TLC Newsletter

Open Calls and Initiatives

Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) Workshop

The Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop is facilitated by TLC staff and introduces you to the principles of the Quality Matters (QM) program. You learn how to draft a QM recommendation and practice applying the QM rubric to an actual course. Completing the full day workshop is a requirement for participating in the Quality Matters Initiative and it renews your WCU CAPC Distance Education statement.

Date: Wednesday, December 17, 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: Anderson 125

The training will be  in person; participants must attend the whole day. Lunch will be served. Complete the APPQMR Interest Form, and a member of the TLC will be in contact a few weeks prior to the workshop with official registration information. Space is limited.

Quality Matters (QM) Online Course Certification Initiative

The next iteration of our Quality Matters (QM) course review initiative will take place from January 5 to May 29, 2026. Faculty participants will select a six-week time slot during this period where they will be guided through the process of preparing an online course for QM review by an instructional designer. Faculty who earn QM certification are eligible for a stipend. 

Applications are due Monday, December 1, 2025. Read the full call for proposals, and questions should be directed to tlc@wcupa.edu.  

CELT Podcast Club

We invite you to join members of the Committee for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) for a variation on our traditional semester book club. This semester we are trying out a different medium – Podcasts. One remaining time this semester, we will all listen to the same episode and then meet to discuss. The episode will be focused on ideas for assessments and instructional activities and has two virtual discussion meeting options, pick the one that works best for you.

Dates: Wednesday, November 19, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM  or Thursday, November 20, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: Virtual 

Register online and we will send you the month’s episode and a listening guide. If you have any questions, please contact podcast leaders Paul Sylvester and Christopher Roemmele.  PS: Book club will be back in the spring.

Alternative Grading Faculty Learning Community

Interested in alternative grading?  Join our monthly group to explore and share strategies like mastery grading, specifications grading, standards-based grading, and ungrading. These approaches shift the focus from traditional performance metrics to meaningful learning and growth.  Whether you're just starting or already experienced, the group offers support, resources, and opportunities to connect with peers at WCU and beyond.

Dates: Second Friday of each month, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
Location: Anderson 125 or via Zoom

To join, please complete the registration form. You can join any time!  For questions or additional information, please contact the TLC tlc@wcupa.edu.

Spring 2026 Student-Faculty Teaching Collaborations Program

Are you interested in getting student feedback and perspectives on your teaching practices? Do you want to boost your teaching confidence or reignite your passion for teaching? If so, consider participating in the Student-Faculty Teaching Collaborations Program during the Spring 2026 semester! This program pairs you with two WCU students who will provide frequent and varied feedback on one of your courses from their perspective.

To learn more, visit our website, or review program information on our blog. Past participants may sign-up again. To apply, review the Student-Faculty Teaching Collaborations Call for Applications. 

Spring Micro Courses Provided by PASSHE and ACUE

For a second year, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) have partnered to provide access to the nationally recognized Certificate in Effective Online Teaching Practices (EOTP).  These evidence-based practices have been shown to increase student retention, strengthen belonging and achievement, close equity gaps.  PASSHE will have several Spring ACUE micro course offerings.

The EOTP pathway provides WCU faculty with an alternative option for DE certification or recertification. For DE certification, faculty must complete courses in the series along with the capstone module in the OFD program. For DE recertification, completion of courses in the series is sufficient. 

There will be two online information sessions on Thursday, November 20.  Please register in advance for one of the sessions.

If you have any questions, please contact Amy Osborne at aosborne@passhe.edu.

Upcoming Events

Hypothesis for Social Annotation Workshops

We are excited to announce that West Chester University now has licenses for a new social annotation tool called Hypothesis! This tool is integrated directly into D2L, allowing you to create active reading assignments where you and your students can add comments, questions, and highlights directly onto web pages, PDFs, and other online content.

This fall, Hypothesis will be offering two online workshops, where you can learn more about this tool and how you may leverage it in your instruction:

• Introductory Hypothesis Workshop: Activating Annotation

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: Virtual

• Hypothesis Workshop: Social Annotation for Digital Reading in the Age of AI

Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual

Visit the TLC’s Blog for workshop descriptions and registration details. Can’t make it to a workshop, but still interested in learning more? Let us know!

Faculty Fusion 2026: Register to Attend!

Need help transitioning out of holiday mode before the Spring semester? Want to connect with peers to discuss teaching? Looking for ways to keep Winter class momentum rolling? Register today for Faculty Fusion!

Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2025, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: WCU Foundation

Faculty Fusion is an in-person set of three interactive panels covering hot topics to help you prepare for the new semester plus multiple opportunities to make new connections and network with your peers. Lunch is included. Featured "hot" topics:

1. Strategies for Teaching Speaking Emphasis Courses
2. Why do we have to learn this? Emphasizing the Relevance of Your Course and Assignments to Enhance Student Motivation
3. Faculty Care: How do you balance life with your work and work with your life?

Each session has:

• 25 minutes of presentation from faculty and staff peers
• 10 minutes of audience Q&A with the panel
• 20 minutes of table conversations with your peers

To learn more, visit the event blog post. 

Program Updates

Help! How I Am Supposed to Grade All These Papers?

If you are teaching a writing-intensive or writing-emphasis course, you may be overwhelmed by the need to provide substantive feedback on student papers. The University Writing Council is here to help! All faculty members have access to a D2L resource page with self-paced learning modules and learning presentations that can help you find strategies for managing feedback on student writing.

• Writing-Emphasis Course Criteria
• Writing Assignment Development 
• Critical Thinking Assignments
• Assessment and Grading
• Multiple Drafts and WCU Resources
• Commentary on Student Writing

You can also reach out directly to Justin Rademaekers, WCU’s Writing Across the Curriculum director, for a one-on-one meeting or email conversation about grading and assessment strategies on writing assignments.

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Holik Transforms Nutrition Education with Virtual Reality

Dr. Michael Holik, Associate Professor, Nutrition Department in The College of Health Sciences, has transformed the way students experience foodservice operations with an innovative virtual reality (VR) project developed for his NTD 410: Quantity Food Production course.

Over the past couple of years, Dr. Holik designed and built a fully immersive VR experience that brings students inside Riddle Hospital’s kitchens, freezers, prep areas, and community spaces, and environments they would have toured in person before the pandemic.  Within the VR platform, students are guided by avatars, prompted with interactive questions, and given real-time insights into hospital foodservice, patient meal preparation, operational flow, and how all those areas align with the job duties of registered dietitian nutritionists, nutrition and dietetic technician registered, and certified dietary managers.  This past summer, Dr. Holik worked with Jessica Drass from the Teaching and Learning Center to get his scenarios running on our Meta Quest 2 VR headsets.

This hands-on digital learning tool allows students to apply classroom knowledge in a simulated, yet realistic, setting. This demonstrates both resilience and innovation in teaching during and after COVID-19. Dr. Holik is now expanding VR modules to enhance additional nutrition courses at WCU.

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