As part of the 2030 Strategic Plan, the University of Virginia (UVA) has recognized that our obligations extend beyond our local community and has committed to “offer accessible and affordable educational programs to those beyond our Grounds.”  The Office of the Vice Provost-Online Education and Digital Innovation (VP-OEDI) was created to help guide the university in realizing its 2030 strategic vision, supporting UVA’s ambitious agenda as it sets the standard for public universities and seeks to be the preeminent public university in the nation.  

Working in service of the university and the provost’s office, the Office of VP-OEDI will seek to enable its university partners to provide:

• The highest quality learning experiences consistent with our brand
• A culture of continuous, data-driven improvement
• Inclusivity and personalization for all learners
• Optionality for faculty, students, and schools
• Resilience for future disruptions
• An expanded canvas for new program designs
• Lifelong engagement with our alumni
• Access to new learner populations and new business models to fulfill our mission as a public university

The Office of VP-OEDI will develop a set of shared services that efficiently support university partners in the ideation, design, development, marketing, launch, operational oversight, and evaluation of new online and hybrid offerings.  VP-OEDI will also strive to build capacity and know-how among schools and other partners to enable them to support, manage, and grow their own programs.  Finally, VP-OEDI will seek to develop a rapid response capability to allow schools and other entities to quickly develop in-demand modules and offerings or deliver customized programs tailored to the needs of employers.

The overall goal of this award, and the Office of VP-OEDI generally, is to help schools evaluate and launch new online learning programs through the following three approaches, consistent with the original SIF 180 proposal:

• Enablement: create streamlined processes to get programs approved and launched, with timely response from the Provost’s office on key issues.
• Shared Best Practices: develop a central repository of knowledge, resources, and policies to support Schools, including the policy infrastructure needed for schools to be competitive.
• Capacity: curate a set of internal and vetted external service providers to provide capacity to schools in areas such as market research, marketing, and course production.

Since its launch in November 2023, the Office of Online Education and Digital Innovation (OEDI) has built a strong foundation for advancing UVA’s 2030 Plan commitment to expand accessible, high-quality online and hybrid learning. Over the past academic year, OEDI has grown from a single staff member to a full team with expertise in instructional design, strategic services, digital innovation, and communications, significantly increasing the University’s capacity to support online program development and emerging technology initiatives.

University-wide enrollment trends reflect growing demand: since 2020, UVA has seen a 32.6% increase in online undergraduate enrollment and a 47.6% increase in online graduate enrollment, with learners in 54 U.S. states and territories and 24 countries. Beyond fully online programs, participation in online courses has also doubled since pre-pandemic levels; undergraduate online credit hours increased from ~39,000 in 2019 to ~82,000 by 2021 and have remained at that level through 2025.

OEDI has partnered with eight schools and centers across Grounds to accelerate program design, strengthen enrollment pipelines, and expand high-quality online and hybrid offerings. Highlights include supporting the launch of Batten’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Graduate Certificate in Public Leadership, as well as assisting the School of Nursing in implementing its hybrid BSN-to-DNP expansion—enabling working nurses to advance their education through flexible, rigorous learning pathways. OEDI also supported McIntire’s development of COMMence, a new online asynchronous program that prepares second-year students for academic success.

To support institutional decision-making, OEDI delivered robust financial modeling tools, market research, program positioning frameworks, and marketing performance analytics for school partners including SEAS, McIntire, SCPS, SDS, and Batten. This work has strengthened operational excellence and fostered a more coordinated approach to online and hybrid program growth across Grounds.

OEDI also advanced UVA’s leadership in digital innovation. Through pilots with partners such as Google, Riipen, and 1Mentor, OEDI expanded access to career-connected learning for nearly 150 students and 140 alumni, via Google Career Certificates, virtual internships, and employer-sponsored projects. The UVA CareerConnect platform pilot was a key part of this effort, offering over 200 students and alumni personalized, skills-based career pathways powered by real-time labor market insights.

OEDI amplified UVA's national presence and contributed thought leadership on AI, innovation, and the future of digital learning through more than 20 media stories, invited talks and panels, and conference presentations

Looking ahead, OEDI will continue to expand online program development, grow digital innovation pilots, and strengthen UVA’s position as a leader in high-quality, technology-mediated education.