2025-2026 Annual Report
Over the past year, Instructional Design and Distance Learning has continued to respond to changing circumstances and unpredictable teaching and learning environments. Our team members are creative and innovative in their efforts to support the University, and as a result, we’re seeing our impact across campus in many ways.
While our full 2025-2026 Annual Report highlights some of our key accomplishments, it only scratches the surface as to how IDDL supports, facilitates, and contributes to the success of SUNY Buffalo State University.
Educational Technology
2,633
Active Brightspace Courses
74.8%
Average Ally Score
10,182
YuJa Users
Ally
Diagnostic tool to ensure digital course content is accessible.
- Summer 2025: 80.2% Overall Accessibility, 99.4% WYSIWYG Accessibility, 70.5% Accessible Files
- Fall 2025: 72.7% Overall Accessibility, 99.1% WYSIWYG Accessibility, 64.7% Accessible Files
- J-Term 2026: 71.7% Overall Accessibility, 99.7% WYSIWYG Accessibility, 62.3% Accessible Files
- Spring 2026: 74.9% Overall Accessibility, 98.9% WYSIWYG Accessibility, 68.5% Accessible Files
Brightspace
Learning Management System for the SUNY Digital Learning Environment.
- Summer 2025: Total of Course Sections - 478, Total of Active Brightspace Courses - 200 (41.8%)
- Fall 2025: Total of Course Sections - 1803, Total of Active Brightspace Courses – 1205 (66.8%)
- J-Term 2026: Total of Course Sections - 95, Total of Active Brightspace Courses - 58 (61.1%)
- Spring 2026: Total of Course Sections - 1937, Total of Active Brightspace Courses - 1170 (60.4%)
Gradescope
Test delivery system (scantron) integrated within Brightspace.
- Summer 2025: 2 Courses, 2 Instructors, 8 Assignments
- Fall 2025: 65 Courses, 33 Instructors, 315 Assignments
- J-Term 2026: 0 Courses, 0 Instructors, 0 Assignments
- Spring 2026: 48 Courses, 31 Instructors, 323 Assignments
Turnitin
Similar text and plagiarism software.
- Summer 2025: 68 Classes, 44 Instructors, 812 Submissions, 45 Total Feedback Items
- Fall 2025: 115 Classes, 66 Instructors, 7656 Submissions, 5083 Total Feedback Items
- J-Term 2026: 7 Classes, 7 Instructors, 131 Submissions, 2 Total Feedback Items
- Spring 2026: 107 Classes, 70 Instructors, 6421 Submissions, 3130 Total Feedback Items
YuJa
Video repository for managing and organizing video and media assets.
- Summer 2025: 7764 Total Users, 358 Total Instructors, 27 Total IT Managers, 7379 Total Students; 3924GB Media Files
- Fall 2025: 9442 Total Users, 1203 Total Instructors, 27 Total IT Managers, 8212 Total Students; 3824GB Media Files
- J-Term 2026: 9611 Total Users, 1206 Total Instructors, 27 Total IT Managers, 8378 Total Students; 3830GB Media Files
- Spring 2026: 10182 Total Users, 1215 Total Instructors, 28 Total IT Managers, 8939 Total Students; 4001GB Media Files
Distance Education
52
Course Design Reviews Completed
45
Faculty Completed the Course Design Review (OSCQR) Process
14
Online Programs
New Online Offerings
New Online Programs
- Creativity and Change Leadership, Doctor of Professional Studies - Effective Fall 2026
- Criminal Justice, Master of Science – Effective Fall 2026
- Social Work, Bachelor of Science - Effective Fall 2026
SUNY Online+ Program Designations
The SUNY Online+ designation recognizes degrees and certificates that exemplify the best of what SUNY has to offer in online-enabled education.
Course Design Reviews
52 Course Design Reviews (OSCQR) completed in 25-26:
- 17 Course Design Reviews completed for courses within the School of Arts and Sciences
- 35 Course Design Reviews completed for courses within the School of Education and Applied Professions
Online Course Design and Development Service
A new pathway to help faculty meet the Online and Hybrid Course offering policy was created. The Online Course Design and Development service pairs faculty with an instructional designer to plan, design, and build their online course. Because OSCQR standards are integrated into the course design and development process, courses developed through this service do not require a separate Course Design Review (OSCQR) at the end. This approach streamlines the process and supports faculty in creating well-designed, ready-to-teach courses.
Peer Learning Assistants
A subgroup from the campus DLE Committee created the "XXX487 Undergraduate Peer Learning Assistant" course in compliance with the SUNY Teaching Assistants Policy. This was approved by the SUNY Buffalo State Senate to be offered in Fall 2026.
