Functional Teams

IDD is one team, and every course we build draws on multiple areas of expertise working in concert. The functional teams below reflect how that expertise is organized—not separate silos, but complementary capabilities that come together across every project. 

Instructional Design 

Instructional Designers are learning design experts and the primary point of contact for subject matter experts throughout the course development process. They advocate on behalf of students—ensuring every course has clearly defined, measurable learning outcomes and that all content, assessments, and activities are aligned to those outcomes and to Excelsior’s course design standards. 

IDs work closely with SMEs to develop course content that is appropriately scaffolded, clearly instructed, and grounded in real-world application. They make sure students are not just exposed to content, but prepared to use it—in their industries, their careers, and their lives beyond the course. 

Instructional Technology 

Instructional Technologists build and maintain courses in Canvas. Working from course design documents developed by IDs and SMEs, they use their expertise in page design and front-end development to construct polished, accessible course pages and bring them into Canvas. Their work translates design intent into the actual student-facing course environment. 

Beyond new development, Instructional Technologists resolve critical issues in both master and live courses, ensuring that technical problems are addressed quickly and that the course experience remains consistent for students and faculty. 

Media Services

The Media team is made up of information designers with specialized skills in animation, video production, graphic design, UX design, and visual communication. They use these capabilities to clarify complex ideas, organize course content visually, and create purposeful learning assets that support student understanding and engagement. Their work is guided by pedagogy, accessibility, user experience, and information design best practices, ensuring that media is not simply decorative, but an intentional part of how students learn.

LMS Administration and Academic Technology 

The LMS team oversees Excelsior’s instance of Canvas and Concourse, the university’s syllabus tool. Their responsibilities span access management, third-party integrations, and term setup in live sections—the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the course environment running reliably for faculty and students. The team also manages the academic and course technologies used across our courses, evaluating and maintaining the tools that support teaching and learning at Excelsior. 

Operations 

The Operations team keeps course development moving. They manage intake for new development projects, maintain the scheduling and reporting systems that track all work in progress, and coordinate across teams to keep projects on schedule. When risks emerge—a delayed deliverable, a scope change, a bottleneck—Operations identifies them early and works to keep development on track. 

Every course that moves through IDD touches Operations. They are the connective tissue of the development process, ensuring that the work of each functional team comes together as a coherent, on-time deliverable.