University Academic Affairs enhances infrastructure to provide coordinated faculty and program support for online courses and programs
In a rapidly evolving educational landscape, universities must offer robust and adaptive online learning solutions to meet diverse student needs. The Office for University Online Education Services (UOES) was established with this mission in mind: delivering a coordinated approach to online education services across all university programs. Housed in University Academic Affairs, the newly formed UOES supports digital programming of the highest quality, guided by the twin priorities of student success and academic excellence.
Citing Rutgers’ more than 20-year history of online education, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prabhas V. Moghe, who was charged with fulfilling this presidential initiative, noted the ongoing conversations with provosts, deans and their teams that continue to inform this work.
“The Office for University Online Education Services provides a centralized, optimal infrastructure that facilitates our community’s aspirations for academic excellence in the online modality, contributing to expanded access, positive experiences and strong outcomes for current and future students across Rutgers,” he said.
What does this mean in the day-to-day operations of this new undertaking?
“Excellence begins by meeting people where they are,” says Will Pagán, associate vice president for UOES.
At the most basic level, UOES has already increased the visibility of online offerings by launching a website to showcase the university’s full portfolio of fully online degree and certificate programs. Better alignment and consistency of this information has resulted in important benefits for prospective students. In addition to quickly satisfying information needs—students no longer must hunt for the various offerings, since they are centrally located—the website articulates clearer pathways to fulfill various aspirations, from smoothing reentry for returning degree candidates, to describing how to build a track from certificate to credit-bearing programs, stacking earned credentials along the way.
Along with enhanced student engagement and enrollment, UOES prioritizes top-notch support for fully online program design to ensure a rich and interactive learning experience. In working with faculty to develop pedagogically sound digital solutions for their course needs, UOES staff approach the task guided by principles of backwards design. “We ask, what do you want the student to be able to do?” explains Pagán, “And then we work our way backwards from the outcome to make tailored course design decisions in collaboration with faculty.” This may involve improving accessibility, integrating technology, or producing new academic media content. At its core, it involves collaborative curriculum design through alignment with learning goals and discipline standards. Specific services include curriculum mapping, course quality reviews, course design, and course templates. Higher Ed Course Design Rubric Standards, issued by Quality Matters and supplemented by Rutgers-specific components, are used as the basis for meaningful course assessment.
But benefits for instructors go far deeper than individual course improvements: UOES offers comprehensive knowledge development opportunities with the aim of empowering online instructors. Faculty may choose from among various options to suit their pedagogical needs: these range from self-paced modules covering teaching essentials, to asynchronous coursework in digital media, accessibility, and design practice (culminating in an online teaching certificate), to customized workshops for specific academic units. One-on-one consults are also available, whether the goal is simply to enhance teaching with digital tools, or to develop a new, fully digital course.
To be clear, this focus on online learning delivery is intended not to replace but rather to complement the rich on-ground instruction that is already a cornerstone of Rutgers teaching and learning. Though an ambitious undertaking, it is one with strong institutional support. President Holloway considers student success to be the university’s North Star, and was clear that he saw a “better coordinated, more collaborative, and more thoughtful approach to managing online programs” as integral to that success when he announced the Council on Online Education. The creation of UOES was a natural outcome of the Council’s recommendations. UOES reports directly to the EVPAA, underscoring the institutional importance of providing supportive infrastructure for faculty to maintain and develop its excellence in instructional practice.
The work is executed in thoughtful alignment with existing supports within academic units, schools and programs, and is facilitated by a strong collaborative relationship with the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Pagán observes that many academic departments already have embedded instructional staff within the school. “Our task,” he states, “is not to supplant those assets but rather supplement them. Faculty may pick and choose from UOES offerings depending on what may already be available to them in their academic unit.”
Again, it’s about meeting people where they are, and listening to the needs of those you intend to serve. This philosophy has guided Pagán from his first dabbling in instructional design, as an early-career student affairs professional, developing asynchronous online training for resident assistants. Pagán and his team, supported by University Academic Affairs, are guided by the ideal outcome: to foster a community of innovative educators across Rutgers University's online course offerings, ensuring access to learning experiences of the highest caliber.