Faculty Online Teaching Certification (OTC)
Online Services offers the Online Teaching Certification (OTC) for faculty teaching online courses. Beginning in Fall 2026, the OTC consists of two certification levels.
Level 1: Online Teaching Essentials
Online Teaching Essentials is a self-paced course that introduces faculty to online teaching best practices, accessibility requirements, D2L fundamentals, and key resources for online instruction at Lone Star College.
Completion of Level 1 is supported system-wide and required before faculty may teach an online course at Lone Star College. Level 1 certification is valid for one year.
Level 2: Online Teaching Electives
Level 2 provides a deeper exploration of online teaching and learning through elective topics that allow faculty to focus on areas most relevant to their instructional needs. These self-paced learning opportunities are offered as modules and OnDemand courses available through D2L and myWorkshops.
After completing Online Teaching Essentials, faculty will receive access to the Level 2 elective modules in D2L. To earn Level 2 certification, faculty must complete three elective courses from the OTC curriculum within one year of completing Level 1.
Registration for the Online Teaching Certification
Self-enroll in by logging into D2L and clicking VTAC Support on the navbar. In the Learning column under the Certification heading, click Enroll Me: OTC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I took the previous version of the Online Teaching Certification, am I still certified?
Yes! Your completion of the previous OTC is still valid. Online Teaching Certification is valid until there is a major LMS change.
Q. How do Deans or Chairs check to see what certifications instructors have and who may need an update?
Deans or Chairs can request and directly access the PowerBi Online Teaching Certification (OTC) report, which is updated about one month prior to the beginning of every long semester.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns at vtac@lonestar.edu or you can speak directly with one of your campus Instructional Designers/Technologists - see Meet Your Online Services Representative.