Opening the Conversation: your goals and timing

• Tell me about the enrollment goal you hope an online program will achieve over the next three years
• How urgent is this need, would you categorize it as immediate (within 6 months), within 12 months, 1 to 3 years, or longer Options: Immediate (within 6 months), Within 12 months, 1 to 3 years, No set timeline
• What current internal targets exist for revenue, enrollment, or retention tied to this initiative
• Who has final budget authority for program investments — provost, dean, enrollment VP, finance, or a committee Options: Provost, Dean, VP of Enrollment, Finance Officer, Academic Affairs Committee
• Which part of the university would be judged if the program underperforms, select all that apply Options: Faculty reputation, Enrollment office, Budget/finance, Accreditation, Other

Where the decline actually started

• What single enrollment failure in the last three years would have convinced leadership to act sooner
• Describe the pattern of enrollment decline—was it a steady slide, a sudden drop in a program, cohort-specific, seasonal, or something else Options: Steady decline across programs, Sharp drop in key program, Cohort-specific variability, Seasonal fluctuation, Other
• When did you first notice the trend accelerating, and what immediate actions followed
• How have faculty and department chairs reacted in practical terms—course cuts, hiring freezes, curricular changes, or other steps Options: Course reductions, Hiring freeze, Budget reallocations, Curriculum consolidation, No action taken
• If nothing changes in the next academic year, what concrete financial or accreditation consequence would force a pause or reversal of current plans

Who's in the room and who can stop the project

• Who outside of enrollment and the provost will veto or slow this project if their concerns go unaddressed
• Walk me through who currently teaches the courses you want online and how many of those instructors are likely to volunteer versus resist
• Which roles will need to approve course design, assessment, and grading policies — faculty governance, program director, academic affairs, or others Options: Faculty governance, Program director, Academic affairs, Department chair, External reviewers
• How do tenure, promotion, or workload policies currently reward or penalize online teaching at your institution
• What single stakeholder objection, if raised publicly, would halt the partnership immediately

How you will measure success, not just activity

• What measurable student outcomes would make leadership say this partnership was a clear win
• Which of the following metrics matter most to you, select up to three Options: Enrollment yield, First-to-second term retention, Course completion rate, Net tuition revenue, Student satisfaction
• How quickly do you expect to see a reliable signal — within the first cohort, by year two, by year three, or longer Options: First cohort, By year two, By year three, No specific timeline
• Tell me about existing baselines for online student satisfaction or completion that you consider acceptable and the percentage improvement you would target
• If the pilot cohort meets your quality thresholds but misses revenue targets, would you expand, pause, or renegotiate terms Options: Expand immediately, Pause expansion, Renegotiate terms, Require additional pilot data

Where quality or trust could break down

• What parts of program delivery are most likely to damage academic quality or the brand if handled poorly
• How often have marketing-driven enrollment pushes led to lower completion or academic complaints at your institution or among peers Options: Frequently at our institution, Seen at peer institutions, Rarely, Unknown
• Who currently owns student support services and where have handoffs historically failed
• Describe a past change initiative faculty resisted — what specific factors made it fail or succeed
• What specific compliance, accreditation, or faculty governance hurdle would stop this project before a pilot launches Options: Accreditation block, Faculty governance denial, Legal or union constraints, Budget shortfall, None

The competitive set you're deciding against

• Which external options are you actively comparing this partnership to, including internal build, incumbent vendors, or hybrid models Options: Internal build by your team, Incumbent third-party vendor, Another external partner, No formal option evaluated yet, Hybrid model
• How would your current approach need to change to be competitive enough that you would keep it instead of switching
• Who inside has advocated for solving this without an outside partner and what resource gaps do they say they can close Options: Yes, internal build advocated, No internal build advocate, A few advocates, Unclear
• List the incumbent or previously vetted partners and the primary reason each was discounted or kept under consideration
• What evidence or metric would make you walk away from internal options and sign with an outside partner within 30 days Options: Clear performance demonstration from pilot, Cost advantage, Faculty support, Regulatory or authorization certainty

Practical readiness and hard constraints

• Which integrations or infrastructure gaps would force a scope change or delay before build begins Options: SIS integration, SIS and LMS connector, Payment processing, CRM integration, None of the above
• Do you have LMS admin access, working APIs for SIS and CRM, and a data owner who can provide student records Options: Yes, full access and owners identified, Partial access or owners identified, No access or owners missing, Not sure
• How many staff FTEs can you realistically dedicate during production and launch, and can any be reallocated from other projects Options: 0.5 FTE, 1 FTE, 2-3 FTE, More than 3 FTE, No dedicated FTE
• Who is the person responsible for compliance approvals, legal reviews, and academic governance sign-off, and have they been briefed
• If required integrations are unavailable, what contingency would you accept — delayed launch, reduced feature set, or phased delivery Options: Delayed launch, Reduced feature set, Phased delivery, Cancel pilot
• Is there any contract, union rule, or state authorization gap that would legally bar running paid online cohorts within your timelines Options: Yes, a legal or regulatory gap exists, No known gap, Unknown, needs legal review

