Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
In today’s diverse and dynamic workplace, emotional intelligence and authentic leadership are critical assets. The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business recognized an urgent educational need: prepare MBA students not just to lead, but to coach and mentor with purpose. Construct partnered with Ross to bring this vision to life through the Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations (CMO) course—an online learning experience designed to blend rigorous theory with actionable practice. What emerged was more than just a course; it became a model for future faculty innovations in online executive education.
The existing content, developed and taught by Ross faculty member and seasoned executive coach Brian Flanagan, was rich with insight but needed transformation. The goal wasn’t just to digitize—it was to elevate. This aligned with Michigan Ross’s forward-thinking approach, which embraced digital learning not as a compromise, but as a catalyst for deeper engagement, broader reach, and pedagogical improvement.
The course needed to engage remote MBA students through a rigorous, structured, and practice-oriented approach. Prior course versions lacked graded assessments on students’ actual coaching and mentoring skills, leaving a gap between theory and demonstrated application.
To capture the dynamics of real-world coaching, we developed a framework that mirrors the evolution of authentic coaching relationships: Connect, Elevate, and Unlock. Each of the course’s six modules aligned with these stages, alternating between synchronous theory classes and asynchronous graded application.
Synchronous sessions provided an introduction to theory and live ungraded practice sessions. Asynchronous modules challenged students to apply those theories using:
Behind the scenes, our learning designer supplemented faculty content with fresh, concise coaching scenarios and collaborated on 13 high-quality videos, nine of which dramatized coaching sessions using professional actors.
What made the Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations course exceptional wasn’t just the framework—it was how each layer of learning built upon the last. The first modules centered on establishing trust, moving progressively into the complexities of transformative dialogue, and unlocking behavior change.
Each fishbowl assignment corresponded directly to a phase in the framework. By design, the modules helped students not only understand what great coaching looks like, but practice it, receive feedback, and improve. Theory and practice were no longer siloed; they were braided into a coherent, evolving skillset.
The finished Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations course redefined academic rigor for executive coaching education at Ross. Through carefully graded practical and contextual assessments, students exited the course not just with insight, but demonstrable skill.
Although student feedback was still being collected at the time of project closure, internal reception was enthusiastic. It cemented the course’s status as a flagship offering in the Ross online MBA program.
The Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations course stands as a testament to what’s possible when academic insight meets instructional design expertise. We didn’t just digitize content; we redesigned the experience to reflect how coaching works in the real world—interactive, evolving, and human-centered.
For Construct, the project underscores our core belief: great learning design isn’t about making things easy—it’s about making them real. From asynchronous reflections to fishbowl role-plays, each element served the larger goal of shaping learners into confident, capable leaders ready to coach change.
As more institutions seek to deliver meaningful leadership education online, CMO offers a blueprint for scalable, skill-based learning that meets both academic and real-world standards.
"Partnerships for program development can feel transactional, but Construct is truly an augmented team at every level. Our faculty have confidence that their courses will feature quality in the design and consistency in the overall student experience. Likewise, our Digital Learning staff appreciate the Construct team’s expertise and reliability throughout our projects."
Construct’s optimized course design services empower institutions to elevate their online offerings. Through strategic customization and cohesive branding across multiple courses, institutions gain scalability, accessibility, and inclusivity. Construct’s expertise enables universities to deliver impactful, engaging courses that enhance students’ educational experiences.
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