Effective Online Teaching Practices

To Cancel an Individual Enrollment 

All cancellation notifications must be sent in writing via email to courses@acue.org. 

A full refund may be obtained if such a request is made at least 31 days prior to the course start date.* Cancellations received 30 days or less before the course begins are eligible for refunds as described below: 

• If requested 15–30 days before the course start date, 50% of course enrollment fee 
• If requested fewer than 15 days before the course start date, no refund
  

If ACUE cancels a course, registered participants are eligible for either 

• a refund of any enrollment fee paid or 
• a transfer of their registration to a future course.
  

Refunds will be processed to the original payment method. ACUE reserves the right to limit refunds to one per year.

If a bundle of two or more courses were purchased refunds will only be permitted prior to the first course in accordance with the terms above. Bundles may not be transferred to another party.  

Cohort-Based Certification Course Seats Purchased by an Institution   

Cohort-based Certification Course seats purchased by an institution are valid for 1 year from the purchase date. Seats not utilized by the end of this term will expire. 

Bundles of two or more courses purchased by an institution are valid for the original course-taker only and are non-transferable. 

To Defer 

Course-takers are eligible to defer their paid enrollment to a future course if such request is received within 3 calendar days of the course launch.* Deferral requests must be sent in writing to courses@acue.org and are valid for an ACUE Certification Course within 1 year of the original course start date. One deferral is permitted per course. ACUE cannot guarantee the same course in which you were registered will be offered in the future. 

Bundles of two or more courses may be deferred in accordance with the terms above. All courses must be started within the 18-month use period. Bundles are non-transferable. 

Course Transferability  

Bundled courses are non-transferrable. Cohort-based courses are non-transferrable to self-paced courses. 

Forfeiture of Fees 

Please note, course-takers forfeit 100% of the full course enrollment fee if one of the following occurs: 

• The course-taker does not enroll in another course within 1 year of the original course start date. 
• The course-taker fails to participate in the course, without notification, or if a withdrawal occurs on or after the course start date. 
  

*Exceptions to the refund/defer policy may be made due to (1) illness or injury of a nature that significantly impacts the course-taker’s ability to continue in the course or (2) illness, injury, or death of an immediate family member (i.e., spouse/partner, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, grandparent). Please contact courses@acue.org to discuss next steps. 

To Substitute  

Course-takers who purchased a single enrollment are eligible to provide a substitute to their paid enrollment if such request is received within 3 calendar days of the course launch. Substitution requests must be sent in writing to courses@acue.org and are valid for the currently enrolled ACUE Certification Course only. One substitution is permitted per paid enrollment. 

Bundles of two or more Certification Courses purchased by an individual or an institution are eligible for substitution only if a substitute course-taker is finalized within 3 calendar days of the course launch. Replacement course-takers must meet all bundle requirements (i.e., previous courses completed). Substitution requests must be sent in writing to courses@acue.org. 

Are there deadlines to purchase? 2R 

The enrollment deadline for individual purchase is 3 days prior to the course start date, subject to course availability. The enrollment deadline for institutional small groups is 10 business days prior to the course start date, subject to course availability. 

Enrollments are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to program director approval. Early registration is recommended.

Institutions may register a group of faculty in ACUE’s Certification Courses by contacting the program director at courses@acue.org. Institutions that enroll course-takers in courses are subject to the cancellation, deferment, and forfeiture of fees structure listed in these FAQ. Depending on the group enrollment size, course-takers may be split between multiple cohorts of the same course.  

Faculty groups should also consider ACUE’s Programs for Institutions. ACUE’s campus and system partnerships are formed through a collaborative process with a broad set of institutional stakeholders. ACUE’s Programs for Institutions include academic support, advanced reporting, impact research at both faculty and student levels, and campus culture and communications support. 

The enrollment deadline for individual purchase is 3 days prior to the course start date, subject to course availability. The enrollment deadline for institutional small groups is 10 business days prior to the course start date, subject to course availability.  

Enrollments are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to program director approval. Early registration is recommended. 

When bundling Certification Courses, course dates must be selected at time of purchase and paid in full prior to the start date of the first course to receive a discount. Course dates may be adjusted consistent with ACUE’s deferment policy. We suggest taking one course at a time when actively teaching at least one course. You have 18 months to complete the four Certification Courses. Bundled courses are non-transferrable. 

You may express interest in a Certification Course, even if you’re unable to pay today. Submit your application here. Confirmation of your application receipt will include enrollment and payment details. Payment must be received before confirming your enrollment in the course. The deadline for payment submission for your chosen start date is the Friday preceding the Saturday course start date. 

