Dr. Geri Jacobs Receives Course Design Award

Jackson College recognized Dr. Geri Jacobs with the Course Design Award for her exemplary design of ENG 252: Shakespeare. Presented through the Center for Innovation, the award recognizes excellence in intentional, student-centered instructional design. Selected from 10 nominated courses, ENG 252 stood out for the way Dr. Jacobs brings Shakespeare to today’s students through an accessible, engaging, and academically rigorous learning experience.

The course incorporates Open Educational Resources (OER) that eliminate textbook costs for students, purposeful artificial intelligence integration, meaningful opportunities for discussion and reflection, and intentionally designed formative and summative assessments. Together, these elements guide students toward the critical thinking skills we value across the college, encouraging them to analyze, interpret, question, reflect, and demonstrate their learning throughout the course.

The Course Design Award begins long before a course is nominated. Eligible courses have successfully progressed through Jackson College’s Source Course process, including completion of the Michigan Colleges Online (MCO) Course Development Rubric and peer review, accessibility review and improvements, alignment of learning outcomes, instructional activities and assessments, and preparation for institutional assessment through Watermark. Courses are then considered for qualities such as student engagement, organization, cognitive load, accessibility, consistency, innovation, and unique instructional approaches. The award celebrates faculty who build upon these quality standards to create exceptional learning experiences that support today’s students’ success.

Faculty interested in developing or recognizing excellence in course design are encouraged to visit the Center for Innovation to learn more about the Source Course Cohort, explore available faculty support and resources, or nominate a course for a future Course Design Award.