) developing the course

Also Using RisePoint?

No problem! While this process is separate from RisePoint’s, we welcome faculty using that platform to partner with us. There’s substantial overlap, and we’re happy to integrate RisePoint templates and content into our review process.

For questions or to learn more, reach out to instructionaldesign@nku.edu. We’re here to support you—every step of the way.

CETI Course Developments

Elevate Your Course. Empower Your Students.

The Process

Center for Excellence in Teaching and innovation

NKU uses cookies on this website