Submitted by: Caroline Echevarria, Senior Instructional Designer at Stonehill College
Contact Info:
Email: cechevarria@stonehill.edu
Phone: (508) 404-6268
What role would you like to play in organizing this workshop?
I’m interested in organizing a workshop on this topic.
Intended Audience:
Educational technology leadership; instructional designers/learning experience designers; academic technologists; and academic affairs professionals
Proposal:
Smaller institutions struggle to enhance online course quality due to limited instructional design resources, compared to larger universities. This session shares a homegrown, practical, adaptable model for developing and implementing an Online Teaching Certification (OTC) program that prepares faculty to teach online courses without requiring extensive resources.
Stonehill College is primarily a residential undergraduate institution of approximately 2,500 students in Easton, Massachusetts. The Educational Technology team within the Department of Information Technology has partnered with the Office of Academic Affairs to create an in-house OTC program. This program supports faculty teaching online for the first time as well as those needing retraining. The team adapted openly sourced educational resources to fit the College’s context thereby creating a cohesive framework with three key components: a collaborative partnership model that connects faculty with instructional design support ; an online course template; and a self-paced course design rubric with self-evaluation tools.
As a result, the OTC program has taken root at Stonehill College, improving course quality, building faculty confidence in online teaching, and creating a foundation for online learning growth. Participants will leave this session with practical strategies and adaptable resources they can apply at their own institutions , whether they are establishing quality standards for the first time or expanding support to enhance their online course offerings.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify approaches to online course quality assurance that align with the resources of small or growing instructional design teams.
2. Apply components of a faculty certification or self-evaluation model to fit their own institutional context.
3. Develop partnerships between faculty and instructional designers that promote online course design best practices.
Event Type: In-person workshop
Track: Teaching Learning and Student Success (2025-26)
Presenters:
| Name | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Caroline Echevarría | Senior Instructional Designer | Caroline Echevarria is an instructional design leader with over nine years of experience advancing learning strategy, technology integration, and instructional design. She holds a Master of Education in Instructional Design and a Graduate Certificate in Learning Experience Design from UMass Boston. At her alma mater, Stonehill College, Caroline established and leads the IT department’s instructional design function. Previously, she worked at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, partnering with faculty to design engaging, learner-centered courses. he holds a Master of Education in Instructional Design and a Graduate Certificate in Learning Experience Design from University of Massachusetts Boston. |
Preferred Date and Location:
Spring 2026 in-person, April 2026 virtual, May 2026 virtual, June 2026 virtual
Dates Not Available:
2026 Dates Only, strong preference for NERCOMP in person @ Providence March 2026
Additional Comments:
