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Academic Technology Services

Transforming Course Design in the CSU - Overview

On March 1 2007, Executive Vice-Chancellor Gary Reichard announced the launch of a CSU Transforming Course Design program. Transforming Course Design is a process to improve student learning while simultaneously addressing the issue of instructional costs. Measures of improved student learning include the reduction of unsuccessful course grades, improved retention, and enhanced application of knowledge after course completion. Examples of addressing instructional costs include reducing student and faculty time needed to achieve desired learning outcomes and increasing access to courses within existing budgets. The Transforming Course Design approach can address instructional challenges in our high impact courses by increasing student engagement, emphasizing active learning, and using technology to enable maximum value in all forms of faculty and student interaction.

The key goals of our Transforming Course Design program are to support campuses in their efforts to enhance student learning and reduce instructional costs, to optimize the impact of those efforts, and to insure that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’. This includes applying exemplary practice, scholarly research and shared resources for teaching and learning, and an emphasis on appropriate assessment of student learning outcomes and collaborative development with subject area colleagues across campuses.

Collaborations to Address 'High Impact, Low Success' Courses

Seventeen CSU institutions are collaborating on two multi-campus initiatives in Transforming Course Design. Provosts nominated target ‘high enrollment, low success’ courses in Fall 07, and a short list prepared by the state-wide Academic Technology Advisory Committee was then circulated to all institutions for input on priorities. The two Design teams will engage in cooperative redesign of new course structures, activities and resources which will be available for incorporation into campus courses. They are supported by Review Teams who can provide evaluations and recommendations to insure that the work products delivered in June 2008 are fully informed by the needs and contexts across the CSU.

Current Campus Projects (from 2007 RRP)
Chancellor’s Office grants of over $300,000 are supporting twenty campus and cooperative multi-campus projects, to enhance and accelerate course transformations and to foster innovative collaborations across the CSU.

CSU Transforming Course Design Community Webspace
A collaborative webspace for ongoing dialog about the process of Transforming Course Design, exemplary CSU practices, opportunities for collaboration, communications from the program team, and updates on individual projects.

Program Updates

Background Information
Information on related past and current external initiatives, including lessons learned from past projects elsewhere and Case Studies and Resources for other programs.
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Last Update: September 25, 2008