Purdue’s CoPILOT program honored again with innovation award, this time from UPCEA
Purdue’s University’s Cohort Program for Innovation and Leadership in Online Teaching (CoPILOT) is the recipient of UPCEA’s 2026 Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Learning. UPCEA, which is a premier professional learning community focused on education, announced the award in a press release this past February.
UPCEA’s Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Learning recognizes higher education institutions that have set and met innovative goals in online education. The award is a testament to CoPILOT’s continued dedication in supporting online educators and online learning at Purdue, said Matt Charles, director of online graduate programs in Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication and CoPILOT participant.
“The UPCEA Strategic Innovation in Online Education Award is a gold standard and recognizes the top-notch work that the CoPILOT team does in supporting online instructors develop and refine courses that increase student accessibility and experience,” Charles said. “The Purdue development of and investment in CoPILOT demonstrates the University’s broad support for online learning.”
This is not the first time CoPILOT has been recognized for innovation. Last year, the CoPILOT team won an Online Learning Consortium (OLC) award for excellence in digital learning innovation. The OLC award recognized CoPILOT’s outstanding achievements in developing creative and impactful digital learning solutions that promote accessibility and drive learner engagement. That CoPILOT has recently won two awards comes as no surprise to faculty who have worked with the program.
Receiving this award from UPCEA was a proud moment for the CoPILOT team. It recognizes not only the success of the program, but also the collaboration and shared commitment behind it.
said Connie hahn (left), pictured with senior instructional designer larissa cremeens (Right)
Lead Instructional Designer, Purdue CoPILOT Team
“It makes sense that the CoPILOT team is recognized so consistently,” said Charles. “I have worked with them over a number of classes, and they always deliver a team-first approach to make sure we deliver courses rich in content and easy to engage.”
By working with CoPILOT, online instructors at Purdue can get assistance with developing engaging, accessible online courses. They work with other online instructors in small cohorts, learning from peers and instructional designers, Brightspace experts and video producers. According to participant Kharon Grimmet, clinical associate professor in special education, the hands-on support CoPILOT provides makes it easier to grow as an online educator.
“I’ve been in the online world for 12 years,” said Grimmet. “As a teacher, I want to try new things. CoPILOT gave me a safe, comfortable place to do that.”
Grimmet, who also teaches in person on Purdue’s campus, said the world of online education can be daunting. Online courses need to be intricately structured and laid out so students can follow along with minimal to no face-to-face instruction. It takes a lot of creativity, and getting it right often requires working with experts. CoPILOT makes that process easy, Grimmet said.
“Working with the CoPILOT team’s instructional designers will help you build a course that’s engaging and fun to teach. The instructional development they provide is so spot on.”
CoPILOT also helps online instructors build community with each other. Through CoPILOT, Grimmet got to collaborate with faculty who worked in many different areas across Purdue, and, in the process, she found a wide support network. In training sessions, CoPILOT meets every instructor where they are, giving them the tools they need to take their courses to the next level.
“The CoPILOT team knows about teaching, and they know about online learning,” Grimmet said. “A lot of them have been online learners themselves.”
To be eligible for UPCEA’s Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Learning, the CoPILOT team had to compile documentation showing their goals and strategic approach, qualitative and quantitative outcomes, sustainability, innovation, continuous improvement and institutional impact. They also submitted faculty testimonials and a letter of support from Senior Vice President for Partnerships and Online Dimitrios Peroulis.
“As a public land-grant institution, Purdue University has a long-standing commitment to providing accessible, practical, and impactful education to serve our state, nation, and the world,” said Peroulis in his supporting letter. “CoPILOT has significantly advanced this mission by enabling our faculty to effectively design high-quality, accessible online courses at scale.”
Members of the CoPILOT team accepted the award at UPCEA’s Annual Conference, which took place from April 15 to April 17 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“This award reflects the impact of designing with people, not just for them, and it is an honor to accept it on behalf of the faculty, instructional designers and video producers who contributed to CoPILOT,” said Larissa Cremeens, senior instructional designer and CoPILOT lead. “The program is grounded in a shared learning model, where collaboration across roles drives innovation and leads to stronger, more effective learning experiences for both instructors and students.
To learn more about Purdue’s CoPILOT program, visit Innovative Learning’s webpage.