Whether you’re looking to try something new, wanting to better connect with your students or need to develop your curriculum for hybrid or online environments, AdvancED’s team of skilled practitioners is ready to support your next step.
Online programs present an opportunity to explore new avenues for innovation, while expanding access to Vanderbilt's world-class education.
Successfully developing an online degree or certificate program requires significant planning, organization, and time. Our Learning Innovation team can partner with you to plan, develop, and launch the following for-credit academic endeavors:
- Graduate Certificate Programs
- Graduate & Professional Degrees
While all new credit-bearing programs must be approved by the Office of the Provost, working with our office is optional and the decision of the academic unit Dean. If a unit prefers to work with an external partner, we can support vendor recommendations and contracting. There are many options for partnering with us and we encourage you to reach out and explore the opportunities.
What to Expect & Resources
The Office of Learning Innovation (OLI) collaborates with units across Vanderbilt University to enable the development and delivery of innovative, high quality online and hybrid learning programs. As the hub for digital education, we strive to provide academic units with the infrastructure, expertise and resources needed to launch online and/or hybrid programs.
In partnering with us, you can expect program management, instructional design, marketing and enrollment support, and coordination with other units on campus to help deliver new online programs successfully.
The following are the different services we can offer at various stages of online program development:
Plan
- Program Strategy & Ideation: Support identification of new program opportunities, financial planning, resource identification, and program differentiation
- Market Analysis: Provide market research and program feasibility to guide program development and a go-to-market strategy
- Partner Recommendations: Coordinate internal partnerships with other units that have relevant expertise (e.g. URO, OAPRAA) or facilitate external partnerships where applicable
Build
- Project Management: Oversee all program implementation, planning, and execution
- Instructional Design: Provide faculty dedicated, end-to-end instructional design support for course design, build, and quality review
- Media & Production Management: Our in-house digital media team provides faculty with a bespoke experience to produce course content including high-quality video, audio, and graphic design services.
Deliver
- Marketing & Enrollment Management: Oversee and manage marketing, admissions, and enrollment
- Assessment: Partner with OAPRAA to define program assessment strategy and monitor program needs more broadly
- Content revisions: Support content refresh after the program is launched
- Student Success: Provide guidance and coordinate University resources for supporting online students
Timeline
Typical planning, preparation and development time for an online degree program is usually 12-18 months before the first course will be delivered. While getting a program online can be time-consuming, the process itself is easy to follow and OLI is available to provide guidance at any part of the undertaking.
Depending on faculty bandwidth and OLI team capacity, this timeline can fluctuate, but the timeline below provides general guidance of the deliverables by stage:
Approval Process
All new credit-bearing programs must be approved by the Provost’s Office through the PCCAP process. The PCCAP process is managed by the Office of Academic Program Review, Assessment, and Accreditation (OAPRAA). Program kickoff will begin after final PCCAP approval.
Accreditation & Compliance
The Office of Academic Program Review, Assessment, and Accreditation (OAPRAA) serves to support Vanderbilt’s faculty and staff in ensuring continued excellence in educational offerings while navigating the complexities of compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations and policies while standing up digital education programs.
OAPRAA has developed a resource document intended to highlight key considerations (beginning page 5) related to compliance that warrant attention during both the development and implementation phases of a new digital education program.
Review the OAPRAA Position Statement on Digital Education Programs
How & Why Vanderbilt Works with OPMs
The Office of Learning Innovation may recommend partnering with an online program manager (OPM) to support online learning programs. Read our FAQ below to understand how and why we work with OPMs.
Why OPMs
Interested but looking for other innovative learning solutions? Check out these other options for developing digital and lifelong learning in partnership with the Office of Learning Innovation.
Develop a non-credit offering
Supporting lifelong learning and professional education through non-credit offerings, our team is positioned to help you reach new audiences, further engage existing learners, and maximize the impact of new ideas on society.
Create a MOOC
Partnering with online learning platforms, we can help you launch a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). These courses are available to learners across the globe, allowing you to broaden your education reach.
Explore digital & lifelong learning advisory services
Supporting academic units across campus to catalyze and facilitate innovative learning. Whether you are looking for full program support, market research, media production, or best practices our team can assist you.
Learn more about digital & lifelong learning advisory services
Vanderbilt's Current Online Learning Library
Visit Vanderbilt Online to see all existing online education offerings, including degree programs and continuing education courses. Picture your content there and then get started by partnering with us to create your online course or program.
Imagine What's Possible.