Decision triggers and next steps

• Assuming a successful pilot, what internal approvals and signatures would allow you to scale in the next academic cycle
• Which commercial terms would you need to see to recommend moving forward — revenue share, fee for service, minimum guarantees, or a hybrid Options: Revenue share, Fee for service, Minimum guarantees, Hybrid model, Other
• What contract term or economic trigger would make your CFO decline the partnership outright Options: Contract length, Termination penalties, Financial triggers, Revenue split thresholds, None of the above
• Walk me through your desired decision cadence and who must sign for a full program launch within six months of a successful pilot
• If the pilot proves enrollment cost per student within your target but faculty satisfaction falls below acceptable levels, do you proceed, renegotiate supports, or stop Options: Proceed with conditions, Renegotiate faculty supports, Stop the project, Delay expansion until fixed

• Program Vision & Experience, Solution Session

• Orientation, end-to-end timeline and decision points
• You confirm the documented current state and accept the stated consequence as the urgency for action.
• Provide the short list of candidate pilot courses and current faculty availability windows for the next 12 months.
• You validate the single-sentence future-state describing the learning experience, faculty roles, delivery model, and student success expectations.
• Confirm the current state and what it is costing you
• Deliver a draft program blueprint that maps the learning experience, faculty role descriptions, delivery model choices, and measurable student success targets within 7 business days.
• Define the target learning experience and student outcomes
• Prepare a sample module student journey and assessment map based on the chosen pilot course and share it before the pilot kickoff review.
• You agree on concrete pilot acceptance criteria and the sample-module evidence required to pass the pilot.
• Map faculty roles and workload model
• You identify the first pilot course and confirm initial faculty availability windows for production and teaching.
• Confirm pilot acceptance criteria and target launch term for the pilot cohort.
• Prove one exemplar, the sample module student journey
• Validate acceptance criteria and pilot success signals
• Forced validation, confirm alignment

• Program Vision & Experience, Solution Session
• Program Vision & Experience Deck
• Program Vision Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Create LMS Course Shells
• Migrate Course Content from Existing LMS
• Produce Filmed Lecture Video Series
• Develop Interactive Quizzes and Assessments
• Deliver Summative Assessments and Grading Rubrics
• Configure LMS Gradebook and Enrollment Rules
• Add Captions and Accessibility Remediation
• Build Program Recruitment Landing Page
• Deliver Digital Marketing Campaign Creative
• Integrate Lead Capture with Source CRM
• Operate Admissions Outreach and Application Follow-up
• Host Course Media and CDN Delivery
• Deploy Enrollment and Retention Reporting Dashboard
• Deliver Faculty Online Teaching Training Workshops
• Set Up Revenue-Share Financial Reporting and Payouts

Create LMS Course Shells

• How many distinct course shells (by course code and section) do you need created for the first launch term? Options: 1-5, 6-20, 21-50, More than 50
• Which shell template do you require as a baseline (credit-bearing syllabus template, noncredit certificate template, competency-based template)? Options: Credit-bearing syllabus template, Noncredit/certificate template, Competency-based template, Custom template
• Who will provide canonical course metadata (course code, credit hours, learning outcomes, departmental owner) for each shell? Options: You provide canonical metadata, We will ingest metadata you supply, Shared responsibility with a mapping workshop
• What LMS course ID prefix or naming convention must the shells follow to align with your student information system (SIS)?
• By what date must the shells be provisioned and seeded with placeholder content to begin course production? Options: 8+ weeks before term, 6 weeks before term, 4 weeks before term, Custom date

Migrate Course Content from Existing LMS

• How many courses and total content items (pages, files, SCORM packages, quizzes) require migration from your current LMS export? Options: 1-5 courses, 6-20 courses, 21-50 courses, More than 50 courses
• What export artifacts can you supply from the source LMS (IMS Common Cartridge, zip export of course folders, quiz XML, media file list)? Options: IMS Common Cartridge, Course folder zip, Quiz export XML, Media file manifest, Other
• Which content types should be excluded from migration as out of scope (legacy discussion threads older than X term, draft instructor notes, archived PDFs)? Options: Legacy forum threads, Instructor-only draft materials, Old gradebook entries, Nothing to exclude
• What mapping rules must be applied during migration between source and target grade categories and assignment IDs to preserve gradebook integrity?
• What percentage completeness will you accept as migration success for a migrated course (percentage of files, quiz items, and media present and link-validated)? Options: 90%, 95%, 99%, Custom threshold
• What acceptance criteria will confirm a migrated course is ready (evidence such as successful student test enroll, pass of link-check report, instructor sign-off)? Options: Instructor sign-off, Automated link-check report passed, Test student enroll and view verified, All of the above

