Online Program Policies

Online Course Revisions Policy

The expectation for faculty members developing an online course is that they will put their best effort forward in creating a course that adheres to the high academic standards and sound pedagogical practices of the BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, as well as to the applicable tenets of asynchronous learning and online course delivery. No major substantial revisions should be expected to an online course immediately after it was developed and launched and within three years of its original launch.

Before an online course is offered each year, the faculty member teaching the course is required to review the course content and the syllabus and make changes to the readings, assignment dates, introductory videos, or any other changes that may be necessary.

The table below describes the lead time and necessary approvals for course revisions based on the scope of proposed changes to an online course:

Percent Lead Time Department / ODE Approval? Compensation* Description/Examples*
5-15% 7 Weeks No / No N/A Changes to article readings or linked resources; minimal text edits or images; minor assignment updates.

  • Example 1: an instructor wishes to replace six article readings, add some YouTube links, and revise the discussions.
  • Example 2: an instructor wishes to rewrite five to six paragraphs and add three to four new images or slideshows.
  • Example 3: An instructor wishes to redo the course videos for accessibility purposes, but there will not be any other revisions.
15-30% 9-10 Weeks No / Yes N/A Sections of text edits; some media updates; task revisions

  • Example 1: an instructor needs to update several paragraphs of text throughout the course to reflect a new edition of the course textbook. Related readings will also need to be updated. Most media remains the same.
  • Example 2: an instructor wishes to rewrite one of the course modules, and will need to develop new videos/media for that week. The syllabus is also updated but other weeks remain the same.
30-50% 3 Months Yes / Yes $3,000-5,000 Many text edits throughout or some new modules; media updates

  • Example 1: an instructor needs to rewrite two of the course modules; media for those weeks will be updated. There will be some minor revisions to other weeks to reflect these changes.
  • Example 2: An instructor wishes to revise several paragraphs and tasks throughout the course, and redo all course videos.
50-80% 4-5 Months
 Yes / Yes $5,000-$8,000 Most of the course will have substantial revisions, but there will be some content kept.

  • Example 1: an instructor needs to rewrite three to five of the course modules; many videos will be updated and some new media may need to be produced. There may be changes to the grading structure and assignments. There will be some revisions to other weeks to reflect these changes.
100% 6-8 Months Yes / Yes $9,000-$10,000 The course lecture text, video, media, and assigned tasks will all change.

If an online course requires revisions, calling for changes of 30% to 100% of the course content, the following rules will apply:

  1. For changes 15% and under, please notify your Instructional Designer in the Office of Distance Education (ODE) when they contact you seven weeks before the run of your course.
  2. For changes 15-30%, please contact your Instructional Designer nine to ten weeks before the launch of your course to propose the edits you would like to make so they can determine a timeline.
  3. For changes 30-100%, please submit a written proposal of the changes to your Department Chair via your Program Director three to eight months before the launch of your course (according to where you approximate the changes fall on the chart above). This proposal must be one page or less. The proposal will be shared with the relevant Instructional Designer at ODE. The Instructional Designer will review the proposal and suggest a percentage amount that these changes represent, and place the revision work in their timeline.*** Once the Department Chair is notified about the assigned percentage amount of the changes, he or she will review the scope of proposed changes in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Executive Director of Operations, and the Assistant Dean of Executive Affairs. The Department Chair will determine whether the proposed compensation amount fits in the budget for the year and let you know if you are approved to move forward. If so, a contract will be issued by ODE for the agreed-on amount.

*Compensation may vary from these numbers based on recommended percentage.

**These descriptions are purely hypothetical.

*** Deadlines for submitting revision information to your Instructional Designer will depend on the scope of revisions and more substantial revisions will require earlier deadlines.