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As an administrator or department chair, you are in a unique position to shape an online program and establish programmatic requirements or recommendations. This is because you have been tasked with taking a broader view of the program, focusing not only on individual course development (as a faculty member might) but also on how an array of courses must be cohesively united to achieve certain goals, values, and accreditation standards. To that end, this piece focuses on why consistency across a program is integral to program quality and student success, and therefore why it falls within your purview to consider standardizing certain elements, requirements, and design choices across all courses in a program.

Our workforce has undergone a profound transformation, driven by emerging technologies, automation, and shifting business priorities (Silva, 2024). These forces are reshaping job roles, workflows, work environments, and the skills required to succeed. The global pandemic was also a major accelerator, pushing these changes forward across industries. As a result, the rapid evolution of work has created an increasing need for continuously updated and, in many cases, entirely new skill sets.