NEW YORK — New York Institute of Technology this month kicked off an almost completely remote fall semester on its Long Island and New York City campuses. The process of rapidly moving select courses online for this fall happened over the summer, and development of further online offerings for the upcoming spring semester is ongoing. But even before the COVID-19 pandemic, senior leaders had decided to make online learning a key pillar of New York Tech’s growth strategy.
To enable this shift—both in preparation for the fall and the future—New York Tech partnered with Everspring, a leading provider of digital solutions that empower universities to create engaging online courses.
“Given our need to deliver a consistent, effective remote learning environment by the fall semester, we wanted a partner with the ability to help us get courses online quickly,” said Junius Gonzales, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “But our vision for online growth reaches far beyond the fall, and Everspring’s expertise in building digital programs make it the right fit for us.”
To be ready for the fall semester, New York Tech became an early adopter of Everspring’s CourseBuilder, a self-service digital platform that enables colleges and universities to create high-quality online classes at scale. Some of New York Tech’s most popular courses, including writing, biology, physics, and chemistry, are now offered online thanks to CourseBuilder frameworks.
“Our faculty have had to operate under a very tight timeline,” said Francine Glazer, associate provost for educational innovation and founding director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at New York Tech. “The CourseBuilder frameworks remove the need to create courses from scratch, so faculty can focus on creating content and activities that provide a rich and interactive educational experience.”
As part of the longer-term initiatives, Everspring is working directly with New York Tech faculty and staff to bring as many as 18 courses online next year. Beyond providing full-service instructional design, Everspring will also conduct market research and provide portfolio planning to identify future online programs that capitalize on New York Tech’s areas of expertise, while meeting market demand. Potential programs may target the health sciences, computer and data sciences, and architecture, among other subjects.
“New York Tech is doing this right,” said Everspring President Beth Hollenberg. “They’ve moved quickly to build engaging courses to address the near-term challenges that come with a remote semester, while also looking ahead to build a robust portfolio of differentiated online programs that will help them grow in the future. We’re excited to partner with them on both fronts.”
“With the help of Everspring, we’re not only able to offer an engaging fall learning environment, but we’re also able to build out future online offerings so that we can continue to adapt to student demand,” said Dr. Gonzales.
About New York Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology offers 90 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in six schools and colleges and in more than 50 fields of study. Enrolling nearly 9,000 students worldwide, the university has campuses in New York City and Long Island, New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world. Since 1955, the university has embraced its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, give all qualified students access to opportunity, and support research and scholarship that benefit the larger world. More than 107,000 graduates comprise an engaged alumni network of doers, makers, and innovators.
About Everspring
Everspring creates digital solutions that help leading higher education institutions deliver their legacy online, with excellence. Our exceptional technology and services empower universities to focus on teaching engaging content that transforms lives. Everspring offers a range of full-service turnkey solutions, fee-for-service offerings, as well as a set of innovative standalone products. Based in Chicago, Everspring serves a growing number of colleges and universities across the country.