Dear Center for Academic Innovation Community,
At the University of Michigan, we are united by a commitment that calls on us to extend opportunity, deepen impact, and reach learners wherever they are, whenever they need us.
Moments of progress along that journey matter, and they should be celebrated. They signal not only what we have accomplished, but also what becomes possible. This is one of those moments for Michigan Online. It marks its transition from a successful initiative to core institutional infrastructure for a connected learning ecosystem—one that supports learners over a lifetime.
In March, we launched a series of updates that make Michigan Online more powerful, more personalized, and more connected to the needs of learners. Our global community of more than 12 million learners can more easily discover courses and experiences aligned to their goals, navigate with enhanced search capabilities, and engage with richer course information that clarifies what comes next. We introduced audience-specific pathways and launched our first campus hub, in partnership with UM-Dearborn, creating new ways for schools and colleges to showcase their online learning portfolios and connect with their communities.
These are meaningful improvements. But their significance is greater when viewed in the context of where Michigan Online has been—and where it is going.
When Michigan Online launched in 2018, it brought together, for the first time, the university’s growing portfolio of open online courses created by faculty in partnership with the center. From the beginning, the work was guided by a set of enduring values: extending the reach of the university’s mission, serving the U-M community, and supporting learners over a lifetime.
Today, that foundation has scaled in ways that are both measurable and meaningful. Millions of learners around the world have engaged with Michigan courses—discovering the university, deepening their connection through further study, advancing in their careers, and building skills to meet the moment. Organizations have partnered with us to upskill their workforce. Learners at every stage have found entry points into a Michigan education.
What we launched in March represents the next step in that trajectory.
The refreshed Michigan Online experience—supported by a scalable learning platform, credentialing capabilities, and CRM infrastructure—creates a foundation for what comes next. In the near term, that includes the ability for learners to discover, enroll, and pay within a unified Michigan Online platform. We will be expanding campus hubs to more schools and colleges to reflect the breadth of expertise across U-M. We will be launching new noncredit and for-credit certificates that provide structured, meaningful pathways to professional skills and continuing your education, including enrolling at U-M.
More broadly, it reflects an evolution from a collection of courses to a connected learning ecosystem. We know that today’s learners are looking for more than access. They are seeking connection, continuity, and a sense of progress. They want to move from one learning experience to the next with clarity and purpose. They want opportunities to learn alongside others, to build toward credentials that matter, and to return over time as their goals evolve.
Michigan Online is evolving to meet that need—serving as a destination where learners can engage at every stage of a lifelong learning journey with a Michigan education, because we know a Michigan education truly makes a difference.
This work also reflects a larger reality about the university and the Center for Academic Innovation. We are investing not only in today’s opportunities, but in the infrastructure, partnerships, and capabilities that will define the future of learning. It is work that positions U-M as a leader in online and hybrid education. It is a future grounded in our mission, responsive to emerging needs, and committed to expanding access and impact.
There is an important role for all of us in what comes next.
I encourage you to do what learners do every day on Michigan Online – explore. Browse our more than 300 courses, connect to specific skills via our enhanced search, and visit our first campus hub, a partnership with UM-Dearborn, and think about the ways your school, college, or unit could showcase its online learning opportunities through Michigan Online.
There is much more ahead, and I look forward to what we will build together.
Go blue!
James DeVaney
Associate Vice Provost for Academic Innovation
Founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Innovation