Teaching Excellence and Support

The teaching excellence and support team supports effective and innovative teaching in pursuit of transformative learning experiences. We accomplish this offering programs, consultations, and services for all faculty, instructors, teaching assistants, and other teaching staff related to teaching effectiveness, technology integration, and inclusive teaching. From July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 we offered 144 programs on fundamental principles of teaching, innovative teaching and learning strategies, inclusive teaching and the use of technology for 1115 participants. Tenure-track faculty (41%), instructional faculty (14%), clinical faculty (3%), non-NIU faculty (1%), teaching staff (22%), and graduate teaching assistants (19%) participated in a total of over 2086 hours of professional development.

We led the university in AI innovation through the launch of the AI Network community of practice with over 200 faculty, staff, and student members. We published the Student Guide to AI and offered ongoing programming to support transformation of teaching and learning. We awarded 8 Curricular Innovation Grants in Spring 2026 that accelerated faculty innovation through an AI-powered child development simulation, AI literacy for future teachers, personal finance and business students, critical AI use in an online science course, a custom course GPT for manufacturing, AI cybersecurity, adaptive learning in computer science, and career-focused AI literacy in a business gateway course. 

CITL also took a leadership role in supporting accessibility of digital materials, in response to the updated Title II guidelines that were originally to take effect in April 2026. We offered workshops throughout the year and a 3-day Digital Accessibility Institute in May that featured 16 sessions and 14 presenters, reaching 103 individuals and 398 total participations. Across the 3 days, 24 participants attended 7 or more sessions to earn a certificate of recognition for their commitment to accessibility. 

We continued to support the Enriching the Design of General Education (EDGE) faculty community. The community met 6 times on critical topics such as building career skills in general education, building AI literacy in general education, academic support for students, and a panel of K-12 teachers who shared strategies for supporting student transitions from high school to NIU.

We provided individualized instructional support for faculty, instructors, teaching assistants and staff on teaching, inclusive teaching practices, and teaching with technology through over 1,330 consultations for 585 unique consultees from across 84 academic and support units. This includes brief exchanges (56%) via phone, email, or chat as well as in-depth and ongoing consultations (44%). Faculty can schedule a consultation with CITL staff using our convenient booking system.

Instructional Design and Development

The instructional design and development team supports excellence and quality in online course and program design and development. We accomplish this by partnering with academic units and faculty to collaborate on instructional design, pedagogy, delivery and technology resulting in effective and inclusive online learning experiences that promote active learning and student engagement. In collaboration with 19 departments, we supported the online course design and development of 149 courses. Additionally, 6 faculty members partnered with our team to enhance their online or hybrid courses, and 1 quality essentials course review was requested.

Historically, we have provided a variety of support services for online programs including new course design and development, course revisions, course refreshes, and ongoing instructional design support. Of the 149 online course development projects completed this year, we partnered with faculty to develop 42 new online courses and update 73 existing courses through revisions (29) and refreshes (44). In addition, we provided ongoing instructional design support to 34 faculty teaching online, particularly those who were new to the university or new to online teaching.

In support of Theme 2: Student Recruitment, Student Success and Student Experience in NIU’s 2026 university goals, our team advanced student onboarding and readiness through the development, enhancement and maintenance of key online orientation and learning resources. In collaboration with the Office of Community College Initiatives, we developed and launched the inaugural orientation for university center students on Blackboard. The orientation provides off-campus undergraduate students with a welcoming, easy-to-navigate introduction to NIU, helping them feel prepared and connected before their first class. We also partnered with our Office of Online Learning to lead the development and launch of the NIU returning student learning module in Blackboard, enabling students considering a return to NIU to explore the online learning experience before re-enrolling. Additionally, we updated and maintained the orientation for new online students and graduate student orientation, ensuring students have access to current information and resources to support their academic success.

In support of university goal Theme 3: Academic Excellence and Curriculum Innovation, we expanded the online general education bundle to increase access to flexible, high-quality online general education courses for adult learners and support degree completion. This year, we launched phase 2 of the initiative, transitioning it to a sustainable operational model and partnering with the colleges of Liberal Arts, Education, and Health and Human Sciences to develop seven additional high-demand courses, building on the nine courses developed during phase 1. To support faculty participation, we offered a dedicated section of the online course design academy, where seven faculty members explored best practices in online teaching and course design, experienced online learning from a student perspective, and began developing their courses in collaboration with instructional designers. Collectively, these efforts advanced the development of a comprehensive online general education pathway and expanded access to required coursework for NIU students.

Technology Initiatives

Currently, CITL manages NIU's On-Demand Learning (ODL) System, which enables NIU students and individuals outside the university with access to self-paced, non-credit courses and modules. During the year, we led the implementation of version 2 of the ODL platform, enhancing the learner experience through streamlined registration and payment processes, support for bundled learning pathways, and expanded access to online learning opportunities. Through ODL, we delivered a variety of programs supporting academic preparation, professional development, institutional training, and student success, including College of Business preparatory modules, cybersecurity preparatory modules, the introduction to Burmese language module, clery campus security authority training, and the NIU returning student module. Collectively, these efforts expanded access to flexible learning opportunities, supported student readiness and success, and advanced the university's commitment to lifelong learning and workforce development.

