Delta College has a variety of online courses that have been fully developed and aligned to the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric and are available for adoption by Delta faculty. As per the Content Usage MOU signed by SJDC and CTA, Delta College faculty who are interested in adopting CVC-Quality Reviewed/Badged “master” course shells must sign the Faculty Adopter Agreement.
CVC Badged Courses Available for Use at Delta College
If you are assigned to teach a class at Delta for which you do not have content, you may be able to import and adapt one of Delta's CVC-Quality Reviewed, Badged courses. Most courses are available for adoption. Please review the list closely and any notes regarding adoption.
Note: Courses are available for adoption and use at Delta College only.
Some of these CVC Quality Reviewed Delta courses even use Open Educational Resources (OER) for Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) to students. These courses have been through a rigorous Peer Online Course Review (POCR) process to ensure alignment to the highest standards of online teaching in California.
How to View or Adopt a Master Course
If you are interested in viewing and/or adopting one of Delta’s CVC-Badged “Master” courses, you must sign the Adopter Agreement form, which is supported by the Canvas Master Shell Content Usage Agreement, an MOU between the SJDCCD and SJDCTA.
Once you sign and submit the Adopter Agreement form, you will be given a brand new Canvas “Development” (DEV) shell that contains the content of the master course. You will find it either on your Canvas Dashboard, or in Canvas under Courses >> All Courses. It will be named something like:
PSYCH 1 (YOUR NAME) DEV MASTER
If you choose to use the course in your teaching, you can – and should – customize the content to meet your needs and reflect your personality, teaching style, and presence in the class.
Licensing and Attribution
Delta College's "Master" courses carry an Attribution Noncommercial Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC). This means:
- You may remix, tweak, and build upon this work, but you agree to do so non-commercially.
- You agree to credit the original author (the faculty member who developed the class) in all revised versions of the course.
- You agree to use the course content and all materials for teaching assignments at Delta College only.
- Under no circumstances will you import any of the course content into other learning management systems or into other institutions' systems.
- You understand that if you fail to follow the guidelines, you will lose access to future master courses.
Faculty who violate the above may be subject to disciplinary action and may forfeit the opportunity to teach online in the future. (Canvas Master Shell Content Usage Agreement § 17.9.5.4)
When teaching with one of Delta’s Master courses, both original and revised versions must retain attribution to the original author, and license information:
Customizing the Master Course
Here is a starting list of the most important things you should address before “going live” with the course:
Clarify Your Role
In addition to inclusion of the CC BY-NC license and author attribution, you should include a statement written in student-friendly language that the course was developed by another Delta College Professor, and students will see videos and other material created by that professor. However, you will be the one teaching the course, grading work, and answering questions. The following is a sample statement you may edit to your liking. The best places to put this would be on the course Homepage, and in the Syllabus and/or Welcome Module.
This course was designed and developed by Delta College (Discipline) Professor, (Name). You will see many instructional videos of Professor (Name) throughout this course. However, I am teaching our class this semester and will be here to guide you through our material, grade your work, and answer any questions. The best way to contact me is: (Preferred Contact Info)
Review Every Part of the Course
Review each page you plan to use and replace information specific to the professor who authored the course, with your own. For example, contact info, images, Bitmojis, welcome video, etc. While every page should be checked, this is particularly important on the Homepage, Syllabus, Announcements, and the first module, often titled “Welcome,” “Getting Started,” or “Orientation.” References to the course author may also be present in Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes/Exams.
The following list offers a starting point but is not exhaustive. It is important to check all facets of the course and make sure it is appropriately updated to reflect to you. That said, instructional videos from the original course author are okay, when using the above attribution statements. The goal is not to remove every bit of the original course author, but to simply prevent confusion about who the current instructor is.
1. Homepage
• Update the course name, 5-digit number, and semester
• Remove the course author’s welcome video, images, contact info, etc.
