Quality Learning & Teaching (QLT)

What is QLT?

The Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) program was developed to support faculty to effectively design and deliver online, blended, and flipped courses. The peer-reviewers are fellow CSUSM faculty who have participated in training to apply the QLT rubric to your course, along with a CSUSM instructional designer.

QLT Training Opportunities

CSU Online Course Services Professional Development Series

CSU Online Course Services offers Professional Development Courses! Spring 2025 Registration is now open. View offerings on the OCS webpage.

- - Fall OCS Professional Development Courses – Registration is Open
    
    Fall Session 1: October 6-26, 2025
    
    Fall Session 2: November 3-23, 2025
    
    Courses Offered Include:

Certified CSU-QLT Online Courses

Learn more about CSU-QLT courses at the Chancellor's Office webpage.

View the schedule and register

QLT at CSUSM

Faculty looking to get their courses QLT reviewed during AY 2025/26 should apply for our QLT Faculty Learning Community. As a participant of the QLT program, you will receive customized feedback based on a rigorous review of your course using the QLT Rubric, along with support from an instructional designer to make changes to your course.

QLT FLC cohorts are seated in early Fall for the full academic year. If you miss the window to apply, we will be posting the call for AY 2026-27 in late August 2026.

Applications due Sept 29, 2025--apply today!

Digit al Content Remediation Project

Applications Due by Oct 6, 2025

Leaders: Monica Munoz and Mason Nuno

Overview

Beginning April 26, 2026, Title II will require all digital content in learning management systems to meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. To support faculty in preparing their courses, the Academic Technology Services (ATS) team is launching a two-part training that will support faculty in using the accessibility tools in Cougar Courses to remediate their digital course content.

Faculty selected for this project will receive hands-on training through two virtual workshops and will then work to remediate their Fall 2025 courses using the Ally accessibility tool in Cougar Courses. The goal is for each participating course to reach at least 85% on the Ally Report, by December 5,2025, ensuring improved accessibility for all students.

At-A-Glance Dates and Requirements:

Faculty must attend the following two online training sessions (choose one date for each):

Session 1: Tidying Up Your Course (10/9 @ 3pm,10/13 @10am, 10/15 @ 4pm)
Session 2: Accessibility with Ally (10/16 @ 3pm, 10/21 @ 10am, 10/22 @ 3pm)

$250 training stipend for attending both 1-hour training webinars and remediating one Fall 2025 course on Cougar Courses/Canvas to be at least 85% accessible according to the Ally Accessibility course report. Faculty teaching more than one class may additionally remediate up to two more classes from Fall 2025—$100 training stipend for each additional Fall 2025 course remediated. The total training stipend amount allowed for an eligible individual is $450 (attending both webinars and successfully remediating 3 unique courses from the applicant’s Fall 2025 teaching assignment at CSUSM). Faculty must indicate which Fall 2025 course(s) they plan to remediate in the application.
Open to faculty of all ranks and colleges with active Unit-3 teaching appointments at CSUSM in the Fall 2025.
Space limited to 35-50 participants as funding allows.
Deadline to apply: October 6, 2025.

Description

Beginning April 26, 2026, Title II will require all digital content in the learning management system to be fully accessible (WCAG 2.1 standards). In order to support faculty in making their course materials fully accessible, the Academic Technology team will be hosting two virtual workshops that will train faculty on how to use the current accessibility tools in Cougar Courses. Once faculty have attended both webinars, they will remediate their materials until their course Ally Report reaches at least 85%. This will ensure most of the content in faculty courses will be accessible to all students.

Participation Requirements and Expectations for Stipend Compensation

All faculty members accepting a stipend must fulfill all the stated terms and expectations that constitute completion of the training and development activity to receive the stipend.

Attend in their entirety both the “Tidying Up Your Course” and “Accessibility with Ally” one-hour virtual training sessions offered by CSUSM’s Academic Technology and Instructional Design Teams.
Remediate Fall 2025 Cougar Courses/Canvas course content to at least an 85% level according to the Ally course report by December 5, 2025

Who Should Apply?

Faculty of all ranks from all colleges with current Unit-3 teaching appointments for the entire Fall 2025 semester at CSUSM are welcome to apply!

How Will Faculty be Selected?

Faculty will be seated on a first come first serve until we reach a total of 35 participants as long as eligibility requirements are met. If additional funds remains after the first 35 participants are seated, acceptances will continue on a first come, first serve basis. No previous knowledge of accessibility is required.

Apply Now!

Additional Information

Only Unit 3 faculty members who will be on contract with an existing Unit 3 appointment during the entire time frame of the training or professional development opportunity are eligible to be considered for a stipend. Faculty may not request or accept professional development and/or training under this program unless they are on active pay status as a faculty bargaining unit employee. Summer stipends can only be offered to faculty who will be employed the preceding spring and subsequent fall semesters.

Faculty are limited to a maximum of $10,000 in stipends for faculty training and professional development per fiscal year. Faculty cannot accept an offer for a stipend that will cause them to exceed this $10,000 annual limit.