Guide for K12 Professional Development Courses

Before developing content for a professional development course, you must have department approval to teach the course. Faculty members at Boise State should discuss the possibility of offering a course with their department head and/or dean to determine the appropriate timing, audience, and are aware of the approved compensation model. However, it is the responsibility of the faculty member to work with their department to understand any policies related to supplemental pay.

Boise State’s K12 Professional Development program can provide general information about expected workload, as well as suggestions for appropriate topics and course structure.

Successful professional development courses address the needs of educators in Idaho’s school districts with relevant training that can be applied in a classroom or school setting. It is important to know who will be the target audience for your professional development course and if the offering aligns with curriculum standards, state requirements, or district objectives. Most PD courses will have a minimum required enrollment in order to be offered. In support of educators across the state, Boise State’s K12 Professional Development Program has a strong interest in avoiding scenarios where a course is canceled due to low enrollment.

All PD instructors must hold a master’s degree or higher. Current status as a Boise State faculty member does not automatically apply to PD courses instructors. New instructors may submit their information for approval with the course approval application. Instructors who do not have a master’s degree may still teach the course as a secondary instructor as long as the instructor of record has a master’s degree.

All PD instructors must hold a master’s degree or higher. Current status as a Boise State faculty member does not automatically apply to PD courses instructors. New instructors may submit their information for approval with the course approval application. Instructors who do not have a master’s degree may still teach the course as a secondary instructor as long as the instructor of record has a master’s degree.

PD courses are not necessarily tied to course dates within the university’s academic calendar. However, PD course deadlines should end within the Boise State academic calendar to ensure that coursework can be submitted and grades posted before the grading deadline for the semester. As a general rule, follow these guidelines for PD course dates.

• Course End: No less than two weeks prior to the last day of instruction for the semester
• Registration Close: No less than two weeks prior to the last day of instruction for the semester
• Coursework Due: No later than the Friday prior to the semester grade due date

The K12 Professional Development program requires that a syllabus be submitted with the course application for new PD courses. At minimum, a course syllabus must include a course description, course objectives, meeting schedule, description of requirements/assignments, criteria for successfully completing the course, and the contact information of the instructor. Additional course information is acceptable.

The course description and objectives for a professional development course should align with curriculum standards, state requirements, district objectives, or best practices. The course workload should be appropriate for graduate-level PD credits. All in-person, online, and out-of-class work should meet the minimum requirement of 15 hours per PD credit.

PD courses are offered as in-person, hybrid, or online. In-person classes have scheduled, face-to-face class times. Hybrid courses have some scheduled, face-to-face class times and additional coursework online. Online courses are typically asynchronous (self-paced).

Boise State’s Professional Development program makes a distinction between enrollment fees (fees associated with the delivery of the course and materials) and PD credit fees (fees associated with the transcripted PD credits through Boise State). Per Idaho State Board of Education policies, the cost of professional development courses cannot exceed one third of the cost of a graduate PD credit at the university. Please contact us at k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu if you have questions about the limit on enrollment fees.

For PD providers who are not affiliated with Boise State, enrollment fees, if any, are typically collected by the provider. The provider then shares the PD credit registration link from Boise State with participants who are successfully enrolled in the course – either at the beginning of the course or after the coursework is complete. The participant makes two payment transactions – one to the provider and one to Boise State. If there are no enrollment fees, we recommend that the provider utilize an RSVP or reservation system to collect contact information from participants before providing the PD credit registration link.

For PD providers who are part of Boise State University, enrollment fees, if any, are collected with PD credit fees. The amount for enrollment fees must fall within certain parameters and be approved by the K12 Professional Development program and the College of Education in advance. The participant makes one payment to Boise State, then a payment is made to the instructor or department via Boise State’s internal systems if applicable.

If your course includes financial support to cover the cost of the PD credit fees, you will need to provide additional information about the financial arrangements for your course. The PD Course Application will ask if the PD credit fees will be paid by someone other than the student and if the fees will be completely covered. When a PO Paid course is set up, the amount due for registrants will say $0. Then, Boise State will invoice the person/entity listed in the application for the total PD credit fees at the conclusion of the course.

If the PD credit fees for the course are covered by a Boise State department, you will need to provide information about the funding string. If the PD credit fees are covered by grant funds associated with Boise State activities, you will need to provide the funding string, name(s) of the PI(s), a brief description of why the grant is covering the PD credit fees, and the contact person for payment. Please contact us at k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu if you have questions about course fees, grants funds for PD, or invoicing.

