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Concurrent Session 7

Leveraging Internal Structures for Strategic and Sustainable Online Initiatives: Case Studies in Shifting Organization Models and Institutional Revenue Sharing

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One Digital Learning Organization’s Shift from a Service to a Partner Organization: A Case Study

Dr. Amy Collier

Dr. Sarah Lohnes Watulak

Office of Digital Learning and Inquiry, Middlebury

@amcollier

@sarahlw6

#UPCEA2020

In this case study session, leaders of the digital learning organization at multi-campus institution will discuss their paradigmatic shift from a service to a partner model, which was undertaken with the goal of being positioned to provide leadership in support of the institution’s new strategic framework including an emphasis on developing new online programs. The shift necessitated structural changes to the organization, reorientation of the organizations’ areas of work, and reshaping the relationship to faculty, staff, and students on their campuses. The session will share specific examples of how the partner model was infused into faculty professional learning, project work, and instructional design processes; lessons learned along the way; and invite participants to reflect on what their organization would need to drive a shift from a service organization to a partner model.

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One of these things is not like the other...

Put this course online for me

Let’s work together to identify what good online learning looks like for your course and collaborate to develop it

VS

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What we heard from faculty…

project-based learning
professional, career, and solution oriented, cross-disciplinary, team work
authentic learning
interactions between students
communities of practice
everyone is responsible for collective learning/ co-constructive learning

practice what we teach
immersive, career-oriented, research based
working with community or learning partners for real world impact and student learning
student-centered
real world
individualized learning
evidence-based

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Service organization vs partner organization

transactional

templated

rigid

clear roles

collaborative

co-constructive

individualized

evolving roles

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Our model

Elevate instructional design internally and externally

Invest in instructional designers’ expertise

Provide flexibility in instructional design processes, building around shared values

Create a project charter that intentionally promotes relationships

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What did it take to get there? A vision

A clear direction (vision) matters.

Leadership matters.

Courage matters.

Patience matters.

Fortitude matters.

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What did it take to get there? Structural changes

Freedom to start from scratch and build around what we want to do and how we want to work

Courage to implement changes that people did not understand (and were sometimes actively opposed to)

Structured an intake process that re-oriented well-worn paths to new paths

Established an ID team, hired director who had been faculty

Encouraged professional explorations across all parts of the new organization

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What did it take to get there? Relationships

Recognizing each other’s expertise and professionalism

Getting to know each other in many contexts

ID processes

Common goal: making sure their course embodies their pedagogical values
Project charter: “We believe that successful collaborations are built on shared goals, a willingness to listen and learn from each other, and trust.”

Teaching Online & Hybrid Conversation Series

Facilitated by IDs and highly interactive with the faculty participants
Core group of repeat attendees over several semesters

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Lessons learned

We are privileged to be able to set our vision, our team orientation, and the pace of our work

Even still, this work has not been easy and it required a whole lot of support and confidence from our senior leadership

We’ve needed to reinvest in the local relationships and cultures, especially after pushing so heavily into non-local (institutional) orientation

If relationships and expertise are at the heart of your work, you have to cheerlead what the IDs bring to that dynamic

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Thank You!