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The SUNY Learning Network (SLN): Faculty Development Model (1994–2014)

The SUNY Learning Network (SLN) Faculty Development Model was a nationally recognized, award-winning approach to preparing faculty to teach online at scale. Developed in the mid-1990s—when online learning was still emergent—this model established principles and practices that continue to influence online teaching across SUNY and the broader field of distance education.

At its core, the SLN model treated online teaching as a pedagogical practice, not a technical skillset. Faculty development was designed to help instructors rethink teaching and learning for the online environment, supported by structured guidance, collaboration, and reflection.

Explore History in Depth

A Pedagogy-Driven Approach

Unlike early online initiatives that focused primarily on learning management systems or content delivery, SLN centered its faculty development on how people teach and learn online.

The model emphasized:

  • Teaching presence and instructor engagement.
  • Intentional course structure and clarity.
  • Interaction among faculty and learners.
  • Alignment among learning outcomes, activities, and assessment.

Technology was treated as an enabler—not the driver—of effective online instruction.

Faculty as Course Creators

A defining feature of the SLN Faculty Development Model was its assumption that faculty are the primary designers and owners of their online courses.

Rather than outsourcing course development or relying on standardized templates alone, SLN supported faculty in:

  • Designing their own courses.
  • Making pedagogical decisions grounded in their disciplinary expertise.
  • Iteratively improving their courses over time.

This approach fostered strong faculty engagement, academic ownership, and sustained commitment to online teaching quality

Instructional Designer Partnership

Each faculty member participating in SLN’s centralized faculty development process was paired with an online instructional designer (ID).

This partnership model:

  • Positioned instructional designers as pedagogical collaborators, not technical support.
  • Modeled reflective dialogue about teaching and learning.
  • Helped faculty translate disciplinary goals into effective online learning experiences.

Over time, this approach contributed to the professionalization and institutionalization of the instructional designer role across SUNY campuses.

A Structured, Developmental Process

The SLN Faculty Development Model followed a structured, staged process that guided faculty from initial orientation through online teaching and course development skills, delivery, and revision.

Key characteristics included:

  • Clearly defined milestones and expectations.
  • Ongoing feedback and formative review.
  • Opportunities for faculty reflection and peer learning.
  • Emphasis on continuous improvement rather than one-time training.

This process supported both new and experienced faculty while allowing for disciplinary variation and instructional creativity.

Graphical representation of SLN faculty development model

Community and Shared Practice

Faculty development within SLN was not an isolated experience. Participants were part of a broader system-wide community of practice that encouraged sharing, discussion, and mutual learning.

This community-based approach:

  • Reduced isolation among online faculty.
  • Enabled the diffusion of effective practices across campuses.
  • Created shared language and norms around quality online teaching.

Many of these community practices later evolved into SUNY Online Teaching’s Fellows, mentoring, and networking programs.

Impact and Legacy

Between 1994 and 2014, the SLN Faculty Development Model supported:

  • Thousands of SUNY faculty across more than 40 campuses.
  • Hundreds of instructional designers working system-wide.
  • The development of a shared approach to online teaching quality.

The influence of this model remains visible today in:

  • Common course structures and instructional patterns.
  • Faculty development approaches used across SUNY.
  • Ongoing emphasis on pedagogy-first, evidence-informed online teaching.

Online courses in SUNY containing Course Information areas with a deconstructed syllabus of documents (such as Welcome, My Expectations, How you will be Evaluated, etc), a Module Overview, or a What’s Due When document, an Ask a Question area, a Talk with the Professor area, a Class Community area, or notions of culminating course activities – can trace their origins back to our original SLN online course design “templates” and the SLN online faculty development process.

Evidence of this strong influence lives on in the online course designs, faculty development activities, materials, practices and approaches at Herkimer, Monroe, FLCC, Niagara, Clinton, Buffalo State College, Jefferson, Rockland, Ulster, Farmingdale, FIT, Plattsburgh, Sullivan, Fulton-Montgomery, UAlbany, Oswego, Broome, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, and others.

While tools, platforms, and institutional structures have evolved, the foundational ideas established by SLN continue to inform SUNY Online Teaching’s work and the broader field of online education. (For additional history see  SLN Faculty Development Program – history and SLN Course Design Process – history).