SIF180 UVA Online

Project Manager: TBD

Approved: Summer 2021

The purpose of this award is to facilitate expansion of the online programming offered by UVA, as a means of reaching a broader swath of learners.

Project Dates: 10/1/2021 – 9/30/2024

Total Funding: $10,000,000

Executive Summary:

The office of the Vice Provost of Online Learning proposes to help schools launch a thriving portfolio of online programs, based on UVA’s distinct strengths, that expand access to UVA, serve students throughout their lives, and open pathways to residential programs. These efforts will culminate in a University-wide strategy that integrates work-based learning, career development and the liberal arts.

Building UVA’s capacity to support online programs is critical as the University expands into northern Virginia (UVA NoVA) and serves more part-time students and working professionals.

Progress:

The goal of this project is to help Schools evaluate and launch new online learning programs through three approaches:

•      Enablement: create streamlined processes to get programs approved and launched, with timely action from the Provost’s office on key issues

•      Shared Best Practices: develop a central repository of knowledge, resources, and policies to support Schools, including a responsive, forward-looking policy infrastructure needed for Schools to be competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace

•      Capacity-Building: curate a set of internal and vetted external service providers or, where appropriate, develop shared services and resources internally to provide capacity to schools in areas such as market research, marketing, student support, and course production.

We have made significant progress on improving central resources for market validation, program portfolio review, and launch strategy support. Through partnerships with leading education research and service providers including EAB and UPCEA, our project has generated data and insights that foreground new program opportunities at the nexus of mission and market demand. We have also evaluated 282 online and on-grounds programs across the University to identify dozens of existing programs with high potential for online success and opportunities to create more accessible, short-term learning pathways that can provide on-ramps to degree programs.

These efforts have contributed to consultations on five potential programs and to University initiatives and working groups with the aim of establishing a refreshed vision, strategy, and policy environment for online education at UVA.  With this infrastructure in place, we plan in the next year to provide extensive support for School-specific online strategies, enabling more programs to reach working professionals and adult learners in the Commonwealth and beyond.