{"id":13065,"date":"2026-09-01T13:23:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T17:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/?page_id=13065"},"modified":"2026-09-02T12:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T16:39:22","slug":"id-model","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/id-model\/","title":{"rendered":"The Campus-Based Instructional Designer Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Campus-Based Instructional Designer Model<\/h1>\n
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One of the most enduring contributions of the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) was the development and normalization of a campus-based instructional designer (ID) model<\/strong> for online teaching and learning. This model reshaped how instructional design expertise was understood, organized, and sustained across the SUNY system.<\/p>\n

Rather than centralizing all design work or positioning instructional designers as technical support staff, SLN helped establish instructional design as a professional, pedagogical role embedded within campuses<\/strong>, closely aligned with faculty and academic programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Explore History in Depth<\/h2>\n

Origins in the SLN Faculty Development Model<\/h2>\n
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The campus-based ID model emerged directly from SLN\u2019s centralized faculty development approach. As increasing numbers of faculty participated in SLN programs, campuses recognized the need for local instructional design expertise<\/strong> to sustain and extend this work.<\/p>\n

Instructional designers who had been trained and mentored through SLN began to take on expanded roles within their institutions\u2014supporting faculty development, course design, and quality improvement initiatives beyond the centralized SLN process.<\/p>\n

Over time, this led to the intentional positioning of instructional designers as campus partners rather than external service providers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n
  • \n

    ID as Pedagogical Partner<\/h3>\n
    \n

    In the SLN-informed model, instructional designers were understood as collaborators in teaching and learning<\/strong>, not as content developers or technology troubleshooters.<\/p>\n

    Key characteristics of this role included:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Supporting faculty as course designers and instructors.<\/li>\n
    • Engaging in dialogue about pedagogy, assessment, and learner engagement.<\/li>\n
    • Translating research on teaching and learning into practical design strategies.<\/li>\n
    • Adapting approaches to disciplinary and institutional contexts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This partnership model reinforced faculty ownership of courses while strengthening instructional quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Distributed Expertise<\/h3>\n
      \n

      By embedding instructional designers within campuses, SUNY cultivated a distributed network of expertise<\/strong> rather than relying solely on a centralized unit.<\/p>\n

      This distributed model:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Increased institutional capacity for online teaching and learning.<\/li>\n
      • Enabled campuses to respond to local needs while aligning with system-wide practices.<\/li>\n
      • Supported scalability without sacrificing pedagogical integrity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Instructional designers remained connected to one another through SLN and later SUNY Online Teaching communities, preserving coherence while allowing for contextual flexibility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Professionalization of ID Role<\/h3>\n
        \n

        Over time, the campus-based ID model contributed to the professionalization of instructional design<\/strong> across SUNY.<\/p>\n

        This included:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Clearer role definitions and expectations.<\/li>\n
        • Recognition of instructional design as a pedagogical and scholarly practice.<\/li>\n
        • Ongoing professional development and mentoring.<\/li>\n
        • Career pathways for instructional designers within and across institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          These developments helped establish instructional design as an essential component of academic quality and innovation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \n

          Enduring Influence on SUNY Online Teaching<\/h2>\n
          \n

          The campus-based instructional designer model remains central to SUNY Online Teaching\u2019s work today. Current initiatives, such as faculty development programs, course quality processes, mentoring, and communities of practice, continue to rely on strong partnerships between faculty and instructional designers.<\/p>\n

          This model has also influenced SUNY\u2019s engagement with national and international partners, contributing to broader conversations about sustainable, scalable approaches to online teaching and learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


          \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The Campus-Based Instructional Designer Model One of the most enduring contributions of the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) was the development and normalization of a campus-based instructional designer (ID) model for online teaching and learning. This model reshaped how instructional design expertise was understood, organized, and sustained across the SUNY system. Rather than centralizing all design […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-13065","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13065"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13375,"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13065\/revisions\/13375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/online.suny.edu\/dev-ot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}