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Design, Develop & Deliver Your Online Course

 
Welcome to Design, Develop & Deliver Your Online Course, a workshop for UCM Instructors to learn more about best practices and get hands-on training in Designing, Developing and Delivering a fully Online course.
 

Below is the announcement requesting proposals for your project as well as the links to complete the required documentation and submit the proposal.

Request for Proposals 

Proposal Application DUE: February 2, 2026

In this announcement, UC Merced invites ladder-rank research and teaching faculty to submit proposals as Principal Investigators (PIs) to design the structure and begin developing a fully online course to be offered either during summer session or during the academic year for the UC Merced campus student community. While there is flexibility on when this course can be delivered, when this online course is taught all grantees will be required to share course success data with CETL and Teaching Commons staff researching online course efficacy at UC Merced.  

Funding Information:

  • Funding for Ladder-Rank faculty, for this opportunity is sponsored by UC Online who provided the campus with an AY 25-26 award in support of online courses.
  • Funding for this spring workshop will be available for the design and development of course content and modules for fully online courses only. 
  • Proposals selected for funding will be limited to ladder-rank faculty.
  • Priority will be given to those who already have an online course approved for delivery within the summer or fall 2026 terms.  
  • Note: A departmental approval document will be required to be submitted with the proposal submission.

Instructors who receive final approved for UCO-UCM Awards are required to attend and participate in a facilitated workshop series during Spring 2026. Each participant who successfully completes this exploration will receive a $5,000 honorarium inclusive of benefits. This honoraria will be paid out in late spring or early summer, 2026.

Applicant Eligibility for Funding Awards:  

Proposals can be submitted by the following UC Merced academic appointees as the Principal Investigator (PI): UC Merced ladder-rank Research and Teaching faculty. PIs may submit as an individual or a team, a department chair, or a department’s undergraduate curriculum chair. Proposals representing collaboration among PIs and departments and intended to serve students in multiple departments are strongly encouraged and will be given special consideration. Prio

Important Dates and Deadlines: 

The timeline below shows the important dates for the Spring 2026, Design, Develop & Deliver Your Online Course RFP.  

  • Submission Window Opens: January 21, 2026  
  • Submission Window Closes: Monday, February 2, 2026 
  • Notification of Awards: no later than February 13, 2026 
  • Workshop will begin the week of February 23, 2026

Proposal Submission & Review Process: 

Proposal Submissions:

  • Proposals for this RFP must include completion of the submission form (linked below) and signature of approvaly by your department chair using the Signatures Document (linked below).  
    • Required Signatures Document (download here)
    • Spring 2026 Proposal Submission Form

    • As this workshop is built around designing and delivering your course in an online format, the submission proposal form requires you to answer to the following. The approval committee requests that you not simply add your current course syllabus but take time to consider how this course will be different when delivered in a fully online format. 

  1. Primary course learning objectives (3-4)
  2. Initial thoughts on how you anticipate this course delivery modality to be different than in-person (physical classroom) delivery.

If you experience any issues with the proposal submission or signature form, please email Joan Holmquist at jholmquist@ucmerced.edu.

Proposal Review Process

  • Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of UC Merced faculty, administrators, and staff. The committee will make recommendations to the UC Merced Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education for awards.  

Design, Develop and Deliver Your Online Course - Spring 2026 Workshop: Preliminary Agenda

Design:

  • Session 1 - week of 2/23/26 - Backward Design in Detail
  • Session 2 - week of 3/2/26 - Universal Design and Accessibility

Develop / Operationalize

  • Session 3 - week of 3/9/26 - Course Mapping
  • Session 4 - week of 3/16/26 - Chunking and Structure in Detail

Delivery & Share

  • Session 5 - week of 3/30/26 - Share what you’ve done with peers and submit finalized course map and first 2 modules

Note: Active participation in the workshop sessions and submitting your finalized course map and first 2 modules are required for completion and award payment

More Information  

Eligible UC Merced campus members interested in learning more exploring the concept of transforming a face-to-face course to an online offering are encouraged to discuss their proposals with Dr. James Zimmerman, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning (jzimmerman6@ucmerced.edu) or Joan Holmquist, Sr. Instructional Designer (jholmquist@ucmerced.edu).