An instructional design scene contrasting compressed course structure with intentional eight-week redesign, built for working nurses balancing careers and coursework.

@ucf.bsky.social isn’t compressing its RN to BSN program into eight weeks. They’re rebuilding it from scratch: for working nurses who need rigor and flexibility in the same course. Brown University research backs it: shorter terms, higher passing rates.

universitybusiness.com/course-redes...

iDesign's Align platform displaying AACN's nursing competency framework, with curriculum mapping tools designed for nursing faculty and program teams.

AACN's The Essentials is now a default framework inside @idesignedu.org's Align, available to all nursing program users from day one. No setup. No importing. Faculty can map RN-BSN, MSN, DNP, and PMHNP outcomes the moment they open the platform. bit.ly/4c0y5Lw #nursingeducation #AI

A candid, photorealistic image of two academic professionals collaborating in a bright, modern university design studio. A man in a blue blazer points to a complex, colorful flowchart displayed on a large interactive digital whiteboard, while a woman in a green cardigan looks on thoughtfully. In the softly blurred background, students work together on laptops and models at collaborative tables, bathed in natural light from large windows.

Are we designing our approach to change, or is change just happening to us? 🤔

@arizonastateuni.bsky.social's Sean Hobson recently spoke to @insidehighered.com with Joshua Kim about building DesignedChange.ai, a free tool for evaluating learning innovation maturity.

Read it here! bit.ly/4dfYcz9

A dark blue and gold outdoor campus sign for the University of Central Florida. The taller left section features the gold UCF Pegasus logo, and the right section reads "UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA" in gold text, set against a backdrop of green trees.

BIG NEWS! 🚨 We are teaming up with @ucf.bsky.social to redesign 17 courses in their top-ranked online RN-to-BSN program.

By introducing an 8-week structure and AI-enabled quality assurance, we are building a more flexible, supportive learning experience for working nurses. 🩺💻

bit.ly/4rGV5UJ

Paxton Riter, CEO of iDesign, an edtech leader specializing in university program design and AI-powered academic tools.

"AI will never replace the faculty voice... but it will become an indispensable partner." — Paxton Riter, CEO @idesignedu.org

Paxton spoke with Higher Ed Digest on faculty empowerment and why edtech needs sustainability over hype.

#InstructionalDesign #AcademicSky

Read more: bit.ly/40uQsSa

Sankey diagram showing Fall 2024 DE enrollment flows from student states to institution states, with 63.6% staying in-state and 36.4% out-of-state.

The "borderless" online degree is a myth.

Phil Hill's latest analysis of NC-SARA data shows a brutal reality: states are either retention fortresses (like AZ) or leaky sieves (like WA) losing half their students to mega-universities.

onedtech.philhillaa.com/p/nc-sara-in...

A man and woman collaborating using the iDesign Align interface on a desktop monitor. The screen shows a detailed radial chart and data list, emphasizing a modern, analytical workspace with a university campus in the background.

We are partnering with Quality Matters for a multi-year research study on human-AI collaboration in online program design.We are working with 18 institutions to discover how AI can augment (not replace) faculty and instructional designers in curriculum mapping.

bit.ly/4qSFII2

A young man and woman in medical scrubs stand by a hospital bed, focusing on a digital IV pump. The male professional is adjusting the settings while the female professional looks on with a supportive smile. A female patient lies in the bed, looking up toward them. The setting is a bright, modern hospital corridor with large windows and other medical staff in the background.

New reporting from @insidehighered.com suggests the U.S. is finally ready to scale apprenticeships beyond the trades. With braided funding & new federal incentives, leaders like Reach University's Joe Ross predict a massive shift toward work-embedded degrees.

www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

An image featuring a quote from an EDUCAUSE Review article titled "AI and Course Design: Machines Can Help, but Only Humans Can Teach." The main text, set against a dark grey background with red quotation marks, reads: "Amid all the noise surrounding AI, HIGHER EDUCATION CANNOT LOSE SIGHT OF FACULTY. The future of teaching and learning will be shaped—now as always—by their expertise, values, and leadership." The bottom of the image credits the authors: Deb Adair, CEO at Quality Matters, and Whitney Kilgore, Co-Founder & CAO at iDesign. The EDUCAUSE Review logo is visible in the bottom right corner.

