Online and Hybrid Courses

Developing Online Courses and Programs

Below is a summary of college and university guidelines regarding the creation of online courses and programs at SMU. For specific questions about online classes or programs, please contact the Simmons Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs.

Course Modality Definitions

Courses at SMU Simmons are designated as either in-person, online, or hybrid courses.

In-person Courses

In-person courses meet primarily in a physical location. At SMU, programs and courses for which the total student contact time is 71-100% in a physical location are considered in-person courses.

Hybrid Courses

Hybrid Courses meet primarily in a physical location, but also include significant online learning components. At SMU, hybrid programs and courses are those for which the total student instruction time is 30-49% online. The online learning content is integrated with the classroom-based content. The majority of a hybrid course’s instruction is delivered in a classroom location.

Online Courses (asynchronous and synchronous)

Online courses have 50% or more of the instruction delivered digitally (i.e., via computer technology) where the faculty member and students are not physically in the same location. Distance/Online courses may be primarily asynchronous (to be completed at your own pace and schedule) or synchronous (with scheduled online webcam sessions). Although most distance/online courses include both asynchronous and synchronous learning components, the primary mode of instruction should be clearly communicated to students at the time of enrollment.

Note that courses in my.smu are listed as either in-person or online (hybrid is not an official course scheduling designation in my.smu). Therefore, courses considered in-person or hybrid would be entered into my.smu as in-person courses.

Please use the document for more information on the distinction between online, hybrid, and in-person courses/programs.

Guidelines for Hybrid Courses

  1. To create a new hybrid course or modify a current course so that it is hybrid, first you need your program and department approval for the creation/transition of a course.
  2. Develop a syllabus for the course indicating the technology to be used to deliver online content, which content will be delivered online, the learning objectives for the course, and a general outline of course activities. When developing the syllabus for the course, please clearly articulate the following:
    • Details on the digital format for the course (online-asynchronous, online-synchronous, hybrid)
    • Specific meeting dates and times on campus or online synchronous (if relevant)
    • Clear Technical Requirements for the course (hardware, software)
    • Technical Assistance expectations and hours (Help Desk and Faculty/Staff support)
    • Clear attendance/participation expectations and grading timelines, including course communication and interaction (netiquette, timing and frequency of contributions, etc.)
    • Time allocation outline to help students plan their time and meet appropriate contact hours and homework hours for digital courses
    • Online assignments of sufficient rigor, depth, and breadth to meet the goals of the course and appropriate accreditation guidelines
    • Details and examples of appropriate methods to assess student mastery of learning objectives (including rubrics where appropriate)
    • Procedure to secure online exams and quizzes with restricted browsers and webcam monitoring (if appropriate)
  3. Submit New Course Proposal Form or course modification form to Simmons AAC for review.

Following approval, the course will be updated in the SMU Course Catalog. All hybrid courses must include in the course description that the course is “HYBRID COURSE, BOTH ON CAMPUS AND ONLINE”

Note that for hybrid courses, faculty members do NOT have to complete Quality Matters (QM) training or have the hybrid course pass QM certification.

Guidelines for Online Courses

  1. To create a new online course or modify a current course so that it is online (meaning over 50% of content is delivered online), first you need your program and department approval for the creation/transition of a course.
  2. All faculty teaching online courses at Simmons must be certified to teach online by SMU. To become certified, faculty are expected to complete a 2-week online course delivered by the Quality Matters (QM) Consortium titled Teaching Online: An Introduction to Online Delivery

    Faculty can check if they are currently certified to teach online by looking at their training record in my.SMU. To register for online certification training, please submit your form to SMU GO.
  3. Develop a syllabus for the course indicating the technology to be used to deliver online content, which content will be delivered online, the learning objectives for the course, and a general outline of course activities.  When developing the syllabus for the course, please clearly articulate the following:
    • Details on the digital format for the course (online-asynchronous, online-synchronous, hybrid)
    • Specific meeting dates and times on campus or online synchronous (if relevant)
    • Clear Technical Requirements for the course (hardware, software)
    • Technical Assistance expectations and hours (Help Desk and Faculty/Staff support)
    • Clear attendance/participation expectations and grading timelines, including course communication and interaction (netiquette, timing and frequency of contributions, etc.)
    • Time allocation outline to help students plan their time and meet appropriate contact hours and homework hours for digital courses
    • Online assignments of sufficient rigor, depth, and breadth to meet the goals of the course and appropriate accreditation guidelines
    • Details and examples of appropriate methods to assess student mastery of learning objectives (including rubrics where appropriate)
    • Procedure to secure online exams and quizzes with restricted browsers and webcam monitoring (if appropriate)
  4. Submit New Course Proposal Form or course modification form to Simmons AAC for review.
  5. Once the course has been approved, faculty are encouraged to work with an SMU Instructional Designer to ensure that the course is consistent with the  for all Digital Courses. Faculty may request to work with an instructional designer through or by contacting the Simmons in-house Instructional Designer.  Please contact Anthony Galvan (amgalvan@mail.smu.edu) for information on the Simmons Instructional Designer. 
  6. After the full course has been developed with the assistance of an Instructional Designer, the course must be approved by SMU before the course can be added to the course catalog.  Please contact Kimberly Rutigliano (krutigliano@mail.smu.edu) for information on how to submit your course for QM review through SMU Go.
  7. If this course is the first course in an academic program to be offered online, the course must also receive approval through the SMU Educational Programs Committee (EPC).  Please contact the Simmons Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs for information on how to submit a course to the EPC for review.
  8. After receiving final approval, the course can be added to the academic catalog.  When adding the course to the catalog, the description must clearly note that the class is offered online in synchronous and/or asynchronous format.
  9. When you officially schedule an online course for a given term, remember to assign a 401 section number and a location field of “online.”

Guidelines for Online and Hybrid Programs

The process for developing online or hybrid programs at SMU can be found here. If you are interested in developing a fully online or hybrid program in Simmons, please schedule a time to meet with the Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs to discuss your proposal and process.