New Noncredit Enrollment Management System to Create a Central Gateway for Noncredit Offerings
The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) is excited to share a significant advancement in our approach to noncredit workforce development and professional and lifelong learning at Ohio State.
This initiative, stemming from recommendations by a multi-year collaborative across Ohio State, creates a central gateway to Ohio State’s noncredit programming on continuinged.osu.edu. By adopting a unifying noncredit enrollment management system, we aim to deliver a seamless, learner-centered and business-partner enabled experience that aligns with our commitment to excellence and innovation while offering interdisciplinary learning pathways in one searchable space.
Overview of the New System
This critical infrastructure advancement is a key component of Ohio State's transformative commitment to supporting and advancing Professional and Continuing Education while addressing the urgent need for noncredit workforce development opportunities throughout the state and beyond. For the first time, noncredit learners will have the opportunity to easily browse, search, plan for and enroll in noncredit courses and programs across the entire university.
In July 2024, OAA’s Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) team soft-launched a new enrollment and curriculum management system for noncredit learners in collaboration with the College of Social Work; Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD); College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES); and the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE).
Strategic Drivers for Change
- Extending Ohio State’s land-grant mission: A central noncredit learner management system will offer post-traditional learners interdisciplinary and workforce development pathways through a searchable, e-commerce-like platform, simplifying finding and enrolling in noncredit courses and programs that meet their needs.
- Improved technical infrastructure: The new system supports scalable growth, ensuring a smooth and efficient user experience.
- Streamlined services: With integrated identity management, noncredit learners will receive an Ohio State name.#, enhancing transparency and insight into learner behaviors and journeys.
- Data-driven insights: Robust data and reporting capabilities will provide valuable insights into enrollments, revenue and the overall health of noncredit programs.
- Corporate engagement: The system includes a Corporate Engagement Portal to facilitate effective and streamlined business partnerships, group enrollments and third-party payment invoicing and payment options.
- Learner-centered services: From reducing complexity, duplication and increasing access for noncredit learner support to creating consistency for institutional processes and labeling, the team behind the system can support Ohio State to scale noncredit activities — moving your employees into locally strategic positions.
Collaboration and Future Plans
The soft launch enabled Ohio State to test the new registration system’s functionality and potential, including coordinated support for noncredit learners. A continuous improvement roadmap fed by data gathered during this phase has also launched and will shape future improvements and development of the system.
As we move forward, know the PCE team is already engaging with your Academic Programs Advisory Committee (APAC), associate deans and others who your APAC representatives have identified. Topics already discussed have included current state, strategy, market opportunities, barriers, and opportunities for transitioning noncredit offerings into the new platform.
How the PCE Team Can Support You
The PCE team is here to support you during and after this transition. If you have questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to Jessica Phillips (Sr. Director for PCE), Rob Griffiths (Assistant Vice Provost), or the PCE team’s general inbox at continuinged@osu.edu. The PCE team can assist in developing transition plans for integrating your noncredit offerings and will continue collaboration to elevate our noncredit continuing education and workforce development opportunities.
FAQ
What will happen to ScarletCanvas?
The current ability to provide noncredit learning in ScarletCanvas involves two platforms: Canvas Catalog and Canvas Learning Management System. Canvas Catalog provides noncredit administrative infrastructure, registration portal and credential completion tracking (the first stop for a learner to access learning content in Canvas LMS). All noncredit offerings using Canvas Catalog will need to transition to the new enrollment and curriculum management system for offerings with registration windows open on or after July 1, 2025.
Use of the Canvas LMS to deliver noncredit online education is not anticipated to change in the near future.
I already have noncredit offerings in ScarletCanvas. How do I transition to the new enrollment management system?
The PCE team is ready to assist now in developing your transition plan for integrating your noncredit offerings. Please feel free to reach out to the PCE team’s general inbox at continuinged@osu.edu, or connect directly with Jessica Phillips or Rob Griffiths.
Can I keep my offerings in ScarletCanvas?
Content and course delivery will remain in the noncredit version of Canvas. All noncredit offerings using Canvas Catalog will need to transition to the new enrollment and curriculum management system for offerings with registration windows open on or after July 1, 2025.
Do I have to move my programming content out of Canvas?
No. Programming will continue to be housed in the current Learning Management System. Canvas also integrates with the new enrollment management system, so there’s no need to move noncredit programming content that is already in Canvas.
What is the timeline for implementing the new enrollment management system?
A soft launch of the new system began in July 2024 with the College of Social Work; Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD); College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES); and the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE). All noncredit offerings using Canvas Catalog will need to transition to the new enrollment and curriculum management system for offerings with registration windows open on or after July 1, 2025.
How much will this transition cost colleges or units offering noncredit programming?
For 2024 and 2025, the new enrollment and curriculum management system is funded by the JPMorganChase grant for advancement of workforce development pathways. PCE services to support learners, colleges and the platform will be subsidized by Ohio State Online for FY25. This time will be spent determining use, interest and desired noncredit and workforce development services by units, learners and stakeholders to efficiently determine the cost model in future years.
Each offering is intended to have an individual budget model to create cost transparency and strategy alignment across the offering unit’s noncredit offerings. To understand budget models and support resources, contact the PCE team’s general inbox at continuinged@osu.edu or reach out to Jessica Phillips, Rob Griffiths or Jon Rucker for specific questions about services and pricing.
How much will it cost to use Destiny One?
Ohio State Online is funding services to colleges to move existing offerings from Canvas Catalog to Destiny One during FY25. Beginning in FY26 (July 1, 2025) the table below will apply.
| Enrollment Support Fee (For PCE services) | $4/enrollment |
| Destiny One SMS [including learner identity creation] | $1/enrollment |
| Canvas Enrollment Fee via OTDI (if applicable for online or hybrid courses) | $2.31/enrollment (if applicable) |
| Additional Ohio State fees | Credit card fee 3.0% University Overhead Rate 5.04% |
As part of the Enrollment Support and Destiny One SMS fees, Professional and Continuing Education will provide noncredit SMS build and management, enrollment support, metrics monitoring and reporting, and brand marketing to build awareness and engagement with offerings through Ohio State’s noncredit front door, continuinged.osu.edu. In addition to noncredit courses, the PCE team is ready to connect and discuss how the services above apply to non-course registration (events, conferences, symposiums).
Additional PCE development and management services are available (market research and viability; design thinking sessions; financial proformas; instructional design and Canvas course build; subject matter expert (SME) and instructor recruiting, hiring, onboarding and assignment; targeted marketing) for units who need this level of support, typically in a revenue share model.
Please reach out to Jessica Phillips.1507@osu.edu, Rob Griffiths.44@osu.edu , or Jon Rucker.78@osu.edu with questions or concerns about noncredit course registration costs and services and/or to discuss non-course registration fees (conferences, symposia). The PCE team is ready to help work collaboratively toward solutions that support and advance colleges in their continuing education efforts.