Building 10KSB at Babson College
Build the Course for the 10SB Program at Babson College (2015)
During my tenure as an Instructional Designer at Babson College, we collaborated with Goldman Sachs to launch the "Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses" program. This initiative aimed to empower small business owners with a deeper understanding of essential business operations, such as accounting and marketing. Additionally, it sought to provide them with access to loans, facilitating their continued growth.
Over the course of the program, small business owners will gain the skills needed to recognize new opportunities, embrace practices that increase business growth, and ultimately develop a customized growth plan for their business.
My Role
As the instructional designer, I collaborated with a broad group of program subject matter experts, designers, and developers to assemble the assets hosted on the Blackboard LMS.
Subject Matter Experts: I worked with the following faculty members to collect content and format it to align with the program's branding. My collaboration with them was guided by adult education principles to enhance the learning experience:
Patricia G. Greene, the founding national academic director of the program.
Michael Fetters, the Walter Carpenter Distinguished Professor and Professor of Accounting.
Richard Bliss, Professor of Finance and current National Academic Director.
Victoria Sassine, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship.
Anne Donnellon, Associate Professor of Management.
Erik Noyes, Associate Professor.
Graphic Designers: I supplied storyboards containing content and design ideas for development. Our plan was to use the slides for recordings in Brainshark.
Video Producers: I provided video scripts to the video producers and supported the talent during recording sessions.
Instructional Design Colleagues: I was responsible for uploading the content to our learning management system alongside my peers. I also reported on everyone's tasks to facilitate the course's construction in Blackboard, using JIRA.
Results
During its initial offering, the program boasted a 93% completion rate, which has since increased to nearly 96%. For the second cohort, I collaborated with faculty members who proposed adjusting the program's duration. Additionally, we faced the challenge of adapting content to shift between in-person and online delivery modes, ensuring seamless transitions for both course formats.