• Include your own custom welcome message/video and images
• Include your contact information
2. Syllabus
• Update 5-digit course number, semester, and all dates
• Replace course author’s contact and other personalizing info with your own
3. Announcements
• Update announcements, especially the first one which is often the “Welcome Letter”
• Check for any announcements that are set to post automatically on certain dates
4. “Welcome/Orientation” Module and Course Completion Module (if applicable)
• Replace course author’s contact and other personalizing info with your own
• Double check any pages titled: About the Professor, Professor Contact Info & Office Hours, Communication Plan, Need Help, or similar
5. Assignments, Quizzes, Exams
• Check for any references to the course author. For example: Questions about this assignment? Reach out to me at: <email address>
6. Update “Available,” “Due,” and “Accept Until” dates
7. Check for locked or date-controlled Modules
8. Check for Module Prerequisites
9. Check all other areas of the course.
Note: It is the responsibility of the course adopter to make sure the course is updated appropriately.
View the Course as a Student
Use the Student View feature to walk through the course as a student. This will show you exactly what students will see, and allow you to easily identify which Modules, Pages, Assignments and Announcements are Published; which course tools are turned on; and whether your images and videos are visible.
Run the Link Validator
Catching broken links before students do will save everyone a lot of frustration! See this page to learn how to quickly find and fix erroneous links: How do I validate links in a course?
Important Note About Master Course Alignment
As of adoption, Delta’s Master Courses are fully aligned to Sections A-D of the California Virtual Campus Course Design Rubric:
- Course Navigation
- Interaction
- Assessment
- Accessibility
Significant changes made to course content, other than those recommended above, may bring the course out of alignment or cause some content to be inaccessible.
Questions? Contact Us
Please reach out to us if you have any questions!
- Course Design: Jennifer.Azzaro@deltacollege.edu
- Accessibility: Martin.LaGrow@deltacollege.edu
FCS / HS 19 – Human Development
Engaging with the POCR process completely changed how I think about my hybrid and online courses. POCR allowed me to not only align course and module specific objectives, but to create non-disposable assignments and disregard student busy work assignments. I now follow the POCR process to align all of my courses. This process has enabled me to construct my courses in a stress-free, student friendly, constructive manner. I encourage all faculty to collaborate with POCR and the wonderful reviewers who oversee the process.
ENGL C1001
The Peer Online Course Review will help you create a dynamic and engaging course where all students can excel. Jenn and Marty offer excellent support for each step in this process. I highly recommend embarking on this challenging and rewarding journey!
Psychology 4
As a new faculty member and new to teaching online, I wanted to be sure my courses were structured in a way that made sense to students and offered the highest level of support. I was grateful that I had access to two POCR-approved courses from other instructors when I first started. When I was assigned PSYC 4 and found there was not a POCR-approved version, I saw it as a great opportunity to get feedback during development and ensure the course met the highest standards. I am truly appreciative of the guidance and support throughout the process, and I feel extremely confident in the quality of instruction I am providing to students.
Business 20
My experience with POCR has been rewarding and insightful. The review process has helped me evaluate my courses through the lens of student engagement, accessibility, and clarity. My POCR review team provided valuable feedback that allowed me to refine my content, ensure alignment with the standards, and create a more student-centered learning experience.
FCS 2, 6
Engaging with the POCR process completely changed how I think about and my hybrid and online courses. POCR allowed me to not only align course and module specific objectives, but to create non-disposable assignments and disregard student busy work assignments. I now follow the POCR process to align all of my courses. This process has enabled me to construct my courses in a stress-free, student friendly, constructive manner. I encourage all faculty to collaborate with POCR and the wonderful reviewers who oversee the process.
ECE 21, 26, 28, 31A, 31B, 33, 35, 37, 38, 63
Participating in POCR has been an incredibly valuable experience. Having taken almost all of my courses through the process, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the online learning experience from the student perspective. As instructors, our goal is always to design courses that are informative, well-organized, and supportive of student success, but without guidance this is difficult to achieve on our own.
Since completing the POCR process, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in student confusion around course navigation and expectations, along with an increase in engagement and overall achievement. I truly believe my students are now benefiting from a more streamlined, accessible, and effective learning experience.
I highly recommend that all faculty go through this process. While it does require upfront effort, the long-term payoff is well worth it—it not only improves the student experience but also makes teaching smoother and more rewarding.
ART 3
The POCR process was incredibly helpful to improving accessibility, engagement, interaction, and assessment of my Art 3 class. The support team of Jennifer and Martin provided invaluable guidance throughout the project. I now feel more confident about the clarity and navigability of my course, and I look forward to applying the skills I’ve learned to my other art history courses!
