Press Release
D2L, a global learning technology company, announced the winners of D2L’s 2025 Excellence Awards. The Excellence Awards celebrate leaders, educators and trainers who have used D2L Brightspace to help foster innovative, accessible and engaging learning experiences. Nominations were submitted for an individual, team, program or organization.
We are delighted to celebrate the innovative ways our customers are using D2L Brightspace to truly help transform the way people learn. The 2025 D2L Excellence Awards winners are an inspiration. They are working to lower barriers and pave the way for more personalized and flexible learning opportunities for professionals and learners in both K-12 and higher education. We couldn’t be more proud of the learning transformations that these Excellence Awards winners have brought to life using D2L Brightspace.
John Baker, CEO of D2L
Modern States Education Alliance
Modern States Education Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to making high-quality college education accessible and affordable for all. It offers free online courses that are available to anyone and teach the content needed to take and pass the credit-bearing College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. Growing in popularity and benefiting hundreds of thousands of learners, Modern States needed a scalable learning management system that could meet the diverse needs of its community. Since migrating to D2L Brightspace, Modern States has enrolled over 80,000 learners in the first seven months, deployed customized data dashboards and leveraged enhanced analytics to help drive decision-making. By expanding its reach, optimizing course delivery, and providing a seamless, user-friendly experience for learners, Modern States continues advancing its mission of democratizing access to higher education.
Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB)
Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) was looking for an innovative and adaptable professional development solution while navigating teacher shortages, evolving learning preferences, and the demand for current, targeted learning offerings. To help address these challenges, UGDSB’s Program Services Team launched the “Let’s GO! UGDSB Learn” tool, a revolutionized professional learning system for teachers and principals, powered by D2L Brightspace. Since its launch, the learning platform has helped educator effectiveness, and improved student outcomes and teacher satisfaction. Math and early reading interventions have already led to better outcomes. Since implementation, the school board has seen a 26% rise in average reading improvement, and 67% of Grade 3 students have moved out of math risk categories.
University of Central Oklahoma
The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) has a long-standing commitment to high-quality online education. UCO launched their eLearning Facilitation Certification (eLFC) workshop to respond to faculty apprehension and challenges adapting to online learning. Powered by D2L Brightspace and facilitated by Rhonda Barnett, Assistant Director of eLearning Programs, the eLFC workshop helps equip educators and faculty with the resources and supports needed to create high-quality, engaging and student-focused online learning environments. The workshop familiarizes faculty with a learner’s view of D2L Brightspace to offer a deeper understanding of the online learning experience. This helps instructors anticipate potential barriers, enhance clarity in course materials, and create engaging digital interactions that can improve learning outcomes. Since launching the workshop, 85% of online faculty have already completed voluntary recertification and UCO continues to observe a steady increase in faculty completion, as well as improvements in student engagement and success in online courses.
MGH Institute of Health Professions
The MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGHIHP) is dedicated to health equity in healthcare education through innovative learning experiences, research and clinical practice. Through “What is the IHP’s Role in Health Equity?” course, MGHIHP fosters meaningful discussions and learning experiences for students, faculty, and staff. Delivered through D2L Brightspace, this program provides a flexible online learning experience with self-paced modules and asynchronous discussion groups assigned by roles that can support the unique needs of learners. MGHIHP also uses D2L Brightspace automations to help minimize administrative tasks for course facilitators to focus on creating more meaningful learning experiences and support for upwards of 500 learners each semester. Since the program launched five years ago, it has reached more than 3,500 learners and equipped them with the knowledge and skills to address inequities in healthcare.
Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is the nation’s first polytechnic and a recognized leader in pedagogical innovation. The rapid emergence of generative AI made it necessary for SP to offer skills development opportunities to faculty members in education and administration roles. SP developed a scalable, self-paced learning program through D2L Brightspace to help upskill more than 800 staff. Designed within three months, the program’s adaptative learning pathways feature foundational modules and advanced content, offering a tailored learning experience based on self-assessed proficiency. The program effectively replaced face-to-face workshops, recording a 94% completion rate within the first six months, and it has helped SP staff integrate generative AI into their work with more confidence.
Northeast Iowa Community College
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible learning environment for all students. In response to challenges managing student accommodations with limited resources, NICC developed the Accessibility Hub delivered through D2L Brightspace, in collaboration with the Department of Instructional Innovation and Design. The Accessibility Hub is a centralized resource for staff and students to access documentation for student accommodations, accessible textbook files compatible with ReadSpeaker and Panorama, and streamlined delivery of notetaking and testing accommodations. Since its launch, The Hub has automated over 12,000 personalized messages to students and facilitated access to more than 3,000 accommodation letters, significantly reducing the workload for staff and ensuring timely student support.
Learn more about the 2025 Excellence Awards here.
About D2L
D2L is transforming the way the world learns, helping learners achieve more than they dreamed possible. Working closely with customers all over the world, D2L is on a mission to make learning more inspiring, engaging and human. Find out how D2L helps transform lives and delivers outstanding learning outcomes in K-12, higher education and business at www.D2L.com.
D2L Media Contact
Colin Horgan
Executive Communications Director
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