In a new @educause.bsky.social piece, @idesignedu.org's @whitneykilgore.bsky.social and industry luminary @debadair85.bsky.social of Quality Matters explain how we can use AI to rehumanize education and return valuable time to faculty.

er.educause.edu/articles/202...

A powerful, low-angle photograph captures a confident female university Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO), represented by an East Asian woman in a dark business suit holding a tablet. She is the central focus as she confidently descends a grand, sunlit modern staircase in a bustling campus atrium. She is surrounded by other students in motion who are slightly blurred, symbolizing her strategic leadership in navigating significant institutional challenges.

Industry leader and Quality Matters CEO @debadair85.bsky.social just published a fantastic roadmap for Chief Online Learning Officers.

Online learning is no longer a backup plan. Deb shares 4 ways leaders can drive innovation, support working adults, and champion quality.
#EdTech
bit.ly/403OF6s

A male graduate wearing a black gown and yellow honor cords stands beneath a large metal archway reading "ROWAN UNIVERSITY," joyfully tossing his mortarboard cap into the air.

@rowanuniversity.bsky.social is partnering with @idesignedu.org to redesign 75 online general education courses. With a goal to double online enrollment, the university is focusing on the specific needs of adult learners and working students.

www.idesignedu.org/latest-news/...

A candid, documentary-style photo in a modern university workspace filled with bookshelves and plants. A female data analyst with glasses sits at a desk, pointing a pen at her computer monitor while explaining a data conflict to a male colleague standing beside her. The screen displays a high-contrast visualization: the left side shows chaotic, jagged red line graphs indicating system volatility, while the right side features a complex, colorful web of interconnected data nodes. The scene captures a moment of human oversight and "data governing" within a higher education administrative environment.

AI doesn't solve data governance. It exposes it. 🔍 A new @educause.bsky.social piece from @rowanuniversity.bsky.social shows why "semantically ungoverned" data leads to AI hallucinations. We need to teach AI not just to read our data, but to understand our context. 📊

er.educause.edu/articles/202...

A high-fidelity infographic illustrating the conflict between a university's internal technology ecosystem and a vendor's external toolset. On the left, rooted in a university building illustration, blue branching lines connect "University Internal Toolset" components, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), CRM, Governance Process Tools, and Internal Project Management Systems. On the right, stemming from cloud icons, rigid grey lines connect "Third-Party Vendor Toolset" components, such as Standardized Playbooks, Vendor Project Management Platforms, and Mandated Communication Portals. In the center, large arrows from both sides collide in a jagged red explosion labeled "Consternation & Harmonization Challenges," surrounded by warning triangles. Below the collision, a central box with a broken chain icon reads "The Clash: Duplication of Effort & Fragmented Workflows," surrounded by smaller bubbles detailing consequences like "Double Entry of Tasks," "Communication Silos," "Data Integration Hurdles," and "Administrative Burden Increase."

Vendor tool vs. Internal tool. 🛠️ Who should adapt? A new @educause.bsky.social article outlines 4 strategies to manage the "clash" of project management systems. Hint: If you wait until the kickoff meeting to decide, it's already too late. 📉

er.educause.edu/articles/202...

A data visualization titled "Percentage of respondents (N = 1,960)" featuring two side-by-side donut charts comparing attitudes toward AI in higher education. The left chart, labeled "Respondents' general attitude toward AI," shows that 48% feel "a mix of caution and enthusiasm," 33% feel "very enthusiastic/enthusiastic," and 17% feel "very cautious/cautious." The right chart, labeled "Respondents' impressions of leaders' general attitude toward AI," shows a similar trend but with slightly higher perceived enthusiasm: 38% are seen as "very enthusiastic/enthusiastic," 36% as "a mix of caution and enthusiasm," and 15% as "very cautious/cautious."

The "Shadow AI" gap is real. 🕵️‍♂️ A new @educause.bsky.social report finds that 56% of higher ed staff are using AI tools not provided by their institution. Innovation is happening, but is it secure? Governance needs to catch up to the workforce.

www.educause.edu/research/202...

A teacher helping a student in a classroom with a digital tablet showing a lesson observation checklist.