ACUE’s cohort-based Certification Courses are most impactful when actively teaching at least one college-level course, whether face-to-face, online, or hybrid. 

To earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification, you must complete four courses: Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment, Promoting Active Learning, Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners, and Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses. You may take courses from the Effective Teaching Practice Pathway (geared primarily for those teaching in person), the Effective Online Teaching Practice Pathway (geared for those teaching online), or a combination of both modalities.  

To earn the Advanced Certification in the Effective Teaching Practice Framework you must complete the three additional courses, such that all seven courses in the Effective Teaching Practice and Effective Online Teaching Practice have been completed. 

The Fostering a Culture of Belonging course is a deeper dive into inclusive practices. Participants will earn a course badge upon completion, but this course does not apply toward the ACUE Certification or Advanced Certification in the Effective Teaching Practice Framework. 

One aspect that sets ACUE apart from traditional development courses is that course-takers select at least one new practice to implement in each module. The opportunity to apply your learning and reflect its impact leads to transformation.  

 “The only way you’re going to learn something new  is to do it. You have to apply what you’ve learned … then reflect on what worked well, what needs tweaking in the future, what [you’ve] missed….” 

—Stephen Brookfield 

Course-takers who are individual contributors, leading teams or advising students may find they are able to implement the recommended practices with students and/or colleagues in other ways. If you are unable to implement during the course, you will be asked to write “plan to implement” reflections where you prepare to implement a practice  and reflect upon the likely  impact. 

• Most Certification Courses are comprised of six or seven online learning modules. Each module addresses a competency defined in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework.  Successfully completing a Certification Course earns a course badge which can stack with other ACUE courses to earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification. 

• The Fostering a Culture of Belonging course is a deeper dive into inclusive practices. This course contains four modules and does not apply toward the ACUE Certification or Advanced Certification in the Effective Teaching Practice Framework. 
• Modules are content rich and include demonstration videos, interviews with leading experts, curated planning guides, and other resources.  
• Downloadable implementation guides and resources are provided to support learning and implementation of recommended practices. 
• One synchronous and facilitated 1.25-hour Zoom session is held on the course launch date. 
• Professional facilitation is administered by an expert in teaching and learning with whom you will share insights and ideas along with other educators in your cohort. 

There is no set order to take Certification Courses. Each course description includes module titles and short descriptions that may help you determine which one is of most interest to you at this time. 

All cohort-based courses except one are structured such that you engage with the course content, identify a practice, implement this practice with your current students, and then reflect upon the student impact of the new or modified practice selected.  

Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses is the exception. This course is focused on working with your course documents, applying the concepts learned in the modules to those documents, and reflecting on the process and the impact on student success in your course. You may find it beneficial to take this course after the others so that you can take the knowledge from the modules in the other courses and apply it as you work on developing outcomes and assessments. 

We strongly recommend taking one cohort-based course at a time. Course start dates are established so it is possible to start the next course within 2 weeks of completing the previous course allowing you to earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification within 9 months. Each week you will be asked to learn new research-based practices, implement them in your courses, and reflect on your practice.  The one–module–a–week pacing allows you and your students to benefit from a deep focus on that module’s practices before moving on to additional topics and practices. 

Course-takers report it takes approximately 2–3 hours to successfully complete each module. This typical time commitment includes time to review module content, engage in online discussions with colleagues, plan and implement a practice, and complete a written reflection. Most Certification Courses contain six or seven modules that will collectively require 12–18 hours to complete over a 6–8-week period. You will be given 8 weeks to complete the course. 

The Fostering a Culture of Belonging course contains four modules and the estimated time to complete is 2–3 hours per week (4–6 hours per module) over an 8-week period. This course opens a new module every 2 weeks. 

An ACUE course facilitator will provide support throughout your cohort-based course, including leading virtual discussions in LMS discussion boards. Facilitators will respond to your support needs within 24 hours. Technical assistance is also available by emailing support@acue.org. For additional information about course accessibility, please review our Statement of Accessibility.  

Yes, courses are available to international course-takers. ACUE courses are taught, facilitated, administered, and supported in English. 

To satisfy module requirements and earn a badge, course-takers submit a reflection aligned to a rubric that will be shared with you. Each course requires four to seven reflections to earn the course badge. Each reflection is scored using a scoring rubric. Successful completion of all assignments is required to complete the course. 

ACUE courses are taught, facilitated, administered, and supported in English. To get the most out of your experience, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. 

Please contact courses@acue.org with questions about cohort-based Certification Courses.