Collaborating on GPE Programs
Three pathways. One goal: meaningful learning.
The Learning Design Team supports a variety of project types to meet the evolving instructional needs of Baylor’s online programs. Our work generally falls into three categories: New Course Development, which involves designing a course that has not been previously offered; Substantial Redesign, which reimagines an existing course through significant changes to structure, pedagogy, or delivery; and Course Modernization, which updates an established course with refreshed content, technology, or activities to maintain quality and relevance. These categories help ensure that projects are scoped appropriately, resources are allocated effectively, and each course receives the level of design attention it requires.
The Learning Design Playbook
The Baylor Learning Design Playbook is your practical guide to developing high-quality online GPE courses in partnership with the Learning Design team. It outlines the how behind our collaborative design process—what to expect, when key milestones occur, and how we work together from initial planning through course launch.
More than a checklist, the Playbook reflects our shared commitment to designing online learning experiences where students don’t just complete courses, but flourish. Grounded in evidence-based online pedagogy and Baylor’s values, it helps ensure courses are engaging, accessible, and aligned with program goals—while honoring faculty expertise and teaching style.
Whether you’re designing a new course or refining an existing one, the Playbook serves as a clear, supportive roadmap for turning ideas into meaningful online learning experiences.
Types of Design Collaborations
The New Course Design process is a comprehensive, collaborative experience that guides faculty through the creation of a brand-new course. Whether developing a new offering for an existing program or launching a course within a new degree or certificate, this process ensures that every element—from learning outcomes to assessments and activities—is intentionally designed for meaningful student engagement and success.
What It Involves
New Course Design begins with a clear vision and builds from the ground up. Faculty and learning designers partner to articulate course goals, define measurable learning outcomes, and develop an instructional framework that aligns with both program objectives and student needs. Every stage emphasizes best practices in learning design, accessibility, and inclusive pedagogy.
This process typically includes:
- Developing course- and module-level learning outcomes
- Mapping learning outcomes to assessments, content, and activities
- Designing authentic assessments and active learning strategies
- Creating original course content, assignments, and instructional materials
- Building the full course in Baylor’s standard course template
Key Features of the Process
- Course Planning and Mapping: Faculty and learning designers co-create a detailed course map that outlines the relationship between learning outcomes, module objectives, activities, and assessments. This map serves as the blueprint for the entire course.
- Collaborative Creation: Through structured design meetings, faculty collaborate with learning designers, assessment specialists, and multimedia developers to create engaging, high-quality course content.
- Faculty Time Commitment: Faculty can expect to spend approximately 10–12 hours per week during the design cycle, including planning, content creation, and review of draft materials. This schedule is flexible to accommodate other professional responsibilities.
- Research-Informed and Inclusive: The design integrates evidence-based practices, accessibility standards, and inclusive teaching strategies to create a learning environment where all students can thrive.
Ongoing Partnership and Support
After the course launches, faculty continue to receive support from the Instructional Support Team. The team assists with iterative improvements, updates for future offerings, and course readiness each term—ensuring the course remains current, engaging, and effective for students over time.
The Substantial Course Redesign process is a comprehensive, collaborative initiative focused on transforming an existing course to better meet evolving academic goals, student needs, and institutional priorities. This process goes well beyond a course modernization by reimagining the course structure, learning outcomes, and content delivery—resulting in a significantly renewed and future-ready learning experience.
What Sets It Apart
Unlike the Course Modernization process, which involves updating up to 30% of a course, the Substantial Course Redesign includes replacing or reworking more than 30% of the course content. This deeper level of change may include:
- Revisiting and revising course-level learning outcomes
- Reconstructing the course narrative and sequence
- Adopting new pedagogical models (e.g., active learning, project-based learning, hybrid delivery)
- Integrating new technologies or assessment strategies
- Introducing completely new assignments, activities, and content areas
Key Features of the Process
- Strategic Redesign Planning: Faculty and learning designers engage in a detailed planning phase that includes reviewing programmatic alignment, analyzing student performance data, and identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement.
- Course Mapping: A comprehensive course map is developed to clearly align course-level outcomes with module objectives, learning activities, and assessments. This mapping ensures coherence, clarity, and a strong foundation for both design and instruction.
- Reimagined Course Structure: The course is rebuilt in a flexible, research-based template that supports accessibility, student engagement, and instructional clarity. Course modules, assessments, and instructional materials are intentionally designed to create a cohesive and compelling learning journey.
- Collaborative Design Partnership: Faculty work closely with learning designers, assessment specialists, and multimedia developers as needed. This collaborative model ensures that every element of the course—from structure to content to delivery—supports high-impact learning experiences.
- Faculty Time Commitment: Faculty should plan to invest approximately 10 hours per week throughout the redesign process. This time includes collaborative planning meetings, content development, material review, and course building activities. The schedule is intentionally paced to accommodate other academic responsibilities while allowing for deep, creative engagement.
- Evidence-Based and Inclusive: The redesigned course will reflect the latest in learning science and inclusive teaching practices, ensuring that content and delivery are meaningful and equitable for all students.
Continued Partnership and Support
Following the redesign, the Instructional Support Team continues to provide robust support. Faculty will have access to ongoing assistance for refining elements of the course, implementing changes based on student feedback, and ensuring course readiness each term. Our team remains committed to being a trusted partner in sustaining high-quality, responsive learning environments.
The Course Modernization is a structured, collaborative effort designed to refresh and elevate existing courses by implementing a new course template and strategically updating content. This process ensures alignment with current best practices in learning design while preserving the core strengths of the original course.
Key features of the process include:
- New Course Template Integration: Each course is migrated into an updated, research-informed course template that enhances usability, visual consistency, and accessibility. The template provides a clear, learner-centered structure that supports navigation, engagement, and alignment with learning objectives.
- Targeted Content Refresh (Up to 30%): Up to 30% of course materials are revised or replaced with new ideas, resources, or approaches. These updates may include fresh case studies, current research, multimedia content, course artwork, or redesigned learning activities that reflect evolving disciplinary knowledge, student needs, and institutional priorities.
- Collaborative Redesign Support: Faculty work closely with learning experience designers throughout the process to ensure academic integrity, pedagogical soundness, and creative innovation are maintained. Input from recent course evaluations, student feedback, and assessment data informs the modernization.
- Outcomes-Driven Enhancement: The process focuses on improving student learning outcomes, increasing engagement, and ensuring the course reflects inclusive and evidence-based teaching practices.
- Faculty Time Commitment: Faculty should expect to dedicate approximately 3 to 5 hours per week during the course modernization process. This time includes collaborative meetings with learning designers, content review, and development of new or revised course materials. The schedule is designed to be flexible and spread over multiple weeks to support balance with other teaching or research responsibilities.
- Initial Planning with the Graduate School and Learning Design
Academic leaders begin by coordinating with the Graduate School and Learning Design to align course development needs with program goals and timelines. - Submit Course Requests to Learning Design
Send your list of courses planned for design or redesign to the Learning Design Team by the stated deadline for the intended term course design will take place. - Project Review and Scheduling
The Director of Learning Design will review requests and schedule projects based on priority, strategic alignment, and resource availability. - Submit Signed MOUs
All projects require a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), submitted to the Graduate School and Learning Design- MOU Submission Form (Form requires users to log in.)
- Begin the Design Process
Once the MOU is received, a learning designer will be assigned and will initiate the course design or redesign process.
Contact
For questions about submitting your course requests, please contact:
Dr. Chris Zakrzewski
Director of Learning Design
[chris_zakrzewski@baylor.edu]