Once your course content is developed, you will need to apply for approval to offer the course for PD credit. The online PD Course Application requires information about the course and the instructor. For new courses, it is required that you include your course syllabus to expedite the approval process. It can take up to three weeks to process and approve your application depending on the time of year. Please submit your application early to avoid delays. A PD course application must be submitted for each semester that a course is offered. With new courses, we recommend submitting an initial application and waiting for approval and delivery of the content before offering the course again. This allows for adjustments to the content, format, or requirements before submitting another application.

If your professional development course has been offered in the past AND the course content has not changed significantly, you may select “Repeat Course” at the beginning of the PD Course Application.

An application for a repeat course must have the same title and description as the previous offering with the exception of a year. For example, Leader Cohort 2023 and Leader Cohort 2024 is acceptable as a repeat course. However, Leader Cohort 2023 and Science Leader Cohort 2024 is not acceptable. We recommend simplifying the name of courses when possible.

All PD instructors must hold a master’s degree or higher. Current status as a Boise State faculty member does not automatically apply to PD courses instructors. When completing the PD Course Application, you will be asked if you have previously taught a PD course with Boise State. If you have, select “Yes” and provide your Boise State ID number. If you have not, select “No”. A new set of questions will be added to the application so that you may submit your information to be approved as the instructor of record for the course.

All PD instructors have access to their instructor account through my.boisestate.edu. Here instructors can access their official boisestate.edu email account and PeopleSoft, which is where the Faculty Center and course rosters are located. If you are a new instructor, you will receive an email with your Boise State ID number. Your user name is usually your first and last name with no spaces. You will need to set a password and download a two-part authentication app to access your account. If you need help accessing your account for the first time, please contact Extended Studies Customer Service at 208-426-1709.

Once a PD course is approved and ready to accept registrations, the instructor of record will receive two emails with information about the course. The first email will confirm that your course is ready and provide information about accessing your Boise State Account and the deadline to post grades. The second email will include the name of the course, the registration deadline, the PD credit registration link, and the semester/year that will be associated with the course on student transcripts. This email can be forwarded to enrolled participants or you can copy/paste the information into your own communication in order to share the PD credit registration details with students. From this point, the instructor is responsible for distributing the registration link to the appropriate groups.

Depending on the format of your course, there are different approaches to sharing the PD credit registration link.

• Direct share: These courses are not public. The PD credit link is shared with only those students who have enrolled in the course through an outside provider or enrollment step. Enrollment can be completed through the provider with an enrollment fee or through an RSVP or reservation form. Boise State’s K12 Professional Development program prefers that the PD credit registration link is shared with participants once the coursework has been completed or is approaching completion. This ensures that those who have earned the PD credit are registered.
• Public post: These courses are open to the public and do not have a separate enrollment fee. The PD credit registration link serves as both enrollment in the course and PD credit registration. Instructors for these courses should monitor their rosters and attendance/participation lists carefully to ensure that all participants who enroll and register for PD credit are completing the requirements.

Boise State’s K12 Professional Development program will provide some marketing for courses that are open to the public. This includes a website listing and monthly emails sent to a robust mailing list. Instructors and departments are encouraged to promote their own courses using their own mailing lists and networks.

It is important to note that there is a delay between the time a participant completes the PD credit registration form and when the participant’s name is added to the course roster. It can take up to 72 hours for a successfully completed registration and payment to sync between systems and the course roster.

All PD course students are assigned a Boise State ID number and email address. This information will be emailed to the student and will be reflected on the course roster in PeopleSoft/Faculty Center. However, please note that most K12 teachers do not regularly check their u.boisestate.edu inbox. Alternative email addresses are available in PeopleSoft/Faculty Center under the enrollment information for your course. If you cannot reach a student or need help with your course roster, please contact Extended Studies Customer Service at 208-426-1709.

If you are sharing a link with participants who are enrolled in the course, please use the registration link that was emailed to you when the course was approved. PD credit registration links are unique to each course and change each semester. Instructors are responsible for clearly communicating course requirements, deadlines, and information about when, where and how to access the course. Any issues with PD courses or enrolled participants should be communicated to the K12 Professional Development team at k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu or to Extended Studies Customer Service at extendedstudies@boisestate.edu or 208-426-1709 in a timely manner.

As much as possible, instructors should be familiar with how to help PD students access their my.boisestate.edu accounts (email, Canvas, and Student Center). Information for PD students can be found on our website at boisestate.edu/k12pd/faqs/ Keep in mind that PD students are not necessarily familiar with Boise State’s systems. Extended Studies Customer Service can help students navigate transcript requests.

