Our Services
Design Lab Drop-In Hours
Stop by for quick, no-appointment-needed help — troubleshoot instructional technology, get feedback on a new assignment idea, or explore our AI Tinkerspace to experiment with building AI tools for your course.
One-on-One Consultations
Meet with a CTL designer or teaching mentor about anything related to your teaching. We can help you design a new course or redesign an existing one, build assessment plans and engaging activities, incorporate high-impact practices, improve accessibility, or work through a tough classroom issue.
Conducting a Classroom Inquiry
Curious how your course is really landing with students? Partner with the CTL to research and evaluate your classroom through focus groups, surveys, observations, and more. You'll get a confidential, instructor-only report with insights you can actually use.
End-of-semester evaluations can only tell you so much, and often too late to act on. This service pairs you with a CTL staff member to design and run a custom evaluation of your in-person course, built around the questions you care about. Whether you're testing a new activity, wondering why participation dipped, or just want a clearer picture of the student experience, we'll help you gather meaningful data and make sense of it.
What You Can Explore
You choose the focus. Common areas include:
- Teaching & activities: effectiveness of in-class activities and out-of-class work, feedback on a new strategy you're trying, and student engagement and participation
- Course design: pacing and workload, clarity of expectations, assessment alignment, course materials and organization, and content coverage
- Student experience: comfort, wellness, and psychological safety; instructor–student interaction; peer interaction and group work; and building trust with students
How It Works
- Sign up using the request form, where you'll tell us about your course and what you're hoping to learn.
- Plan together in a 1-hour meeting with your assigned CTL staff member to settle on focus areas and data collection methods.
- Collect data using methods you're comfortable with, such as in-class focus groups or surveys, class observations or recordings, Brightspace analytics, student artifacts, or 1:1 interviews.
- Receive your report, a detailed summary of findings prepared for your eyes only.
Confidentiality
All evaluations are completely confidential and internal to the CTL. We won't share data or findings with administrators, supervisors, or other faculty unless you ask us to. Raw data (identifiable quotes, recordings, etc.) is cleaned and analyzed by CTL staff before anything reaches you, so students can share honest feedback safely and without risk of repercussion.
Interested in Publishing?
If you're trying something innovative, this work can become Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL). A CTL staff member can optionally help you secure IRB approval to evaluate and share your findings more broadly.
Participation Requirement
- Currently available only for in-person courses
- Instructor attends a 1-hour planning meeting and helps coordinate class time for any in-class data collection
OSCQR Online Course Evaluations
Have your online course reviewed by an OSCQR-certified CTL staff member. Formal evaluations and quality design support are available through the Design Lab and CTL — reach out by email, walk in during Design Lab hours, or schedule a consultation.
OSCQR (Open SUNY Course Quality Review) evaluations give faculty structured, expert feedback on their online courses using a rubric developed specifically for SUNY. Reviews are conducted jointly by Design Help and the CTL, and are available at no cost to SUNY faculty and staff.
About OSCQR
OSCQR.SUNY.EDU is a free, openly licensed companion resource to the OSCQR rubric, offering expanded explanations, examples, and citations for each standard. It can be used as a stand-alone reference or alongside a formal review.
Professional development and certification
Faculty and staff interested in going further can pursue OSCQR certification through SUNY Online, including:
- Self-Assessment Refresh — for reviewing and refreshing your own online course
- Certified Reviewer — for reviewing courses beyond your own
- Certified Trainer — for training others to use OSCQR tools
- Program Certification — for campuses building a sustainable, OSCQR-aligned quality assurance process
Certification generally involves completing an introductory OSCQR workshop, conducting a full course review and refresh, and submitting your completed rubric along with a reflection on the process.
For questions about certification or to request an OSCQR consultation, contact the SUNY Online OSCQR program coordinator.
Request a GIFT
Ever wondered whether your course materials, assignments, or class structure are really working for your students? A "GIFT" might help you answer those questions! GIFTs are low-stakes, mid-semester check-in focus groups between your students and a CTL staff member.
Request a Workshop
Bring your department or program together for a custom workshop on course design, instructional technology, or any teaching topic your group wants to explore. All we ask is five or more colleagues ready to join in.
Want to try something new in your department, but not sure where to start? The CTL can build a workshop around your team's specific needs — whether that's exploring instructional technology, tackling a shared teaching challenge, or workshopping assignments with colleagues in your discipline.
We're happy to lead a session on nearly any teaching-related topic, from course design to student engagement strategies. The only requirement is a group of at least five colleagues committed to attending. Give us some advance notice, and we'll work with you to plan a workshop that fits your goals and schedule.
