POCR Mentorship Program

What is POCR?

Laney Faculty Supporting Faculty

Peer Online Course Review – POCR (“poker”) is a program in community colleges statewide in which trained faculty support fellow instructors reviewing their online courses with an aim to align with the state’s standards in quality online course design. At Laney, we have an experienced team of certified POCR reviewers and faculty ready to support their colleagues.

Why Align Your Course?

Excellence in Online Teaching

Bottom line: Aligned courses increase student success.

Chaffey College has tracked student success in courses pre-POCR and post-POCR alignment and found a 12% increase in online course success rates.  The greatest improvements were among Black (32%), Asian (16%), male (17%), and 25-29 year old (24%) students. We are currently looking at data from Laney and will post the results.

Students will thank you for such a well-organized, easy-to-navigate, and clear course. They’ll feel a part of the class community and know how to succeed.

Also, an aligned course will be easier for the instructor to teach. Spend less time answering students’ questions about the course or assignments and more time providing meaningful feedback on their work.  The time you invest now will be paid back manyfold in the semesters to come.

Finally, aligned courses earn a CVC Quality Badge. With this badge, your course will be highlighted on both the state course exchange as well as the Peralta schedule as quality reviewed.

Highest Standards of Course Design

The state has outlined standards for high-quality online courses. The CVC-OEI Rubric covers best practices in:

• Content Presentation
• Student and Instructor Interaction
• Assessment
• Accessibility

We also work with the Peralta Equity Rubric as the final step in achieving excellence in online course design.

POCR Office Hours and Mentor/Mentee Matchups

In the fall, POCR coordinators hold office hours to support phase 3: Final Alignment.  Faculty can join office hours to get direct support editing, ask questions, or come for moral support.  These office hours are open to anyone who has questions about POCR.

Office Hours for Fall 2024:

Judy Wong (jwong@peralta.edu): Wednesdays 2:30-3:30 PM – Judy’s Zoom

Laurie Allen-Requa (lallenrequa@peralta.edu): Tuesdays 2:30-3:30 PM – Laurie’s Zoom

In the spring, participating instructors will be paired with a mentor, Laney faculty who has been specially trained in online peer review. Mentors and mentees are paired outside disciplines to focus on course design, not content. Mentors and mentees participate in 8 weekly workshops.

Stipends Available

Faculty are compensated for successfully completing each of the program’s three phases:

1. Self-paced accessibility course (~4 hours)
2. Mentorship program (8 weekly workshops)
3. Final alignment

Interested?

Ready to learn more about improving your online course design in a supportive environment? We’re looking forward to working with you! Complete this POCR Interest Form, and we’ll be in touch.