Jill Andersen, M.Ed., Todd Buker, Karen Ciccone, Paul Couture, Dr. Jason Flores, Caroline Funkhouser, John Gordon, Dr. Jane Lubischer, Dr. Melissa Ramirez, Rebecca Sanchez, Helen Velk, Jeff Williford, Chris Willis, Merranie Zellweger, North Carolina State University – Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Innovation
Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions: WPWS represents a transformative and innovative approach to online education by integrating quality, effectiveness, and equity. WPWS has grown from its origins into a sustainable, interdisciplinary initiative serving thousands of NC State students annually through a holistic approach to educating the whole student.
Alexander Gainer, Kaila Simoneau, Sam Walker, Tanya McPherson, University of Alberta, Online Learning and Continuing Education – Excellence in Design Practice
ECON 102: Introduction to Macroeconomics: This online course surprises and delights students. Foundational economics concepts become accessible, engaging, and playful. This course leverages inclusive design, meaningful student engagement, and innovative practices.
Dr. Larisa Olesova, Dr. Ayesha Sadaf, Dr. Justin Ramsdell, Mr. David Miller, University of Florida – Excellence in Online and Blended Student Support
Shared Metacognition for Online and Blended Student Support: Awarded for COMM 380 Media Criticism course. Media Criticism offers a uniquely creative approach to communication instruction. In this online course, students analyze the critical theories of communication and institutions that shape our social, political, economic, cultural, and social values.
Accelerate 2024
Eric Fredericksen, Ed.D., University of Rochester – Gomory-Mayadas Award for Excellence in Online Educational Leadership
Dr. Fredericksen is internationally recognized as an expert in the field of online higher education leadership. His scholarship, which includes a number of peer-reviewed articles on the topic including widely cited national studies of online learning leaders in U.S. higher education; high-profile national studies on the structure and organization of postsecondary online education in the U.S. (CHLOE); chapters in several highly regarded books on the topics of e-learning and online education, and numerous other publications, is significant and groundbreaking.
Kathryn Becker-Blease, Ph.D., Oregon State University – John R. Bourne Award for Excellence in Online Programs and Programming
Oregon State University Online BS/BA in Psychology Program: Oregon State’s online psychology bachelor’s program is a science-based offering and utilizes research methods, problem solving, quantitative analysis, statistics and the collection, analysis and interpretation of data as critical components of the curriculum. Oregon State has offered the B.A./B/S. in Psychology online since 2013. Aside from strong and growing enrollment numbers, the program’s 11 years of existence have been a resounding success on every level, meeting each of OLC’s Pillars of Quality Online Education.
Nicole Lapeyrouse, Ph.D., University of Central Florida – Excellence in Instructional and Teaching Practice
Geology and Its Applications: Prior to Nicole teaching this course, it was taught in a face-to-face modality with an enrollment of 50 students. When she took over this course, she transitioned it to be taught online, received a high-quality course designation, and is now zero-cost to students. She grew student enrollment to 200 seats. Their adept utilization of various educational technologies and pedagogical strategies has had an impact on student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes.
Dr. Daylene Lauman, Alison Hancox, Ignite Alberta Institute for Learning – Excellence in Faculty Development
IgniteCentre for eLearning Faculty Development: Ignite Centre for eLearning is a fully-accredited, grades 1-12 online, non-profit school that employs Alberta-certificated teachers. All teacher instruction follows the Alberta Program of Studies. Ignite Centre for eLearning is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and in fostering a strong community of support.
Innovate 2024
Kristen Wheelock, Shannon Buck, Caleb Hanan, Andy Fulp, Eric Bryan, Nick Garrett, Sarah Adams, Tiwanna Blakley, Anthony Boulier, Nancy Dai, Brianna Howarth, Je’Lisa Miller, Echo Qi, Sarah Walters, Savannah College of Art & Design – Excellence in Design Practice
SCADnow Design Sprint Model: To address and meet the industry needs of the changing remote work landscape, SCAD transitioned from its traditional asynchronous approach to a new HyFlex modality: SCADnow. Driven by student data and feedback, SCADnow combines real-time engagement with on-demand access, offering greater connection and flexibility to both faculty and students.
Dr. Hamed Alqahtani, King Khalid University – Excellence in Data and Learning Analytics Design
ELD Report: The purpose of this project is building an integrated and accurate ELD Report system that allows university employees, including leaders, faculty members, and students, to benefit from educational process data, with the aim of improving and customizing the learning process and making decisions based on the data extracted from the system. Building an ELD Report system is subject to data governance policies at King Khalid University.