Produce Filmed Lecture Video Series

• How many lecture videos per course and target average duration per video (minutes) are you planning for core courses? Options: 3-6 videos, 6-12 minutes, 7-12 videos, 10-20 minutes, 13+ videos, 20+ minutes
• Which recording modality do you prefer for lectures (single-camera talking head, slides+voiceover, multi-camera studio, screen capture with instructor cam)? Options: Slides + voiceover, Talking head, Multi-camera studio, Screen capture with instructor cam
• What deliverable video file formats and masters do you require for LMS ingestion and CDN hosting (MP4 H.264 at 1080p, mezzanine ProRes, VTT caption files)? Options: MP4 H.264 1080p + VTT captions, Mezzanine ProRes + separate caption file, Adaptive bitrate set + SRT/VTT, Custom
• Which campus approvals are required before recording (faculty consent form, academic quality sign-off, copyright clearance for slide assets)? Options: Faculty consent, Academic quality review, Copyright clearance, All listed
• What turnaround time do you require from recording to delivered, captioned, and QC-approved video asset? Options: 2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, More than 4 weeks, Custom SLA
• What acceptance criteria will confirm lecture video quality (pass of A/V QC checklist, captions match verbatim, faculty sign-off on final edit)? Options: A/V QC checklist pass, Caption accuracy verification, Faculty final sign-off, All of the above

Develop Interactive Quizzes and Assessments

• How many formative quizzes per course module do you expect and what item-types must they include (multiple choice, short answer, hotspot, drag-and-drop)? Options: 1-2 per module, 3-5 per module, Custom count
• Which authoring format should be used for interactive content to ensure LMS compatibility (LTI tool, SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, native LMS quiz)? Options: LTI tool, SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, Native LMS quiz
• Who will supply question banks or subject-matter-expert input for each quiz module (named faculty, teaching assistant roster, instructional designer)? Options: Named faculty provide question banks, You supply SMEs and we convert, Instructional team authors based on outcomes
• What feedback behavior do you require for quiz items (immediate feedback per question, feedback after submission, remediation links to readings)? Options: Immediate per question, Feedback after submission, Remediation links included, Combination
• What item-level metadata must be captured for analytics (learning outcome tag, Bloom level, difficulty rating)? Options: Learning outcome tags, Bloom taxonomy level, Difficulty rating, All listed

Deliver Summative Assessments and Grading Rubrics

• Which summative assessment types will be used for high-stakes evaluation in your program (timed proctored exam, project deliverable, portfolio review)? Options: Timed proctored exam, Project deliverable, Portfolio review, Combination
• How should rubrics be structured for project or portfolio assessments (analytic rubric with criteria and point ranges, complete pass/fail, competency checklist)? Options: Analytic rubric, Complete rubric, Competency checklist, Custom
• What academic integrity mechanisms must be in place for summative tasks (similarity report integration, remote proctoring, mandated assignment repositories)? Options: Similarity report integration, Remote proctoring, Assignment repository, Multiple mechanisms
• Who will own final grade scale conversion and pass thresholds (percentage cutoffs, competency benchmarks) for each course? Options: You define grade scale, We recommend and you approve, Jointly determined in governance
• What artifacts must accompany each rubric submission for audit (rubric PDF stored in LMS, sample graded student work, faculty calibration notes)? Options: Rubric PDF in LMS, Sample graded work, Faculty calibration notes, All listed

Configure LMS Gradebook and Enrollment Rules

• Which gradebook categories and weightings should be created by default (assignments, quizzes, participation, final exam) and what are their percentages? Options: Standard weighted categories, Custom percentages you provide, Use current campus gradebook schema
• How should late submissions and grace periods be handled in gradebook rules (automatic late penalty, instructor discretion, extension workflow)? Options: Automatic penalty, Instructor discretion, Extension workflow, Custom policy
• What enrollment rules must be enforced (SIS enroll sync cadence, waitlist behavior, add/drop deadlines)? Options: Daily SIS sync, Weekly SIS sync, Manual enrollments allowed, Custom sync cadence
• Which grade release rules do you require for students (immediate release for formative quizzes, instructor release for summatives, embargo until grades published)? Options: Immediate release for formative, Instructor release for summative, Embargo until published, Combination
• What permissions and roles should be configured to allow graders, TAs, and program directors to view or edit gradebook entries? Options: Grader role and TA role distinct, Single editor role for all graders, Custom role mapping needed

