How To Do It

NCAT is committed to providing the expertise necessary to help higher education institutions achieve their student access, success and retention goals while reducing their instructional costs. Through constant testing and refinement of its course redesign methodology and by working with a diverse group of public and private colleges, universities and community colleges, NCAT has demonstrated that all post-secondary institutions are capable of achieving improved outcomes at a reduced cost. This is how we recommend you get started.

Course Redesign:  A Structured Approach to Success for Higher Education Systems

NCAT works with states and systems in a three-phase process. Because of the complexity of redesigning large enrollment courses, we make sure that both faculty and administrators understand the scope of the activities involved and expected outcomes from the outset and then engage in a well-structured planning process and a comprehensive implementation process.  All phases of the methodology are of equal importance to the outcome.

Phase I:  Building Commitment

The purpose of this phase is to educate and ensure buy-in from all levels of the organization for the course redesign process – including institutional readiness for course redesign projects, the NCAT methodology, the commitment needed and the expected outcomes.  The outcome of this phase is general knowledge of the process, an overview of the tools that have been developed by NCAT, and a pool of potential course redesign teams.  In partnership with local leadership, NCAT accomplishes this phase through consultation visits, outreach and orientation workshops.

Phase II:  Planning

The purpose of this phase is to ensure that course redesign teams are clear about what they are trying to accomplish and how they intend to achieve it.  During this phase course redesign teams consisting of faculty, administrators, instructional designers and technology staff from the participating institutions work with NCAT to adapt the course redesign methodology to meet institutional needs and use the tools NCAT has created to develop detailed course redesign plans with a high likelihood of success.

Phase III:  Implementation, Capacity Building and Scaling

The purpose of this phase is to take the sound plans that were developed in Phase Two, implement those plans, and follow through to ensure that adjustments are made where needed, roadblocks are overcome, and models of successful redesigns are achieved and shared.  The outcome of this phase is persistence during the redesign process and institutional experience and capacity to improve quality and reduce instructional costs for more courses. 

NCAT’s Frequently Asked Questions When Starting a Course Redesign Program

New to Course Redesign? A list of recommended reading to get you started.

For more information, please contact Patricia Bartscherer, Program Manager.