E-CaD: A New Curriculum Model at the University of Phoenix

E-CaD (Enhanced Curriculum & Delivery Model) represents a change in the distance education practices of the University of Phoenix, implemented to allow for larger classes. E-CaD has the following key features:

Student Academic Expectations

• students actively participate with substantive remarks in online discussions 4/7 days a week (previously 5/7 days)
• final week of class has optional student participation in online discussions (previously students participated all weeks of course)
• weekly summaries are optional ( previously these were required)

Faculty Academic Expectations

• provide detailed syllabus (change only in specific E-CaD details)
• share two weekly online discussion questions (previously 3-6 questions)
• freedom to assign weekly online discussion questions to learning teams (previously dialog questions created only for individual students)
• share weekly lectures can be optional if course has weekly overview of material in rEsource
• respond to student comments 5/7 days in online discussions (no change)
• share weekly grade reports with students (no change) (E-CaD, 2004)

Since the University of Phoenix is considered a leader in best practices in online education, these changes in expectations will be taken into account by course designers across the academic universe.