About Nexus
The home of online and professional education within the College of Engineering
The mission of Nexus is to extend and share the College of Engineering’s preeminent education with lifelong learners. As the College-wide home for online and professional education, Nexus partners with academic units and faculty to support the design and delivery of online credit courses and is responsible for the oversight of Michigan Engineering’s entire portfolio of professional education certificates.
Who We Are
Nexus is where knowledge seekers and the greatest minds in engineering connect in an agile learning environment to share ideas, multiply innovation, and catalyze learning. We enable a learner-centered model of innovation and progress, offering the leading edge of knowledge and thought from Michigan Engineering.
What We Do
Nexus provides professional education certificates; support for the design and delivery of online credit courses and degrees; and custom programs that are practical, grounded in research, and taught by faculty and lecturers from throughout the College and beyond. By offering multiple entry paths and delivery options, learners engage with renowned U-M faculty in a way that best fits their needs, priorities, and preferences.
Nexus also offers market assessment, instructional design, project management, program marketing, and production services. Nexus supports online teaching, reaches a global audience of learners and companies, and continuously pushes the boundaries with innovative marketing and instructional strategies that enhance the classroom learning environment.
Established in 2019 as a result of the College’s ME2020 strategic plan, Nexus supports the educational mission of Michigan Engineering through three core domains.
Supporting the Educational Mission of Michigan Engineering
with Nexus’ Three Core Domains
(click graphic to read details)
Multi-Modal Delivery of Courses, Certificates & Degrees
- Management and administration of sustainable programs
- Delivery, learner support, and platform hosting of online courses and degrees
- Custom and public non-credit and stackable certificates
- Conferral of non-credit digital badges and certificates and management of student records and transcripts
- Marketing of CoE’s online and professional education portfolio
- Benchmarking and evaluation of competitive landscape
- Custom client relationship management (e.g. Request for Proposals, programs and degree support)
- Third-party partnerships for marketing and program delivery
- Evaluation and feedback process for non-credit certificates
- Exam administration of multi-modal classes
Course Design, Development, Pedagogy & Faculty Support
- New course/program design, development, and launch
- Learner needs assessment, benchmarking, market research, and feasibility studies
- Instructional design for multi-modal delivery
- Quality standards and assessment tools for online teaching and learning
- Online exam design guidelines and delivery methods
- Evaluations to improve course design, content, and learner engagement
- Faculty and instructor development (e.g. consultations and orientations)
- Faculty resources (e.g. website, tutorials, templates)
- Contributions to the body of knowledge and research on pedagogical strategies for multi-modal delivery (e.g. papers, symposia, conferences on engineering education and online learning)
Technology & Learner Centered Tool Development
- Multi-modality learning classroom/studio technology design and implementation (e.g. lightboard, flexible recording studios, multiple stream video production)
- Tool development (e.g. certificate management, online registration, course analytics, time zone)
- Benchmarking learning tools and technology with recommendations for usage (e.g. video content management system, closed captioning, and home recording equipment)
- Faculty resources and instructional team support
- Development and distribution of reusable video production assets
Professional Education
Background
Years of professional education experience at CoE
Total enrollments since 1937
We've reached learners across six continents
Engineering Short Courses Began
Summer Series for Industry by Dean G.G. Brown
Constructed Chrysler Center for Continuing Education
Courses & Enrollment
- Offering 40+ professional education open enrollment courses
- Online, In-Person, Remote-Live, Blended, and Hyflex delivery modes
- Approximately 100 programs run per year
- Approximately 1,500 enrollments per year
- Sponsors include Amazon, Apple, GM, Lockheed Martin, Toyota, etc.
- Over 55 instructors
Online / Distance Learning
Background
Years of distance learning
Years of university credit courses and degrees through distance learning
U-M organization to offer graduate degrees through distance learning
Michigan Engineering Television Network began teaching students at industry sites
600+ NCFD students enrolling in graduate courses
Over 1,000 distance learning graduate degree recipients
Courses & Enrollment
- 1 online Master of Engineering degree in partnership with Aerospace Engineering
- Global Aerospace Leadership
- 5 online Master of Engineering degrees in partnership with Integrative Systems + Design
- Automotive Engineering
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering
- Manufacturing
- Systems Engineering + Design
- Over 330 online degree graduate students enrolled per year
- 40+ online courses from multiple CoE academic units
- Ranked #6 Best Online Graduate Engineering Program (2023 U.S. News & World Report)
Faculty Support & Learner Impact
1:1 faculty consultations for remote teaching support
Courses designed and produced for a quality online learning experience
Online faculty members supported by Nexus
Let's Work Together
We want to build relationships with people and organizations and welcome the opportunity to connect with you.