The "degree or job" choice is a false dichotomy. 🎓💼 New research from @newamerica.org shows degree apprenticeships are a "yes, and" strategy, letting students earn a wage and a degree simultaneously. K-12 teaching and nursing are currently leading the charge. @insidehighered.com

bit.ly/4abn4VQ

A high-fidelity, candid photo of a focused university student sitting at a round wooden table in a sunlit campus cafe. She is looking intently at a laptop screen while holding a pen over a notebook and printed drafts, actively editing her work. Through the large window beside her, blurred students walk by outside, creating a vibrant, academic atmosphere.

AI is not waiting for education to catch up. 🤖 The new @wcet.bsky.social playbook argues for "AI Literacies" (plural). We need a constellation of skills—Cultural, Critical, and Creative—to shape the future rather than just react to it.

wcet.wiche.edu/wp-content/u...

A bright, low-angle exterior photograph of a main building at Iona University on a sunny day. The red-brick structure features a grand white entrance portico with tall classical columns. Two large maroon vertical banners reading "IONA UNIVERSITY" hang prominently between the columns, flanking an American flag. Green tree leaves frame the top of the image, and wide stone steps lead up to the entrance.

Iona University is partnering with @idesignedu.org to launch 85+ new online courses. With enrollment up 40% since 2019, the university will use the iDesign Align platform to scale programs in Health Care and Education.

bit.ly/iDesign_Iona

#HigherEd #EdTech #CurriculumDesign

A young mixed-race woman in a navy blue uniform with an 'Advanced Manufacturing' patch stands in a bright industrial lab, smiling proudly while holding a framed professional certificate. In the blurred background, a diverse group of students and an instructor are gathered around a robotic arm.

Workforce Pell is here. It’s a major pivot toward funding "what works." With 80M+ Americans holding non-degree credentials, the focus shifts from flashy innovation to evidence-based accountability. The next era of student success is grounded in data.

www.ccdaily.com/2026/01/work...

A moody, charcoal-style sketch illustration showing three higher education professionals huddled intensely around a messy table in a dimly lit room. A man in a blazer and two women in sweaters lean over open laptops, large curriculum maps, and scattered sticky notes. A single overhead light casts dramatic shadows, highlighting their focused expressions, discarded coffee cups, and lanyards. Text in the bottom right reads: 'THE UNSEEN GRIND: CURRICULUM DESIGN'.

"When online education works well, it feels effortless." That effortlessness is the result of hours of invisible labor. We need to recognize the designers and faculty who work to make the technology fade into the background. #EdTech #HigherEducation

medium.com/age-of-aware...

A diverse team collaborates in a sunlit library around a large digital surface displaying the Canvas platform. Floating, connected icons hover above the screen representing integrated tools: a Security shield, OpenAI, Google, AWS, Grammarly, and Apple.

The "flashy pilot" era is over. Ryan Lufkin of Instructure tells @campustech.bsky.social that 2026 is the year of AI accountability. Priority #1? Student data privacy. It’s a hard and fast rule, not a suggestion. #EdTech #HigherEd

campustechnology.com/articles/202...

Two students in different locations—one in a library and one outdoors—connecting remotely via laptops while wearing Tennessee Volunteers gear.

55k students by 2030. @utknoxville.bsky.social is scaling up, with fully online enrollment set to hit 14k learners. By expanding its online portfolio to 70 programs, UT is bridging the gap between record-breaking campus demand and the state's urgent workforce needs. #GoVols #HigherEd
bit.ly/45Jy2QJ

A group of healthcare professionals wearing blue scrubs and white coats walk together down a bright hospital corridor, viewed from behind.

Lawmakers to Ed Dept: Advanced nursing degrees ARE professional degrees. Proposed $100K loan caps on nursing students vs $200K for MDs/PharmDs could "cut off the student pipeline" during a critical shortage. Rural healthcare depends on it: 60% of rural Medicare patients see NPs.

bit.ly/4j7jDDu

Bar chart titled Community question scores in 2024 and 2025 comparing three statements about postgraduate taught student community. For 'I feel part of a community of postgraduate taught students': 2024 score 69 percent, 2025 score 70 percent. For 'I feel a sense of belonging at my institution': 2024 score 70 percent, 2025 score 71 percent. For 'There are sufficient opportunities to interact with other postgraduate taught students': 2024 score 64 percent, 2025 score 65 percent. Across all statements, 2025 scores are 1 percent higher than 2024.

