Dear Colleagues,
I hope your fall semester is off to a great start!
We are excited to have taken our first step towards implementation of Colorado Online@ with the launch of our new single instance of D2L this fall. Many thanks to the Academic Technology team, Learning Technology Council members, and faculty and instructors from across the system for working together to be ready for students this fall. Even though the virtual dust is still settling, it feels good to hear from instructors and students who are already enjoying the simplicity of accessing all their courses from a single MyCourses homepage in D2L.
Other progress includes:
- Increased support for learning design, technology, online library resources, accessibility, and accessibility services
- A draft timeline for transitioning academic disciplines to the new model by Fall 2024
- A process for fairly distributing course sections based on historical online enrollment at each college and across the system, to be completed in coordination with college VPAAs this fall for AY2024
- Development of a preliminary financial model
- Completion of an Information Technology project request that kicks off work on the technology infrastructure for our new consortium
The success of our innovative consortial approach to online learning will require all of us to work together in new ways. With so much happening and so many interested parties, in can be difficult to sort through the rumors to find out what is still being discussed and what has actually been decided. The Colorado Online@ blog is a great source of reliable information, including lists of team members and approved recommendations. This month you will find a more detailed PowerPoint summary shared with the Project Team in August, and a faculty perspective on some common myths prepared by Deidre Schoolcraft, PPSC Faculty and State Faculty Advisory Committee Chair. I have attached both documents to this email for your convenience.
As we move towards implementation, we will continue to work through functional groups, hold open forums, and visit with individual colleges as needed. I will be hosting our next Colorado Online @ open forum on October 21st from 9-10:30am via Zoom. I strongly encourage you to plan on attending and asking any questions you have. If you don’t have a calendar invite to that open forum, let me know.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me or Tammy Vercauteren, Project Director of Online Strategic Planning. We look forward to working with you in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Landon