Strategy: Utilizing the Common Course Components (CCC) model in D2L will ensure all students have day-one and ongoing access to course materials, including the syllabi, calendar, and assignment submission and feedback/assessment.
Background: In Fall 2023, the Provost encouraged faculty and academic support units to work toward improving students’ experience in CourseDen, UWG's branding of D2L / Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS), the web platform for courses, regardless of modality. This initiative, Common Course Components (CCC), provides a consistent student experience and reduces students' cognitive and technical challenges when accessing different courses within CourseDen. The initiative also offers efficiencies to help faculty build out courses and move to online teaching in the case of emergency closings, building on what UWG learned during the COVID pandemic. The Institute for Faculty Excellence (IFE) and UWG Online (UWGO) have been collaborative leaders in this student success initiative. The IFE facilitated information sessions to help faculty understand the goal of incorporating common components in CourseDen for all courses, regardless of modality. The primary reason for asking faculty to organize their courses in a standardized format was to help students navigate their courses and provide students with a consistent online experience. The IFE has worked closely with the Faculty Senate’s Teaching, Learning, & Assessment Committee (TLAC) to identify best practices for the organization of courses in CourseDen. The committee members and other faculty designed their Spring 2023 courses to align with these recommendations and piloted courses that semester. They offered feedback to the IFE and the TLAC based on their students’ experiences. The IFE also surveyed UWG students to understand better what their expectations were regarding how their instructors used CourseDen and to learn which components were most supportive of their success. Nearly 1,000 students responded, and their responses helped inform new expectations for instructor usage of CourseDen. Throughout spring and summer semesters, the IFE offered support to faculty via hands-on workshops, on-demand videos, and written tutorials. The Office of the Provost requested that all Fall Semester 2023 LMS course sites include a Concourse syllabus, gradebook, and assessments (instructions, submission options, and feedback) when appropriate. The only exceptions to the CCC requirements are some clinical, internship, independent study, and directed reading courses which include some but not all of these required elements. Reports on tool usage were pulled from CourseDen and indicated a high compliance rate among instructors. In Fall 2023, UWGO, the IFE, TLAC, and the Office of the Provost continued to develop further expectations for faculty usage of CourseDen to align with student expectations and best practices for supporting student learning and success.
Updates: As of Fall Semester 2025, the following Common Course Components have been accomplished:
- Spring 2025: 92% of courses include all Common Course Components
- Fall 2025: 97% of courses include all Common Course Components
- All courses, regardless of modality, have a complete syllabus, due dates posted in the course calendar, a gradebook, and assessments (instructions, submission options, and feedback).
- UWGO works with the deans to track courses and ensure CCCs are present and any approved exemptions documented.
- New Intervention: UWGO, ITS, and the Provost’s office developed an initiative called NUDGE (Notifying Undergraduates of Due-dates and Grades Electronically) that includes two pilot tests (Spring and Fall 2025). The NUDGE framework is a low-cost strategy that boosts motivation, engagement, and performance by connecting friendly reminders connected to assignments in the LMS. Preliminary pilot studies results show the strategy increases the timeliness and quality of assignment submissions, improves grades, reduces cognitive fatigue, and fosters equitable, sustained engagement across diverse learning contexts. In Spring 2025, 37 Core IMPACT courses were enrolled in pilot; 1,300 students received email reminders about upcoming assignment due dates. In Fall 2025, the number Core IMPACT courses enrolled in pilot increased to 100; 3,800 students are receiving text reminders about upcoming assignment due dates
- UWGO & IFE continue to promote our Knowledge Base tutorials and videos to support faculty as they build their courses.
- UWGO is also supporting enhancements to the learning experience in CourseDen. In Spring 2025, CourseDen content was updated with features. The new content experience is designed to be more intuitive for instructors setting up their courses, and the organized structure is intended to improve student content navigation. Units (Modules) are color-coded to help create a visual connection between course materials. See CourseDen: New Content Experience for an overview of the new features with links to additional resources.
- UWGO has added a new section in the syllabus management system for AI policy. All faculty must select from 1 of 4 templates or create their own policy. The AI policies were developed and approved by the Faculty Senate.
