UPCEA selects Purdue as a 2026 Association Award recipient for innovation in online education

At Purdue University, innovation in digital learning isn’t just what we do—it is who we are. And once again, that commitment will be recognized on a national stage.

Purdue has been selected to receive the 2026 UPCEA Strategic Innovation in Online Education Award, to be presented at UPCEA’s annual conference this April.

This national honor recognizes CoPILOT (Cohort Program for Innovation and Leadership in Online Teaching), our faculty development initiative that empowers instructors to design high-quality, scalable online learning experiences for Boilermakers everywhere.

Holly Fiock Brown, clinical assistant professor of learning design and technology in the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, helped develop CoPILOT when she was part of Purdue Online prior to becoming Education faculty, and also helped to nominate the program for several awards.

“Faculty can sign up for the 16-week CoPILOT course where they meet with an instructional designer and video producer weekly while building their online course,” Brown said. “At the end, they leave with a fully accessible ready-to-teach course.”

This achievement reflects the extraordinary collaboration behind CoPILOT:

• Program leads and instructional designers Connie Hahn and Larissa Cremeens, whose vision and leadership continue to guide the program’s growth and national recognition, with support during the nomination process from Holly Fiock Brown and Eric de Araujo.
• Samuel Walker, whose Brightspace walkthrough video beautifully captured the CoPILOT experience and elevated the award submission.
• The course production team of instructional designers and video producers whose expertise and partnership ensure faculty receive exceptional support throughout the program.
• Faculty participants, whose engagement continues to expand CoPILOT’s reach and impact.
• Campus partners and Purdue Online leadership, including Dimitrios Peroulis, senior vice president for partnerships and online and the Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, whose support helped make this recognition possible.

This marks CoPILOT’s second national award in just a few months, underscoring the momentum, talent, and shared purpose driving this work. Since launching in 2023, CoPILOT has supported faculty across Purdue’s colleges in the development of more than 80 online courses, advancing Purdue’s land-grant mission while setting new benchmarks for excellence in digital learning.

Here’s to continued collaboration, creativity, and redefining what innovative, accessible online education can be at Purdue. 

About CoPILOT

The goal of CoPILOT, a Purdue University Innovative Learning program, is to enable Purdue instructors to both develop and deliver Best-in-Class (asynchronous, accessible, active-learning) online courses in a scalable, collaborative, and community environment. 

About UPCEA

UPCEA is the online and professional education association. Its members proudly lead and support them through cutting edge research, professional development, networking and mentorship, conferences and seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. 

Source: UPCEA