86% satisfaction! The @advancehe.bsky.social PTES 2025 shows PGT quality perception is up. But the biggest challenge remains Community: students with disabilities & part-time learners report lower belonging. This data demands targeted investment in inclusive support.

bit.ly/4aHIBXQ

A bar chart titled, "Unlike teachers, nurses tend to have access to differentials for hard-to-staff assignments." The chart displays a comparison of minimum and maximum salary differentials (as a percentage of base pay) for nurses and teachers in six districts. Nurses in the three analyzed districts (Manchester, Cincinnati, and New Brunswick) receive differentials ranging from 6% to 24% for working evening, overnight, or weekend shifts. Teachers in the three matched districts receive 0% differential for their hard-to-staff assignments (serving in a high-poverty school).

15% of large district contracts offer differentiated pay for #teachers in high-poverty schools, while nursing contracts represented by the same union (AFT) offer bonuses up to 24% above base pay. The data weakens the claim that bonus pay is divisive.

www.the74million.org/article/bonu...

A single, tall wooden ladder standing on a city street between skyscrapers, with a young, professional woman looking up at the top.

Two-thirds of employers say new hires lack experience, leading to entry-level jobs demanding years of prior work. The fix: A portfolio approach to work-based learning, moving from simple simulations to full apprenticeships, embedded directly in the curriculum.

www.forbes.com/sites/brunom...

A group of scientists and doctors in white lab coats stand on a ridge overlooking a vast, misty, green valley. The image, rendered in a soft, artistic style, visually represents thought leaders collectively surveying the new frontier of the human workforce in the age of AI.

The AI challenge is not job loss; it's a skills gap: We know which jobs AI can't replace, but we aren't training people fast enough (America needs 16M healthcare workers). Education must shift from teaching content to teaching humanity.

#FutureofWork

humanistxyz.substack.com/p/building-t...

AI doesn’t just challenge higher education—it clarifies the work only higher ed can do. The most important progress happens where disciplines meet. Humanists must frame technology, and technologists must guide ethics. Learning can’t separate technical fluency from ethical judgment or creative thinking from computational reasoning.

AI is here. Your strategy must change.
Five lessons from top university leaders:
🔵 Opting Out is Not an Option.
🔵 AI makes the Relational elements of education more vital.
🔵 The future capacity hinges on collaboration, not competition.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

A golden circular diagram representing interconnected learning dimensions, with glowing nodes arranged in symmetrical geometric patterns around a bright central light. The outer ring contains labeled sections reading Foundational Knowledge, Application, Integration, Human Dimension, Caring, and Learning How to Learn, connected by a network of thin lines and small spheres set against a soft blue background.

Bloom's Taxonomy is too linear.

@educause.bsky.social article proposes the Radial Taxonomy: combining Fink's 6 domains (like Commitment and Caring) with 3 depth levels (Exposure, Proficiency, Mastery). The goal: a holistic, adaptable, and equitable assessment model.

er.educause.edu/articles/202...

A figure resembling a Greek philosopher, holding a scroll and standing on a pedestal, transmits glowing blue data streams to a seated, diverse classroom of students, with a digital Parthenon structure in the background.

The assessment crisis is real: 43% of students use AI for assignments.

The solution? Dialogue at Scale. AI agents enable 24/7 personalized Socratic tutoring, turning conversation into the new assessment artifact. Time to upgrade from the "buggy whip" LMS.

er.educause.edu/articles/202...

Laptop on a wooden desk in a dimly lit library displaying a dashboard titled Proactive Adviser Agent with a glowing clock icon and personalized progress chart, surrounded by an open notebook, pen, desk lamp, and blurred bookshelves in the background.

Generative AI is done. The Agentic AI wave is here: autonomous 24/7 project managers.

Institutions must start the 36-month transition now to avoid losing on price and quality. Step 1: Agent Readiness Audit to fix data silos.

Read the full plan: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...