Faculty buy-in is a recurring theme in conversations with instructional teams. It remains one of the most nuanced and evolving parts of our work. It is inherently complex, rarely linear, and often manifests differently across institutions, departments, and even individual courses.
Common Challenges
From our recent discussions in the Instructional Design Advisory Committee, a few common challenges stood out:
- Competing priorities and limited time for faculty
- Hesitation around new tools or unfamiliar workflows
- Balancing academic autonomy with course consistency
Strategies That Are Working
At the same time, we are seeing thoughtful strategies that are making a difference:
Starting small with low-stakes, high-impact changes
Example: Redesigning a single module in the Brightspace Content tool by adding a short H5P interactive or a simple knowledge check, rather than overhauling the full course
Framing design support as a partnership, not a process
Example: Co-creating a lesson directly in a Brightspace sandbox course or within the Content tool during a working session, instead of sending back a list of recommendations
Sharing exemplars and peer success stories
Example: Showcasing a templated Brightspace course or using Course Copy to share an example from another instructor that improved engagement through simple design changes
Making the “why” visible by connecting design choices to learner outcomes
Example: Using Class Progress or the Engagement Dashboard to show how a redesigned discussion or chunked content in Brightspace increased student participation and completion
Designating early adopters to pilot new tools and features
Example: Inviting a small group of faculty to test tools like Creator+, Video Note, or new Quiz features ahead of wider rollout, then sharing their feedback and experiences with peers
Where We’re Seeing Wins
These efforts are leading to meaningful, visible wins, including:
- Faculty who were once hesitant to become champions
- stronger collaboration between IDs and subject matter experts
- more engaging, student-centered learning experiences
We would love to hear from this community: What has helped you build faculty buy-in in your context? What challenges are you still navigating?
