Dear Center for Academic Innovation Community,
A new year brings a sense of new beginnings.
While Fall on the University of Michigan campus means students starting a new educational journey either in person or online, the new year represents new opportunities for learners around the world.
When the calendar turns to January, people are often inspired to learn a new skill, explore a topic of interest, or invest in their love of learning. We’re excited to support these curious, life-long learners when they are.
In fact, demand for Michigan Online’s open online courses surges every January. In the first three weeks of 2025, more than 50,000 learners enrolled in a Michigan Online course — the first wave of the hundreds of thousands who will do so throughout 2025.
A new year also presents us with a time to reflect. As I look ahead to the Center for Academic Innovation’s role in helping the University of Michigan realize its Vision 2034 strategy, I think about all the work we have done to build on the university’s long history of innovation and our role in creating a foundation for life-changing education that is both impactful and scalable to learners not just on campus but beyond.
The year 2024 was a significant one for the center: it marked 10 years of stewardship of the Academic Innovation Fund; the launch of 29 open online courses focused on developing AI skills across industries; the next phase of our work to support student success through early momentum initiatives in Ann Arbor and Dearborn, and more besides. I invite you to browse our 2024 Year In Review to learn more about these efforts and other milestones.
This year will undoubtedly bring challenges and surprises. It will also bring joy and reward to the thousands of U-M students and millions of learners around the world who are able to access a Michigan education. With that in mind, this year we will redouble our focus on our mission and values, creating new opportunities for learners to learn with us through Michigan Online.
I invite you to join us in pursuit of that mission: to create equitable, lifelong educational opportunities for learners everywhere. If you have an innovative idea for an online program or to harnessing emerging technologies like generative AI or extended reality in teaching and learning, I hope to hear from you. We all have a part in building life-changing education, and by working together, we can accomplish so much more.
Go blue!
James DeVaney
Special Advisor to the President
Founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Innovation
Associate Vice Provost for Academic Innovation