Departments or collaborative groups of faculty are invited to join a new initiative focusing on strategic delivery of distance education. There are many reasons to focus our attention and efforts on promoting innovative approaches to the design of new distance learning opportunities. Whether to relieve bottlenecks within a major, to create dynamic, integrative curricula across linked or related courses, or to meet summer or academic year enrollment goals, our current challenges require an enhanced level of faculty support. 

Therefore, the Pew FTLC has created a special Faculty Learning Community grant opportunity for faculty that provides several new support mechanisms as well as access to tools with which to design and implement course projects related to university, college, and departmental strategic goals. Through this new initiative, faculty are invited to join with their colleagues to create and implement new distance learning offerings. 

In 2017-18, the Innovations in Distance Learning Initiative will support up to four Faculty Learning Communities. Program details are outlined below: 

• A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) comprises a faculty member serving as facilitator and 4-12 faculty participants. An FLC meets regularly over the course of either a semester or year on an outcome-driven project. The Pew FTLC provides orientation training for facilitators, helps groups locate appropriate resources, tracks faculty participants, and collects documentation of both group and individual outcomes. 
• Application to join the Initiative requires a unit head (or designee) to articulate distance learning project goals, after which the Pew FTLC works with the unit heads and FLC facilitators to design a robust outcome-oriented plan that involves faculty within either a single unit or several closely related units.
• The FLC participants will have the opportunity to work with a Pew FTLC Graduate Assistant to design and create learning objects for their distance education courses. 
• Each FLC will receive priority access to distance learning wraparound services provided by the Pew FTLC, University Libraries, and eLearning and Emerging Technology areas.
• Each FLC will have a budget of up to $5000 for projects expenses, including faculty workshop attendance, travel to distance education conferences, Online Learning Consortium online courses, software, hardware, etc. Once established, each FLC will submit a detailed budget proposal to the Pew FTLC.

To apply, submit a letter of interest from a unit head on behalf of the faculty group to Christine Rener, Pew FTLC, by Friday, September 15. 

In collaboration with University Libraries and eLearning and Emerging Technologies, we are supporting faculty efforts to incorporate educational technologies into their courses. Whether your course is face-to-face, fully online, or hybrid, we can help you locate, incorporate, and assess digital tools for engaging students. We have developed a Faculty Resources Site dedicated to providing and overview of on- and off-campus resources, services, and learning opportunities. You might also be interested in our Open Education Resources initiative. We can help you locate, create, or incorporate digital learning objects into your teaching. 

Direct inquiries to Christine Rener, Pew FTLC Director.