Under the leadership of the instructional design and development team, we updated the quality essentials standards for NIU online courses to replace costly external quality review and management tools with a streamlined review process that reduces operational costs while maintaining rigorous standards for online learning. To further improve efficiency and scalability, we created a self-service quality review system within Blackboard that enables faculty to evaluate their courses, request formal reviews, and receive individualized feedback from instructional design staff. This initiative supports the university’s goals by promoting continuous improvement in online teaching, enhancing the student learning experience, and ensuring the responsible use of institutional resources.

We also led a comprehensive review of three of NIU's enterprise online learning tools to evaluate their instructional impact, usage patterns, and overall value. Based on multi-year usage data, faculty feedback, and cost analyses, we recommended strategic renewals and licensing adjustments for Respondus, VoiceThread, and Yellowdig. The resulting changes preserved access to tools that support teaching and learning while reducing annual institutional expenditures by more than $54,000, advancing NIU's commitment to data-informed decision making and responsible stewardship of university resources.

Online Learning

In our third year, the Office of Online Learning continued to expand programming and student support while identifying new ways to meet the needs of the university’s growing online student population. The online learning team supports prospective students interested in 50 of the university’s online degree and certificate programs and provides individualized, 1:1 support to continuing students in eight online programs from inquiry through graduation. For students in the university’s remaining online programs, the team provides broader population-level support focused on community building, engagement, and belonging.

Our student outreach process, which combines personalized manual outreach with complementary automated communications, provided timely follow-up to 5,457 requests for information from prospective students. Over the past year, we facilitated more than 74,400 unique interactions with this population through phone, text, and email using Slate and Navigate. Overall online student enrollment grew from 1,245 in fall 2024 to 1,342 in fall 2025, up nearly 8% year over year.

This year, we continued to host a number of virtual events to support student success. We hosted 13 admitted student webinars, welcoming 197 new online students in these sessions to NIU and providing valuable guidance throughout the enrollment process while helping students prepare for academic success. The webinars had an overall 69% attendance rate. We also hosted 83 program-specific information sessions for prospective students and three virtual open houses, which featured student and faculty panels and provided opportunities for prospective students to learn more about the online student experience. We also hosted our annual virtual trivia event to celebrate graduate student appreciation week, attended community college transfer events to promote our RN to BS program, and held 453 pre-scheduled appointments in Slate with prospective students.

Phase two of the NIU Online website refresh was completed, expanding program pages to include a “Fast Facts” section outlining course lengths, part-time and full-time options, and course formats. Program pages also now feature career outcomes data from Steppingblocks, including average mid-career alumni salaries, top industries in which alumni work, and leading employers of alumni.

We continued to expand our existing digital literacy series and introduced Wellness Wednesdays, a new series highlighting practical strategies for well-being and connecting students with relevant resources. We distributed five digital newsletters to our online student population featuring relevant news, virtual events, technology tools, important date reminders, and student spotlights. Our NIU online student Facebook group grew to 135 members, while the online student advisory committee met four times to discuss the online learning experience and provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.

We continued to strengthen relationships with campus partners to ensure online students receive consistent, timely, and up-to-date information. Regular meetings and collaboration with departments across the university helped foster communication, strengthen connections, and build a greater sense of community across departments. In addition to our virtual engagement efforts, the team prioritized opportunities to connect with students in person, including volunteering at commencement and attending events such as the DNP immersion day. These opportunities allowed us to celebrate students’ accomplishments alongside them, build rapport, and reinforce that online students are valued and connected members of the NIU community.

We also refreshed the new online student orientation in Blackboard during summer 2026. The updated orientation features more student-friendly language, images that better represent our online adult learner population, and expanded information designed to ensure students have the resources and knowledge they need to begin the semester successfully.

In December 2025, the Office of Online Learning was recognized as the 2025 recipient of the UPCEA Excellence in Advancing Student Success Award. The award recognizes an institution that has implemented a successful strategic initiative, project, or service that significantly advances the success of adult and/or non-traditional student populations.

In February 2026, the online learning team launched an implementation of EnrollML, a machine learning platform designed to help institutions better understand admissions data and make more strategic enrollment decisions. The platform uses machine learning to predict which students are most likely to enroll, helping teams prioritize their time and resources. It also identifies behavioral trends, informs outreach strategies, and supports yield efforts. Through AI-generated insights, EnrollML can identify topics prospective students may be seeking more information about based on their interactions and actions, and can even assist staff in drafting targeted outreach messages.

2025-2026 Activities Summary Dashboards

Historical Dashboards

Also available are historical dashboards of programs, individual instructional support, appointments, digital media studio use, as well as online course design and development offered 2018 to present.