Kiran Budhrani, Ed.D., Heidi Echols, MFA, Jordan Register, Ph.D., Samantha Suptela, Ph.D., Tonya Bates, M.S., University of North Carolina at Charlotte – Excellence in Online and Blended Student Support
“NinerLink”: The First and Only AI-Powered Online Student Support Community for Peer-to-Peer Engagement and Belonging at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte: The NinerLink project has showcased its efficacy in expanding our current student support ecosystem at UNC Charlotte to include online / blended support strategies that are well-integrated into Biology coursework. It utilizes the AI-powered platform Inscribe for community building and has brought forward an innovative strategic initiative to extend student support functions on our campus to be available online.
Jamie Holcomb, Ed.D., Kristy Johnson, M.Ed., Elizabeth Bruner, M.A., Abdel Yosef, PhD, RN CNE, Unitek Learning – Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Innovation
FYE100: Foundations of Success: Unitek redeveloped its BSN curriculum to increase its online offerings, which provided an opportunity to create an innovative first-year seminar course (FYE100: Foundations of Success) with a unique approach to supporting adult, online, healthcare students by providing them with the tools and resources necessary to be successful throughout their program.
Accelerate 2023
Maha Helal, Ph.D., Dr. Hazzaa Alshareef, Saudi Electronic University – Gomory-Mayadas Award for Excellence in Online Educational Leadership
Leading Online Education in Saudi Arabia – SEU’s National LMS Project: Since its establishment in 2011, the Saudi Electronic University (SEU) has focused on excelling in online education and paving the way for other higher educational institutions to advance. SEU is the only university in Saudi Arabia that adopts the blended learning teaching model. Therefore, it started the National LMS Project providing licenses and support to all 30 government universities in Saudi Arabia, equipping them with a unified advanced learning management system.
Mr. Zoaib Mirza, Virginia Baker, Craig Cuatt, Amy Lakin, Kevan Van Cleave, Debra Stonikas, John Winchester, Ultimate Medical Academy – John R. Bourne Award for Excellence in Online Programs and Programming
UMA Course Development Process: Ultimate Medical Academy established a scalable, streamlined, instructor-led process for developing new online courses during the creation of the Healthcare Information Management (HIM) program. The new process coordinates the efforts of the academic dean, program leaders, subject matter experts, curriculum and instructional designers, instructional technology specialists, multimedia specialists, and quality assurance specialists.
Dr. Martha Hubertz, University of Central Florida – Excellence in Instructional and Teaching Practice
Excellence in Online Teaching in Large Psychology Courses: Martha teaches fully online courses in Psychology, which is the largest of UCF’s undergraduate programs. While maintaining rigor and quality, she is highly focused on her students and works hard to support them and create an online class environment that helps them thrive.
Jamie Holcomb, Ed.D., Abdel Yosef, Ph.D., RN, CNE, Kyejung Yang, Ph.D., Scott Tierno, D.A., M.Ed., PMP, Unitek Learning – Excellence in Faculty Development
Faculty Institute: All faculty teaching for Unitek Learning begin by completing the asynchronous Faculty Onboarding Course, which is a facilitated online course. The onboarding course provides faculty with an opportunity to gain the information and knowledge they need to be successful while also providing them with a first-hand experience that is similar to that of our students.
Innovate 2023
Mr. Israel Treptow, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide Campus – Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Innovation
International Certificate in Aviation Management: The main objective of the Aviation Management Program is to prepare future aviation leaders of Brazil by providing a holistic perspective about airlines who employ the participants, as well as the entire global aviation industry.The program is designed to enable students, who are all working professionals, to work through the program in tandem, with their already intense workloads, through the use of both online and residential course offerings.
Dr. Enas Alwafi, Renad Alsaidi, Waleed T. Elsigini, Amani H. Almalki, Lassaad K. Simirani, Umm Al-Qura University – Excellence in Design Practice
General Chemistry I: The e-course has aided in the introduction of new online learning options to students and faculty members in the following areas: cost-effectiveness, organizational commitment, administration, technological infrastructure, and methodology. In addition, 3104 students for this e-course were studied, and their opinions on the level of their satisfaction with the online course were surveyed.
Mrs. Maureen Asselin, TVO – Excellence in Online and Blended Student Support
TVO Independent Learning Centre (TVO ILC): TVO ILC courses are aligned with the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum expectations. In the moment of the pandemic, TVO ILC was able to respond to the need to quickly build teacher-led blended online course packs for all English language school boards in Ontario, Canada. This work builds on existing excellence in being Ontario’s exclusive provider of distance education through TVO’s Independent Learning Centre.