Add Captions and Accessibility Remediation

• Which accessibility standards must all course media and pages meet (WCAG 2.1 AA, Section 508, institutional policy)? Options: WCAG 2.1 AA, Section 508, Institutional accessibility policy, All listed
• What caption file formats do you require for video assets when delivered to the LMS (SRT, VTT, TTML)? Options: SRT, VTT, TTML, Multiple formats
• Who will confirm accessibility remediation for course pages (you provide an accessibility reviewer, we run remediation and provide report, shared review cycle)? Options: You provide accessibility reviewer, We remediate and deliver report, Shared review cycle
• How should math, chemical, or technical notation be delivered to meet accessibility needs (LaTeX with accessible render, MathML, image+alt-text fallback)? Options: MathML, LaTeX accessible render, Image + alt-text fallback, Custom approach
• What turnaround and accuracy threshold do you require for captioning (caption transcript within 48 hours, 99% accuracy on speaker text)? Options: 48 hours and 99% accuracy, 72 hours and 95% accuracy, Custom SLA

Build Program Recruitment Landing Page

• Which program-level content must appear on the recruitment landing page (program learning outcomes, faculty bios, tuition and fees, start dates)? Options: Learning outcomes, Faculty bios, Tuition and fees, Start dates, All listed
• What lead capture elements do you require on the landing page (contact form fields, program interest selector, privacy consent checkbox)? Options: Contact form fields, Program interest selector, Privacy consent checkbox, Custom fields
• Which analytics and tracking pixels must be present on the page to align with your marketing analytics (pageview events, conversion pixel, UTM capture)? Options: Pageview events, Conversion pixel, UTM parameter capture, All listed
• What SEO and content requirements must the landing page meet for organic discoverability (meta description, H1 hierarchy, program schema markup)? Options: Meta description, H1 hierarchy, Program schema markup, All listed
• Who will publish and host the landing page (you on your CMS, we host a landing page on a marketing subdomain, shared hosting arrangement)? Options: You publish on your CMS, We host on marketing subdomain, Shared hosting arrangement

Deliver Digital Marketing Campaign Creative

• Which creative assets do you require for initial campaigns (display banners, search ad copy, paid social creatives, video spots)? Options: Display banners, Search ad copy, Paid social creatives, Video spots, All listed
• What cost-per-lead (CPL) target or cost-per-enrolled-student threshold should guide creative and media decisions for the pilot? Options: CPL under $50, CPL $50-150, CPL over $150, Custom target
• Which brand guidelines must be respected in creative (logo clearspace, institutional color palette, copy disclaimers about accreditation)? Options: Logo clearspace, Institutional color palette, Copy disclaimers, All listed
• Who will approve creative drafts and what approval SLA do you require (brand office sign-off within 3 business days, program director approval)? Options: Brand office approval, Program director approval, Combined approval workflow
• How many creative iterations should be budgeted per asset before launch (A/B variations, seasonal refreshes)? Options: 1-2 iterations, 3-5 iterations, Unlimited during pilot

Integrate Lead Capture with Source CRM

• Which CRM will receive leads from the landing page and marketing (your current CRM name or 'your current CRM' if unspecified)? Options: Your current CRM, We will capture and forward via API, Use shared lead repository
• Which lead fields must map into CRM records (first name, email, program of interest, campaign source, UTM parameters)? Options: First name, Email, Program of interest, Campaign source, UTM parameters
• What integration method do you require for lead delivery (real-time API webhook, SFTP batch uploads, manual CSV import)? Options: API webhook, SFTP batch, Manual CSV, Other
• Who will own lead field mapping and data governance for CRM ingestion (you provide mapping doc, we map to CRM fields, joint mapping session)? Options: You provide mapping, We map to CRM fields, Joint mapping session
• What SLA do you require for successful lead delivery and error reconciliation (same-day, 24-48 hours, weekly reconciliation)? Options: Same-day, 24-48 hours, Weekly reconciliation, Custom SLA