Once a PD course is approved and set up in the system, a PD credit registration link will be shared with the instructor of record. This link can be shared with participants prior to the course start, near the beginning of a course or after the coursework is complete, whichever is most appropriate for the format and requirements. The instructor of record is responsible for:

• Sharing the registration link and instructions about the registration deadline with participants. Instructors should confirm that students know that they cannot register for PD credit after the deadline.
• Delivering the course content as described in the in the course application.
• Documenting attendance and/or participation.

Registration in a PD course involves several systems within Boise State’s network. The instructor of record must log into their Boise State account to access Canvas, the Faculty Center, course enrollment rosters, student information, and grade rosters. The instructor of record is responsible for:

• Monitoring the course roster to verify that those who are participating in the course are also registered for PD credit with Boise State. Instructors should confirm that students know that they cannot register for PD credit after the registration deadline.
• Requesting that a student be dropped from the course prior to finalizing the grade roster. With your approval, we can drop any students who 1) did not attend/participate or 2) are unable to complete the coursework by the deadline. This will allow a student to take the course at a later time and avoid negatively impacting their transcripts for recertification.
• Monitoring the course roster to verify that those who are participating in the course are also registered for PD credit.
• Documenting attendance and/or participation.

Instructors are responsible for posting grades in the grade roster in PeopleSoft. The process of posting grades for PD courses is slightly different from academic credit. Here are some tips for successful grading:

• PD courses are graded as Pass/Fail. A student earns a passing grade if they 1) participate in the minimum number of hours required for PD credit (15 hours/PD credit) and 2) complete the course requirements. A passing grade is equivalent to a C or higher.
• Grades are due by the deadline noted in the academic calendar or 10 business days after the end of the course, whichever occurs first. The deadline for grading will be included in the course approval email that was sent to you. Monitor student progress throughout the course to make grading faster.
• If you wish to enter passing grades as students complete the course, you must SAVE the roster, instead of submitting. This is different from the process for academic courses. Saving individual grades allows students to see the completed course on their transcript within 48 business hours rather than waiting until the end of the semester. Be careful! Clicking Submit will lock your roster and prevent you from making changes or adding new grades. Saved grades will be finalized automatically at the end of the term.

PD instructors can assign students Incomplete grades only if the student meets the university’s criteria. Instructors must monitor Incomplete contracts and submit a formal grade change request when the work is complete.

With instructor approval, Extended Studies Customer Service can drop any students who are unable to complete the coursework prior to finalizing the grade roster. This will allow a student to take the course at a later time and avoid negatively impacting their transcripts for recertification.

Step-by-step instructions and tutorials with images for accessessing your instructor account, posting grades, submitting Incomplete Contracts, and more can be found at boisestate.edu/k12pd/instructors/

Until a PD course is approved and set up as actively accepting registrations, the course will not appear in your Faculty Center. You will not be able to request a Canvas shell until the course has an approved course number, but you can prepare the materials to import into Canvas if you wish. You can transfer content from a previous Canvas course once the new course is created. Using Canvas for PD courses is optional. There are benefits and challenges to using Canvas to deliver course content for K12 professional development students. Please contact us at k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu if you have questions about using Canvas for PD courses.

Canvas courses are not automatically created for professional development. After the PD course is created and assigned a course number, instructors can request the Canvas course through LMS Middleware in your my.boisestate.edu account. The instructions to request a Canvas course through Middleware are located here: Creating a Single-Section Canvas Course with Middleware  You can also reach out to OIT’s Teaching and Learning team if you need help: Boise State LTS

Please note, Boise State providers who choose to use Canvas to deliver online content must 1) create the Canvas course before sharing the PD credit registration link with participants and 2) share the PD credit registration link with potential participants no less than 10 business days prior to the course start date.

Please note that most K12 teachers do not regularly check their u.boisestate.edu inbox. While this is the preferred method of communication for Boise State, contacting a PD student at their u.boisestate.edu email address does not necessarily ensure that they have received your communication. Likewise, emailing a student through Canvas does not guarantee that your message has been received either. If you see students who have not engaged with the Canvas course, please try to reach them via the alternative email address available in the enrollment information of your course roster. Let them know that they need to access their my.boisestate.edu account for important information about the course. If you need help finding alternative emails in PeopleSoft/Faculty Center, please contact Extended Studies Customer Service at extendedstudies@boisestate.edu or 208-426-1709.