Extending Vocational Discernment into the Online Classroom 

With support from the Council of Independent Colleges and the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education, Bushnell University used its 2025 NetVUE Professional Development Award to extend vocational exploration more intentionally into fully online undergraduate education. Building on Bushnell’s mission of wisdom, faith, and service, as well as prior NetVUE-supported work in traditional undergraduate programs, this project focused on helping faculty design online courses that invite adult learners to reflect on calling, purpose, values, faith, service, and professional identity. 

The project supported the development or revision of ten online undergraduate courses across multiple disciplines. Participating faculty engaged vocation-related content as well as best practices in online learning, including; backward course design, assessment, accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, and strategies for fostering belonging in online learning environments. Faculty received support through an online Community of Learning, two in-person gatherings, individualized consultation, vocation leadership, instructional design, Canvas content support, and the online learning team. 

The outcomes of the project were encouraging. Faculty completed a course design rubric before and after the Professional Learning Community to evaluate changes in vocation, assessment, accessibility, Universal Design, and learning. Four of the five measured areas showed statistically significant improvement. The strongest growth occurred in the Vocation scale, indicating that faculty made measurable progress in integrating vocational discernment into their designated courses. Significant gains were also observed in Assessment, Accessibility, and Universal Design. 

Bushnell also assessed student learning using a vocation-focused rubric developed through a previous NetVUE grant. Across the Vocational Exploration outcomes, 85.05% of assessed student work met or exceeded expectations, with strong results across Theology of Vocation, Values and Virtues, and Vocational Callings. These findings suggest that students engaged vocation-related concepts meaningfully in online courses and that faculty were able to translate vocational exploration into assessable learning experiences. 

Faculty developed assignments in biblical and theological studies, teacher education, literature and film, nursing, psychology, history, and business. These assignments invited students to connect course content with calling, ethical responsibility, faith, values, service, leadership, and professional practice. In one history course, for example, students researched a Christian tradition, visited a different faith tradition’s worship service, connected history with lived practice, and reflected on vocation through the design of an imagined denomination shaped by values, worship, and leadership.

One of Bushnell’s most important insights from this project is that online courses can be meaningful spaces for vocational discernment. Adult learners often bring rich vocational experience with them through work, family, ministry, military service, caregiving, and community life. For these students, vocation is not only a question about future career direction; it is also a present-tense reflection on how they understand and live out the roles they already hold. 

The grant strengthened Bushnell’s capacity to support vocation programming in online undergraduate education. The project produced reusable faculty development materials, Canvas-based resources, assessment tools, redesigned course models, and a deeper institutional understanding of how vocation can be integrated into online learning. Bushnell is grateful for NetVUE’s support and looks forward to continuing this work as faculty help students connect learning, calling, values, and service.