Faculty Course Development & Review Cohort
Develop with us. Build with purpose.
A Collaborative Approach to Online Course Development
The CGS Online Learning team uses a cohort-based approach to course development that combines individual instructional design partnership, faculty collaboration, structured milestones, and course review.
Throughout the experience, faculty work with an instructional designer to develop or substantially revise their course while connecting with colleagues across CGS. The cohort provides dedicated time to consider course organization, learning activities, assessment, accessibility, engagement, and other elements of effective online learning.
The goal is not simply to build a Canvas course. It's to create an intentional online learning experience that supports student learning.
The Cohort Experience
Plan
Establish course goals, priorities, and a development plan.
Develop
Work with your instructional designer to build or substantially revise your course.
Review
Apply CGS standards, receive feedback, and refine the course.
Launch
Finalize the course and prepare for a successful online teaching experience.
What Makes the CGS Approach Different?
Individual Partnership
Work one-on-one with an instructional designer who understands your course, discipline, students, and goals.
Cohort Community
Develop alongside faculty from across CGS, exchange ideas, share progress, and learn from colleagues.
Standards-Based Design
Use established CGS online course standards to guide decisions about course structure, engagement, accessibility, assessment, and learning.
Practice-Based Support
Bring real instructional design questions and challenges to Problems of Practice sessions and work through solutions with peers and the instructional design team.
What You'll Take Away
The cohort is designed to give you both a stronger course and practical skills you can continue using in your online teaching.
- A fully developed or substantially revised online course in Canvas.
- Practical strategies for designing engaging and effective online learning.
- Personalized feedback from a CGS instructional designer.
- A stronger understanding of online course design principles and CGS standards.
- New ideas and perspectives from colleagues across CGS.
- Resources and strategies you can continue using in future courses.
Problems of Practice
Bring a real teaching challenge. Work on a solution.
Problems of Practice sessions give faculty an opportunity to bring a specific instructional design or teaching challenge from their own course and work through it with colleagues and the CGS Online Learning team.
These optional sessions are designed to be practical, collaborative, and focused on challenges faculty are actually facing.
Is the Cohort Right for You?
The cohort is designed for CGS faculty who are ready to invest in developing or substantially revising an online course.
Time Commitment
The development experience typically spans 3–4 months, with several hours of work each week depending on the scope of the project.
Ideal for Faculty Who Are
- Developing a new online course.
- Substantially revising an existing online course.
- Looking for a structured approach to course improvement.
- Interested in partnering with an instructional designer.
- Ready to engage in feedback, reflection, and course review.
Upcoming Cohort
Cohort Dates
[September - December 2026]
Additional details will be provided to participating faculty.
Virtual Sessions
Building Your Online Course with CGS
Sharing Our Success, Planning for What's Ahead
Wrapping Up and Preparing for a Smooth Launch
Problems of Practice
Optional sessions focused on real instructional design and teaching challenges.
Funding Opportunity
A limited number of Excellence in Online Education Mini-Grants may be available to support course redevelopment.
FAQs
I've taught online before. Do I need to attend the cohort?
Online education tends to reinvent itself every few years as new technologies and tools emerge. Even if you’ve taught online before, joining the cohort can still benefit you by helping you refine your skills, explore new Canvas features, gain insights into the latest best practices, and receive personalized feedback on your course design.
Faculty who have previously completed the cohort and teach on-ground have also reported that the knowledge and skills they gained enhanced their in-person classrooms in new ways.
Will I learn new tools or features in Canvas during the cohort?
Yes. The cohort introduces a variety of Canvas features and educational technology tools, along with a CGS course template, to enhance course functionality and student engagement. These resources help faculty make the most of Canvas and incorporate proven methods into their courses.
What can I expect from my one-on-one meetings with an instructional designer?
In these personalized sessions, you'll receive targeted guidance to refine your course content, enhance online engagement through interactive design, and implement best practices for online teaching. Your instructional designer will support you in troubleshooting challenges, exploring new strategies, and creating an effective online classroom.
What are the group sessions for?
The group sessions provide collaborative learning experiences where participants share ideas, discuss strategies, and address challenges related to course development. These sessions foster peer learning while giving instructors opportunities to receive collective feedback and explore best practices for online teaching.
In the first group session, Building Your Unique Online Course with CGS, faculty introduce themselves, share their teaching experiences, and review the course development process with instructional designers.
During session two, Sharing Our Success, Planning for What’s Ahead, instructors share early successes and challenges and showcase new tools or course features they have implemented.
In the final group session, Wrapping Up and Preparing for a Smooth Launch, instructors highlight what excites them most about their courses and discuss final adjustments for launch.
What are the Problems of Practice sessions?
Problems of Practice sessions give faculty an opportunity to bring a real instructional design challenge from their own work and collaborate with colleagues and the instructional design team to develop possible solutions.
Faculty identify a challenge or area of interest following the second cohort session. With support from the design team, they use their ongoing work as a starting point for brainstorming with an interdisciplinary group of colleagues. Faculty leave with collaboratively generated ideas they can apply to their course design.
These sessions are one of the distinguishing features of the CGS cohort model.
What kind of feedback will you provide on my work?
In addition to individualized guidance from your instructional designer and peers, the cohort includes midpoint and final reviews. These structured checkpoints allow members of the instructional design team to evaluate courses using our established online course standards and provide comprehensive feedback.
The midpoint review focuses on your initial course structure and blueprint, giving you an opportunity to make adjustments early in the development process.
During the final review, the team evaluates the completed course for quality, organization, engagement, and readiness for student use.
Why does the cohort last three to four months?
The cohort lasts three to four months to give instructors enough time to thoughtfully develop or redevelop their courses while balancing other work and teaching responsibilities. The extended timeline allows faculty to meet with their instructional designer, participate in group sessions, incorporate feedback, and build a high-quality online course.
I was informed that I will be part of the cohort. What are the next steps?
The next steps typically include confirming your participation, scheduling your one-on-one meetings with your instructional designer, and preparing for the first group session. Cohort facilitators will reach out to participants several weeks before the launch with additional information and an agenda.
Be sure to review any pre-cohort materials and set aside the necessary weekly time to work on your course.
Let's Work Together
Whether you're developing a new online course, substantially revising an existing course, or simply want to talk through an instructional design challenge, the CGS Online Learning team is here to help.