COUN 30 & COUN 31
POCR was an amazing experience! As an instructor, you want your class to be informative, organized, and accessible for students to maximize their learning. I feel like my students will get so much more out of my courses now that they are in alignment with better videos, graphics, assignments and overall organization.
History 27
“After being a reviewer for a long time, I decided to go through the process myself with my online history course. I have been working on this course for over a decade but felt it needed a complete overhaul. Getting through the POCR review was the incentive I needed to do the work and I felt that having knowledgeable people look over the course would help ensure that the updates made sense. POCR is worth every bit of the effort required because when you are finished, when all the updates have been completed, you know that the course works well, that students aren’t going to be confused or run into problems, and that the course is accessible. “
CHEM 3A
“I thought I had done a good job when I developed my online course during covid, but working through the POCR process made me realize that there were many areas that could be improved, especially in course navigation and design. The course is much better organized now, making it easier for students to keep track of assignments and communicate with me and their classmates. I was a bit apprehensive when asked to take my course though POCR, but the excellent guidance I received from Jenn and Marty made the process very straightforward.”
English 38
“I thought my online teaching was solid, but putting English 38 through the POCR process showed me how much more there could be. The course was fine before, but it’s so much better now. The teams are supportive, with lots of good ideas and suggestions without judgment. I’d recommend this course to everyone, whether you’ve been teaching online for 20 years or whether you just started.”
Psychology 2
“Completing the POCR review process for my Psych 02 (Statistics for the Social Sciences) course was a challenging and rewarding experience. The process made me view my course through a new equity lens to make sure all students had the accessibility to be successful in the course. I learned a lot from the process and my skills on CANVAS were sharpened. I am able to use the information I learned from the POCR review and apply it to other courses that I teach.”
Sociology 1A and 1B
“I would highly recommend the POCR process for any instructors seeking to take their online course to the next level. Having gone through the process twice, I can say with confidence that my online courses are more organized and student-centered than ever. This process really allows you to dive deeply into online learning and provides you with the opportunity to develop a course that takes into consideration the varying learning styles of students.”
English 1B
“Moving my Eng 1B through POCR made me rethink every choice I make in my online teaching. Is this the most effective way to structure a lecture? Is this the most impactful and relatable assignment? Have I taken enough steps to ensure that no student gets lost? Looking at my class with fresh eyes has made my class more organized, accessible, and engaging for my students.”
Education 10, 12, 13, 14 and 70
“At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic required faculty to become proficient at executing virtual instruction, I found the POCR process to be invaluable to my goal of designing effective hybrid and asynchronous courses that supported my students’ success. I frequently receive positive feedback from students describing their appreciation for varied elements of our courses spanning content presentation, interaction, assessment, and accessibility which I attribute largely to the professional development that I have received through the POCR process.”
Statistics 12
“By going through the POCR review process, my class is more accessible, presentable, and organized. Students liked accessing this class which was organized and manageable.”
Psychology 1, 2 and 5
“Aligning my courses with POCR standards improved my awareness of online course best practices, including addressing diverse perspectives, overcoming accessibility barriers, enhancing content presentation, clarifying assignment instructions, boosting online student interaction, and optimizing the overall student experience, which has significantly improved my courses and student learning.”
English 1A
“The POCR process helped me to fully align the course content with course learning objectives. Now each assignment has specific learning objectives that are measurable. Every learning task, whether it be a lecture, reading, written assignment, discussion, video, or image, is purposeful and contributes to the desired course outcomes. Students know the who, what, where, when, and why of every action in the course. The accessibility component was invaluable also.”
Communication Studies C1000
“POCR review has allowed me to offer a much better course, but more importantly, it allows students to learn more. It has transformed my online teaching and it’s the one thing I recommend everyone do if they want to teach online.”
Music 4 & Music 8
“I thought my classes were pretty well organized and dialed in until I went through the POCR process. I was able to raise my online course to a much higher standard. The process is very structured and clear and for me it revealed several areas that needed improvement. The support team were all amazing and very well organized and more importantly, they understand how challenging it is to design a class while teaching. I would encourage every instructor who teaches online to consider the POCR process.”
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Join us there to ask questions of experts and your colleagues! Let’s build a community of best practices.
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