Baylor's 1,300 faculty can now access cutting-edge instructional design resources with real-time services for transitions to online teaching

WACO, Texas, Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Baylor University today announced the launch of a new partnership in order to continue its excellence in instructional design support. The partnership will offer all faculty in-depth resources within the university's learning management system (LMS) that can be mobilized in the online, hybrid, and face-to-face instructional environments. The university, which serves more than 18,000 students, will tap Dallas-based independent instructional design firm, iDesign, which has worked with more than 100 institutions to design, build and support award-winning online courses.

"There's no question that this has been an exceptionally challenging time for universities as our faculty and students continue to face uncertainty as we plan for this fall," said Gary Carini, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Institutional Research and Professional Education at Baylor University. "We felt that it was mission-critical for us to take proactive steps to get real-time support into the hands of our faculty as they navigate the challenges of this new environment and disruptions COVID-19 has already caused and potentially into the fall semester."

"Through our 'Keep Teaching' faculty hub that includes the resources from iDesign, faculty will have an abundance of tools that will enable them to pursue their craft of teaching and enhance the overall educational experience of our students during this time of pandemic and into the future."

Baylor's Learning Together website is designed to ease the transition to online teaching for faculty and, by extension, improve course quality for students. The Instructional Design Support Center (IDSC) provided by iDesign will help meet the diverse needs of faculty across all disciplines.

"The pandemic has made clear just how much student success depends on the agility, leadership, and resilience of educators who are working on the frontlines to make this unprecedented shift to remote and online teaching a reality," said Whitney Kilgore, Ph.D., co-founder and chief academic officer of iDesign. "This work is reflective of the Baylor team's commitment to scale up support for educators—and students—to ensure continuity of learning during these uncertain times."

Through the partnership with iDesign, Baylor faculty will also gain access to the company's popular Online Teaching Pathway, an immersive course sequence designed to provide faculty with an immediate primer on best practices in remote teaching. Through the short-form courses, faculty and other higher education professionals will be able to access vetted teaching resources, practice examples, and effective techniques used by experienced online instructors.

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