Online courses at UCSB increase scheduling options and provide alternative course designs to progress students toward their academic goals. The 2026 Academic Senate memo about campus policies for online courses explain that online courses can be scheduled in any academic term, but are most commonly offered during Summer term. This page briefly explains the support available to faculty developing an online course.
Instructional Support
Faculty designing online courses receive personal support from the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) at all stages of course inception, design, development and evaluation. Professional development, a Community of Practice, and online teaching resources are provided for faculty to learn more about best practices for teaching and learning online as they prepare their courses. Consultations are available by appointment for personalized advice, idea generation, and course design support.
Financial Support
Grants are available to support the development of new online courses, updates to existing online courses, or integrating innovative online instruction within onsite courses during the regular academic year. Grant funds can be used for faculty stipends, course development costs, and TAs for large courses.
Fall, winter, and spring courses are funded by the Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost through the Office of Teaching & Learning. Summer courses are funded by Summer Sessions. Grant funding is limited. Funding amounts and terms are updated annually. Details are provided in the funding entity’s Call for Proposals.
Community of Practice
The Office of Teaching and Learning has created a Teaching Online - Community of Practice (TO-CoP) to facilitate peer-to-peer support and discussion of best practices, enable focused communications from university stakeholders, and provide relevant professional development and resources. Faculty and TAs teaching online are welcome to join the Google Group and online meetings. Join/Access the TO-CoP Google Group.
Proposal Support
CITRAL staff support faculty as they complete online course development grant applications and online course proposals to the Academic Senate Committee on Courses and General Education (CCGE). Grant applications are reviewed by either Summer Sessions or OTL, depending on the source of the grant. Online course proposals are approved by the academic department and then by the Academic Senate Committee on Courses and General Education (CCGE).
Technical Support
The OTL team can advise faculty on the selection and use of educational technologies for their online course. Canvas support is provided by the Instructional Applications Group. Guidance on the creation of accessible course content is available from OTL’s Accessible Course Design Specialist. CITRAL and Video Services can provide assistance with planning and creating media content.
FAQs
Your chair and department curriculum committee are the initial reviewers of your online course proposal. Summer courses also need approval from the Office of Summer Sessions. The Senate Committee on Courses and General Education reviews and approves course proposals before a course is forwarded to the Registrar. The approval process may take 1-3 months, depending on the committee’s meeting schedule and how many courses are in the queue at a given time.
The time commitment and timeline for developing an online course varies greatly. CITRAL recommends beginning the process 12-18 months prior to your desired course delivery date, especially if you need course development funding. The main phases of the online course design, approval and development at UCSB include:
- Ideation and Funding
- Formal UCSB Online Course Approval
- Course Development
Keep in mind that students cannot enroll in an online offering of a course until the course has completed the Academic Senate review process for new online courses and has been added to GOLD before student registration begins. Exceptions for emergency or temporary remote teaching are managed by your department.
The most recent memos, policies, and expectations for online teaching are posted on the Academic Senate’s website. The Office of Teaching and Learning offers guidance, best practices, and recommendations for faculty designing and teaching online courses. Additionally, federal funding requires that online courses must demonstrate regular, substantive, interaction with students.
The majority of online courses at UCSB contain both asynchronous and synchronous learning elements. Fully synchronous online courses (i.e. classes meet on Zoom using the same schedule as a campus offering) are recommended only for emergency or temporary offerings of a course.
While learning outcomes for online and onsite courses should be equivalent, the instructional approach and assessment strategies will likely need to be designed specifically for the online environment. Appropriate strategies to promote academic integrity should be considered when planning an online course. Consult with CITRAL and review our online teaching resources for more details.
A specified number of seats may be offered to the broader UC community in consultation with the Office of Summer Sessions. Approved courses would be advertised on the UC Online website. At this time, UC Online is not offering their own course development grants.