The Course Design Institute (CDI) is a professional development workshop designed to help faculty and graduate students create aligned, engaging, and accessible courses. When I unexpectedly took over CDI in August 2024, the workshop had run twice before under the name Course Design Camp. My goals were to continue its progress, improve the participant experience, and significantly increase engagement.

This project exemplifies my ability to:

• Lead complex initiatives under tight timelines.
• Create practical, engaging content tailored to participant needs.
• Drive success through strategic marketing and thoughtful coordination.

Key Contributions

Redesigning the Workshop

• Streamlined Assignments: Simplified the workload for participants by introducing alignment map worksheets in PDF format. Each worksheet included:
  • Tips for completing a specific alignment step.
  • A short activity designed to accommodate busy schedules.
• Module Creation: Developed two key modules—Accessibility and Engaged Learning—from scratch. These modules featured practical strategies, clear guidance, and actionable steps to help participants improve course design.

Promotion and Engagement

• Marketing Outreach:
  • Promoted CDI through multiple channels, including newsletters, listservs, department meetings, and direct communications with program heads and faculty.
  • Sent weekly emails leading up to the workshop, offering key resources from the Welcome module to build excitement and preparedness.
• Participant Support:
  • Streamlined registration with calendar invites and provided timely reminders.
  • Delivered consistent communication to ensure a smooth experience for participants.

Achieving Record Success

• Increased Attendance: CDI 2024 achieved the highest registration numbers in the program’s history, with 30 participants—a significant improvement over previous years.
• Certificates of Completion: Awarded completion certificates for the first time in the program’s history, a meaningful milestone that recognized participants’ efforts and enhanced the workshop’s credibility.

Overcoming Challenges

• Collaboration: Navigated team bottlenecks and last-minute contributions to ensure a timely and high-quality launch.
• Participant Engagement: Focused on practical, manageable activities to encourage completion, while maintaining high standards of content and delivery.

Positive Feedback

The success of CDI 2024 was reflected in participant feedback and my performance review:

• Glowing Performance Review: “Channell has been exceptional in this goal. Her organization and leadership of the Course Design Institute has made it a true success. She achieved record registrations, which I believe is a direct result of her organization and efforts in marketing. Coordination of this effort has been a clear strength of Channell’s and I’m excited to see her continue leveraging her strengths in future projects!”
  —Casey Rinehart, June 2024
• Participant Comments:
  • “Even seeing how you setup the CDI in Canvas has been helpful!” —Shayne Piasta
  • “This was a great course! I feel I’ve learned a lot about online design! I appreciate your support and resources.” —Tanya Middleton
  • “This course helped me understand better what tools are available. Thank you for your hard work on our behalf.” —Susan Johnston

Summary of Impact Through innovative design, strategic promotion, and participant-centered improvements, CDI 2024 set a new standard for faculty development workshops.