UNC Course Production Team, University of North Carolina Charlotte – Excellence in Design Practice
UNC Charlotte Course Development Process: Awarded for the strategic course development process and its continuous improvement over the course of three years. The Course Production team maintains the highest standards for course quality and enhancing faculty relationships, but consistently does so with a purpose-driven mentality to ensure learning outcomes and success of their end user–the student.
Dr. Kristy Buccieri, Trent University – Excellence in Online and Blended Learning Innovation
Understanding Homelessness in Canada Course: To challenge common perceptions about homelessness, and encourage learners to think more deeply, a team at Trent University and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness developed the online higher education resource “Understanding Homelessness in Canada: From the Street to the Classroom.”
Jamie Holcomb, Ed.D., Abdel Yosef, Ph.D., RN, CN, Elizabeth C. Bruner, Louis Cabuhat, Ed.D., David McMurtry, Unitek Learning – Excellence in Data and Learning Analytics Design
Unitek Learning Data Infrastructure Project: Unitek Learning has developed a cohesive and connected data infrastructure that can scale and successfully support the institution and its students as it continues to grow.
Accelerate 2022
Dr. Joseph Rene Corbeil, Dr. Maria Elena Corbeil, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Excellence in Instructional and Teaching Practice
Digital Transformation of Higher Education Through Disruptive Pedagogies: Wrapping a Course around a Course to Promote Learner Agency: The proposed disruptive pedagogy promotes learner agency and empowers students enrolled in academic programs to pursue credentials that are relevant to their educational and professional goals but exist outside of formal education channels. This exercise bridges selfdirected learning theory with digitally transformative online technologies and methods to help diverse groups of learners, to not only select and develop individualized skills based on their educational and professional goals, but also to earn digital credentials to make them more competitive and marketable in their current or future employment.
Mara Huber, Ph.D., Christina Heath, University at Buffalo – John R. Bourne Award for Excellence in Online Programs and Programming
ELN Project Portal: The Experiential Learning Network (ELN) identified project-based engagement as the focus of its new model and envisioned an online system with three interconnecting components: 1) a mechanism for creating and sharing meaningful engagement opportunities; 2) a robust facilitation and assessment framework; 3) ability to showcase and exchange value through digital badges. Together, these components create a uniquely flexible and dynamic set of tools to leverage the promise of EL for all UB students and the partners with whom they engage.
Mr. Matthew Pittman, Ivy Tech Community College – Gomory-Mayadas Award for Excellence in Online Educational Leadership
IvyOnline: IvyOnline is the online academic unit of Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accreditation statewide community college system. This team was tasked with the challenge of uniting online courses and online faculty, both full-time and adjunct, from the 19 campuses into one online academic unit. This was an enormous cultural shift and change for the college.
Mark Gale, Ph.D., Letitia Bergantz, Joy Oettel, Tracey Decicco, Athens State University – Excellence in Instructional and Teaching Practice
The ActiveFlex Format: In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a group of faculty members at Athens State University piloted a HyFlex initiative to build in resiliency for students that wanted to return to the face-to-face classroom in Fall 2020. What started as a project to combat COVID-19 morphed into a system with a focus on 1) Maximum Flexibility for the Student and 2) Equivalent Learning Environments regardless of a student’s chosen mode of class attendance. Hence, the next phase of the evolution of HyFlex was pursued – ActiveFlex.
Mr. Reed Dickson, Pima Community College – Tucson, AZ – Excellence in Faculty Development
Pima Online Educators’ Conference (POEC): Awarded for faculty development efforts particularly in relation to design and implementation of POEC which built upon the distinct qualities of Pima Community College in ways that provided both course developers and instructors with engaging opportunities and expand approach to high-quality education.
Innovate 2022
Cynthia Pascal, Northern Virginia Community College – OLC Effective Practice
Jumpstarting Students’ Online College Experience
Shannon Riggs, Oregon State University – OLC Effective Practice
OSU Virtual Chemistry Lab Platform
Dr. Carolyn Stevenson, Michele Riley, Ph.D., Purdue University – OLC Effective Practice
The Alternative Credit Center at Purdue Global: Open Degree Programs, Portfolios, and Assessments
Dr. Adel Ibrahim Qahmash, King Khalid University – OLC Effective Practice
Electronic Laboratory Platform E-Lab
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