Online Course Offerings

Determining Online Courses

The department chair is responsible for ensuring the academic necessity of online courses to be offered and for demonstrating the importance of these courses among the undergraduate offerings of the department. All online course offerings are budgeted for the department based on requests from the Chair during the annual budget/planning meetings. The department is responsible for identifying faculty who want to teach online courses.

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) requires each college to specify threshold enrollments for overload compensation at full pay for online courses.  

Collective Bargaining Agreement

AAUP CBA

Compensation for Online Courses

CAS has adopted 25 as the undergraduate threshold enrollment and 15 as the graduate threshold enrollment for online instruction. 

Compensation for overload instruction is paid through S-contract(s) generated by the department after free drop/add.  Enrollment totals as of the end of free drop/add will be used to calculate compensation. 

Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Dean.

Please note:  an online course always has one section number for matriculated UD students (194 or 154) and one section number for true distance-learners (195 or 155). To receive full compensation for teaching an online course on overload, the combined enrollment in sections -194 and -195 (or -154 and -155) of a course must be at least 25 (undergraduate level) or 15 (graduate level). 

Agreeing to teach a UD Online Course indicates that you will: (1) actively communicate with your students by responding to emails within 72 hours via the University email system or the email system within the University Learning Management System; (2) keep the course current with regard to pertinent content; and (3) give the UD Online designer access to your course.

Online instruction is a recognized category of instruction and may be assigned as faculty workload in conformity with Article 11.3. When online instruction is conducted as an overload, instruction shall be compensated based on S-contract rates (Appendix A) on the condition that a threshold enrollment specified by the appropriate dean is reached. Overload courses may, at the discretion of the dean, be compensated with fractional S-contracts should enrollment be below the specified threshold. The fraction of the S-contract amount will be the actual enrollment as a fraction of threshold - e.g., enrollment of 12 when the threshold is 20, would lead to 60% of an S-contract. Colleges will provide the specific thresholds for enrollment annually, and at least six months in advance of the start of the course.

Additional Payments to Faculty

Limits on Summer Compensation

Faculty members on academic year contracts may receive additional compensation for three months of summer work on sponsored research or summer teaching at a monthly rate not to exceed one-ninth of the base salary. The total compensation from all sources may not exceed three-ninths of the basic academic year salary for the summer months. Correspondingly, faculty on fiscal year contracts may receive additional compensation for one month of summer work on sponsored research at a rate not to exceed one-eleventh of the fiscal year salary.

Limits on Winter Session Compensation

Faculty may receive additional compensation for teaching in Winter Session. Compensation may not exceed payment for two courses or its equivalent plus 9 credits of independent/supervised study for individual study. Faculty members may not receive additional payments for research during Winter Session. (Rev. 1990 - Office of the University Provost)

Faculty Handbook, 4.1.13 

Teaching in Special Sessions and Professional and Continuing Studies

During the academic year (September 1 - May 31; excluding summer) faculty may receive additional compensation not to exceed the dollar value of twelve credits (plus Winter Supervised Study of up to nine student credit hours).

During Winter Session faculty may teach no more than two courses of 3-4 credits per course, plus Supervised Study. Such Winter teaching is included in the academic year limit above. 

During Summer Session, faculty may again teach no more than two courses of 3-4 credits per course plus Supervised Study. This teaching may be distributed as the department sees fit across the various Summer Sessions. Faculty on academic year contracts may earn total additional compensation from all sources in summer not to exceed 3/9 of their basic academic year salary. Faculty on fiscal year contracts are limited to additional summer compensation for one month of summer work on sponsored research and total additional compensation for all activities (research plus teaching) not to exceed one-eleventh of the basic fiscal year salary.

Faculty Handbook, 3.1.16 

Innovative Technology and Online Courses

Section 3.1.14 of the Faculty Handbook contains some additional policy statements about online courses.

Faculty Handbook, 3.1.14

Sabbatical Leaves

Faculty members on sabbatical leave are not eligible for extra compensation for teaching in Continuing Education or other similar assignments. [This includes online course offerings.]

Faculty Handbook, 4.1.14.7

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