FAQs

SUNY Online+ Programs represent a partnership between campuses and SUNY system.  These programs are supported by signature elements and sub-elements that define quality for SUNY Online+ Programs and raise the bar of online-enabled education at SUNY.

Having your online program designated as a SUNY Online Plus Program means:

• Reaching more prospective students and growing program recognition through visibility on the SUNY Online website and search priority in the online SUNY Program Navigator.
• Having a seat at the table to shape future SUNY Online services and supports by providing input and feedback to the SUNY Online team.
• Privileged access to opportunities and resources as we pilot and launch new services and supports for SUNY Online.

Learn more.

The SUNY Online Course and Program Navigator is a searchable database of SUNY-wide online course and program offerings that provides the user with course and program details, campus registration and tuition information, and more. It is a centralized search tool for students to discover courses and programs available across SUNY by subject area, institution, degree level, and more.

To add a course, create a Course Catalog File ticket with the Help Desk  and include the completed course submission template file. For more information, contact Willow Harris.

To add a program, complete the Program Add/Change Request form. For more information, contact Maureen Kinney.

The Learning Management System or LMS is the hub of any Digital Learning Environment or DLE. A coordinated integration of an LMS, related tools, and architecture comprise a DLE. With the transition to D2L’s Brightspace, SUNY saw a dynamic opportunity to unify the DLE across SUNY for all students and faculty:

• Common LMS environment;
• Central architecture with common data structures;
• Common course templates;
• Common set of online tools integrated with the LMS (right now there is so much redundancy across the System); and
• Common integration for data.

This allows SUNY to take advantage of economies of scale, better share best practices and resources across campuses and between SUNY System Administration resources and campuses, assure strong technical, instructional design and academic supports, and provide a familiar platform for students, faculty and staff moving across campuses.

SUNY’s current system-wide contract for a Learning Management System expires on December 21, 2022. This follows execution of a full three-year contract term and two one-year extensions with our current vendor, Blackboard. Given the size of this contract, SUNY was required to develop and broadly circulate a request for proposals (RFP) and was charged with selecting the “best value” vendor from proposals submitted.

The RFP development and review process was intentionally consultative and collaborative, beginning in earnest in November of 2018. Nearly 70 distance learning professionals and 838 faculty from across 57 campuses participated in the initial survey and interviews which helped to define the essential functionality needed from the LMS.  This was followed by more than 40 faculty and staff from 15 different campuses who participated in the RFP review process which included review of functional requirements, evaluation of submitted responses, and day-long presentations from the most highly rated vendors.

D2L’s Brightspace received the highest composite score across all functional, technical, security, accessibility, and pricing components, outperforming all other bidders on what was a “Best Value,” i.e., not just cost but the value-add provided, valuation.

The transition to the new LMS intentionally includes other related features (central architecture with common data structures; common course templates; a common set of online tools) to create a new digital learning environment.

Students and faculty will see all courses they are enrolled in regardless of which SUNY school is their home campus.