Operate Admissions Outreach and Application Follow-up

• Which outreach channels should be included in admissions follow-up (phone calls, personalized email nurture, SMS reminders)? Options: Phone calls, Personalized email nurture, SMS reminders, All listed
• What contact cadence do you prefer for inquiries (initial response within 24 hours, 3-touch sequence over 10 days, ongoing nurture until application)? Options: Within 24 hours, 3-touch over 10 days, Ongoing nurture, Custom cadence
• Who will own application processing tasks that require SIS access (document checklist verification, transcript evaluation, application status updates)? Options: You retain SIS tasks, We handle outreach only and handoff to you for SIS tasks, Shared processing with defined handoff points
• What conversion metrics should be tracked for admissions outreach success (lead to application rate, application to admit rate, admit to enroll rate)? Options: Lead -> Application, Application -> Admit, Admit -> Enroll, All listed
• What privacy and consent requirements apply to outreach (opt-in email consent, SMS consent logs, FERPA considerations for applicant data)? Options: Email consent, SMS consent logs, FERPA considerations, All listed

Host Course Media and CDN Delivery

• What peak concurrent viewer capacity must the media hosting and CDN support for synchronous events and on-demand playback? Options: Up to 100 concurrent, 100-500 concurrent, 500-2,000 concurrent, More than 2,000
• Which media formats and adaptive bitrate requirements must be supported for student playback across devices? Options: Adaptive bitrate HLS, MP4 progressive only, Multiple formats including HLS and DASH
• What origin storage and retention policy do you require for media masters and proxies (retain masters for 5 years, purge after 2 years)? Options: Retain masters 5 years, Retain 2 years, Custom retention policy

• success_criteria
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• stakeholders
• gaps
• desired_state
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• Partnership Agreement (MOU)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Pilot & Scale
• Commercial Terms & Payment Schedule
• Intellectual Property & Licensing Addendum
• Academic Quality & Standards Addendum
• Faculty Engagement Plan
• Governance & Steering Committee Charter
• Launch Readiness Commitment & Acceptance Certificate
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) & Privacy Addendum
• Service Level & Support Agreement (SLA)
• Termination, Transition & Teach-Out Plan

• Technical Health Check
• Commercial Metrics Review
• Bilateral Obligations Audit
• Roadmap Alignment Review

• Escalate unresolved high-risk items with recommended mitigations for executive decision where required.
• Clear next-step remediation plan for adoption gaps identified in early usage signals.
• Integration go-live confirmation and defect triage
• Incumbent decommissioning or retention is decided and a data archival/migration status is recorded.
• Course completion rate and faculty training adoption rate evaluated against targets in Pilot Launch Evaluation and the results documented.
• Compile and publish the obligation evidence pack and the remediation plan for any unmet obligations.
• Execute the incumbent decommissioning or formal retention plan and confirm data archival/migration completion.
• Track progress on remediation items weekly and report status until all items are closed.
• Performance vs targets and trend review
• Agree the prioritized list of enhancements and the timeline for implementation in the next quarter.
• Confirm whether student satisfaction score and marketing cost per enrolled student are on an improving trajectory toward Pilot Launch Evaluation targets.
• Document any escalations requiring executive attention and the proposed resolution path.
• Publish the prioritized enhancement backlog with implementation windows for the next quarter.
• Run the agreed co-marketing experiments and report contribution to qualified applications and enrollments by the next review.
• SLA exceptions and their short-term mitigation steps documented.
• All critical production defects identified and prioritized with resolution dates.
• Publish the prioritized defect log with resolution dates and required actions.
• Enable agreed temporary workarounds for any integration failures until fixes are deployed.
• Collect and share first-week access logs and instructor login reports for follow-up analysis.
• Present funnel and cost data vs targets
• Determine whether marketing cost per enrolled student is within acceptable range relative to Pilot Launch Evaluation targets.
• Agree 2-3 corrective experiments or campaign changes to improve qualified application to enrollment conversion rate.
• Document revenue-share reporting gaps and required reconciliations to be completed before the acceptance gate.
• Publish updated enrollment funnel dashboard with the agreed metrics and data sources for weekly review.
• Run the agreed campaign adjustments and report interim cost per enrolled student within two weeks.
• Complete revenue-share reconciliation items and circulate the reconciliation summary ahead of the acceptance meeting.
• Restate contractual obligations for the initial period
• Each contractual obligation has documented evidence of fulfillment or a remediation plan with a deadline.
• SLA and uptime review
• Revenue share and payment timing review
• Enhancement request backlog and prioritization
• Present evidence of fulfillment or gap for each obligation
• Co-marketing and demand generation outcomes
• Early adoption and usage signals
• Incumbent system wind-down status
• Diagnosis of performance gaps
• Formal acknowledgment and remediation plan
• Open technical blockers and remediation plan
• Corrective actions and timeline to acceptance gate
• Quarterly priorities and escalation items