UCLAxOnline Initiative
- Tools:
“This, by far, is the most advanced online professional continuing educational experience with courses that follow the rigorous protocols of a world-class university.” ~ Dean Eric Bullard, UCLA Extension
Overview
I spearheaded the instructional design strategy for UCLAxOnline, a major initiative aimed at elevating UCLA Extension’s online certificate programs to meet national quality standards.
The primary goal of this initiative was to implement strategic enhancements that elevate course quality, improve learner outcomes, and expand UCLA Extension’s reach locally, nationally, and globally.
Project Stats
Here’s a quick snapshot of the project’s reach and impact:
Over
1.5
Years
86
Courses
Updated
18
Certificate
Programs
78
Instructors
Supported
97%
Average
Quality Score
Certificates Enhanced
The following certificate programs were updated:
- Accounting
- Accounting Fundamentals
- Business & Management of Entertainment
- College Counseling
- Construction Management
- Cybersecurity
- Data Science
- Digital Marketing
- Feature Film Writing
- Finance
- Geographic Information Systems
- Human Resources Management
- Marketing
- Personal Financial Planning
- Producing
- Project Management
- Sustainability
- User Experience
My Role
My role encompassed end-to-end project leadership, visual design, and instructional design.
Project Leadership
Led instructional design strategies, including:
- Developing an interactive course quality scorecard for the institution.
- Building systems to track project and course quality data, including development hours and quality metrics.
- Overseeing cross-functional teams of instructional designers, directors, and instructors to drive course improvements.
Visual Design and Branding
Defined the institution’s visual identity, including:
- Customizing the Canvas LMS interface to create a new global design for UCLA Extension courses.
- Creating course style guides, templates, and branded assets to ensure consistency across courses and certificates.
- Applying accessibility and user-friendly design principles to support diverse learners.
Instructional Design
Developed the initiative’s instructional design approach, including:
- Creating course design frameworks and templates for a student-centered course experience.
- Designing engaging, pedagogically sound learning experiences tailored to UCLA Extension students.
- Applying best practices in curriculum development, assessment, and instructional effectiveness.
Project Highlights
Here’s a quick look at the project’s key achievements:
Developed UCLA Extension’s first Course Quality Scorecard to evaluate courses in six key areas and align with national standards.
- The scorecard was highly interactive—automatically calculating course scores and time-on-task for revisions.
- Revision data was synched to an Action Plan Checklist for each course and converted into actionable stakeholder tasks with estimated hours.
- The scorecard gained recognition beyond UCLA and was presented at the 2021 UC Tech Conference.
- It was also adopted and customized by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to evaluate 400+ courses.
Developed UCLA Extension’s first scalable course templates to standardize the online course experience across certificates.
- The Canvas LMS Template created a branded, consistent experience while allowing for certificate-specific customizations.
- Customizing global CSS and JavaScript prevented future code breaks and design inconsistencies across courses.
- The custom code enabled global course updates, eliminating future manual course-by-course revisions.
- It also facilitated Master Course models, allowing scalable enhancements across multiple sections and facilitators.
Eliminating departmental silos by creating a more flexible and scalable course development process that encouraged collaboration.
- Aligned the project with institutional goals, securing support and adoption across departments.
- Brought together directors, continuing educators, instructors, instructional designers, administrators, and technology support teams to review and approve instructional strategies and course models.
- Supported ongoing adoption and training of instructors through the new Canvas Course Development training course.
Lead UCLA Extension’s first initiative to review and update courses for ADA compliance and accessibility, ensuring a more inclusive learning experience.
- Partnered with UCLA’s Disabilities team on campus to establish course accessibility criteria and standards.
- Created interactive guides and templates to support accessible course design, including instructor training resources.
- Applied Universal Instructional Design (UID) principles during course revisions to improve the usability and inclusivity of content for all students.
Introduced data-driven decision-making, enabling the team to improve workflows, enhance course quality, and measure student outcomes throughout the initiative.
- Collected and analyzed production data, holding retrospectives to refine workflows and optimize templates for greater efficiency.
- Tracked quality metrics to assess course improvements before and after the UCLAxOnline initiative.
- Monitored course data and student feedback from surveys and Canvas LMS to assess changes in student satisfaction and learning outcomes.
Approach
In collaboration with my team of instructional designers, we put the student at the center of the initiative, first defining “quality" through both student and institutional perspectives. Our goal was to prioritize active learning, foster meaningful student-instructor interactions, and create opportunities for project-based learning in the online environment.
To lead the initiative effectively, I structured the project into three high-level phases, each guided by its own project management approach:
Phase 1: Foundation and Frameworks
In the first phase, we laid the groundwork for course quality and consistency. Using an agile approach, we quickly developed an institutional quality scorecard, course templates, and project workflows, refining them through continuous feedback and iteration.
This flexibility allowed us to fine-tune our frameworks and ensure they aligned with institutional needs before scaling.
Phase 2: Course Revisions & Enhancements
We used a waterfall approach to structure course revisions, guiding each certificate through evaluation, redesign, and implementation with an assigned project team. Each step followed clearly defined milestones to keep the process organized and efficient.
This approach provided greater oversight and control, ensuring every course met rigorous quality benchmarks before moving forward.
Phase 3: Data & Continuous Improvement
Once the courses went live, we collected and analyzed data from the LMS and student surveys. Using an iterative approach, we made real-time adjustments based on course engagement and time-on-task metrics to improve the learning experience.
This ensured that quality improvements remained aligned with student needs and institutional goals.
Examples
Here are a few samples from the project.