Academic Momentum
IDDL has worked with departments across campus to support the design, development, and implementation of the Academic Momentum Plan to support student success. Our collaborative work includes discussions on adopting a campus-wide attendance framework and course design support for BSC100.
Content Accessibility
In support of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, IDDL worked with faculty, staff, and students across campus to help enhance the accessibility of web content. This includes:
- working with faculty to improve the accessibility of their course content in Brightspace
- assisting departments with converting inaccessible forms to Microsoft Forms
- remediating accessibility of Team Dynamix (IT Portal)
- collaborating with Student Accessibility Services to facilitate accessibility training and troubleshooting sessions
Professional Development
New Workshops
- The Evolving Online Classroom Series: Online Teaching and Course Design in a Changing Landscape
- OSCQR Cohort Sessions
- Digital Accessibility Work Sessions
- Intelligent Agents in Brightspace: IA not AI (Presentation by Naomi McKay & Brian Cronk)
IT Portal Usage
Top SUNY Online Services
- Faculty
- Course Related Issues (Functionality – How do I?) (201)
- Grade Book (119)
- Course Design (90)
- Students
- User Account Management (change email address) (240)
- Course Related Issue (access) (63)
- Directed to campus (various) (62)
Top Buffalo State Services
New Knowledge Base Articles
Artificial Intelligence
Brightspace
- Unenroll User from the Buffalo State Organization
- Run an Ally Report
- Brightspace Lumi (AI Components for Faculty)
- Intelligent Agents in Brightspace
- Adding Watermark Student Learning & Licensure (SLL) activities to a Brightspace course
Online Learning
Teaching and Learning
YuJa Lumina
Recognitions
The SUNY Online Teaching OSCQR Awards recognize excellence in implementing the OSCQR online course quality rubric and process. These awards celebrate effective, creative and/or innovative practices that enhance online course design and continuous improvement.
In 2026, the Program Innovation award was given to Buffalo State's Creativity and Change Leadership department for their sustained, team-based approach to course design, integration of OSCQR into program workflows, strong faculty–instructional designer collaboration, and commitment to consistency, accessibility, and continuous improvement. This is a meaningful acknowledgment of both the program’s work and Buffalo State’s broader commitment to advancing online quality.
The SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors program recognizes and showcases exemplary online instructors who are enthusiastic and effective online teaching faculty from SUNY institutions, and who can be positive and strong advocates for online teaching in our SUNY community.
In 2026, Buffalo State's Dr. Alexander Ehms and Mary Beth Sullivan were recognized as SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors.
The Buffalo State Butler Library Research Assistance Modules won the SUNY Online Effective Practice award for Online Innovative Academic Technology Practices. These modules assist students with library research strategies. They can be referenced as many times as the student likes, and they can serve as a useful tool and guide. Additionally, they also support online asynchronous programs and any course with an online delivery modality. In a collaboration between Instructional Design & Distance Learning (IDDL) and Butler Library, these modules were created, piloted, and now they are available to every student and faculty through Brightspace as an organization.
Technical Writing, developed and taught by Mary Beth Sullivan, Lecturer in the English Department and College Writing Program is featured in the SUNY Online Exemplar Online Courses for Observation program. This course is an exemplar in its approach to course content layout, design of interaction, criteria for assessment/evaluation, instructions, and creative ways of implementing a variety of learning activities and objectives.
Access to this and other courses in the SUNY Online Exemplar Online Courses for Observation program can be requested within Brightspace using the Discover tool.
As members of SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD), the director of IDDL serves as the campus SUNY CPD Liaison and manages the SUNY CPD Points. This year the campus received 1393 points. As a SUNY Online+ campus, additional points are added to our total each year in support of online learning initiatives. These points provide the campus with additional professional development opportunities from SUNY:
- Atta Ceesay - Institutional Effectiveness: Spring '26 - Summer '26
- Joaquin Carbonara - Conference on Instruction & Technology (CIT) 2026
- Kaylene Waite - SUNY Business Intelligence Workshops
- Kari D'Amico - CIO Leadership Academy 2026
- Jalen Wright - Online Student Supports Certificate 2026
- Foundations of the Online Student Support Role
- Campus Overview: Developing Campus Structures for Online Student Supports
- Proactive Approach to Supporting Online Learners
- Atta Ceesay, Leah Panek-Shirley & Julain Cole - Project Management Fundamentals (Academic Momentum Team Leads)