New York-Based Iona University Expands Portfolio of Online and Hybrid Programs to Meet Growing Demand for Service-Driven Careers

Through a multi-year partnership with iDesign, the university will launch new online and hybrid programs across health care, education, business, and other emerging fields

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Iona University—one of New York State's fastest-growing private universities, with double-digit enrollment growth and rapidly expanding programs in business and health sciences—today announced a multi-year digital learning initiative to accelerate the development of online and hybrid programs in fast-growing fields such as health care, public health, business, education and occupational therapy. In collaboration with iDesign, the university will design, build and launch more than 85 online courses across six new academic programs and implement a new curriculum mapping platform called Align that will strengthen faculty capacity and support the delivery of high-quality digital education at scale.

"Iona's growing impact is a reflection of our commitment to serving students balancing work, family responsibilities, and clear professional goals, who expect learning experiences that align with the complex realities of their lives," said Tricia Mulligan, PhD, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Iona. "This collaboration will support our faculty in bringing their expertise into online and hybrid formats that provide the flexibility students expect while preserving the quality and relevance they deserve to succeed in fast-growing service professions vital to our region."

Iona's expansion into online and hybrid education builds on a period of sustained institutional growth. New student enrollment has increased more than 40 percent since 2019, driven by rising demand for programs in business, health sciences, and innovation. This momentum has been supported by major investments in new academic programs—most notably the 28-acre Bronxville campus and the New York-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences— and enhancements to student experience that have strengthened the university's regional impact.

Beginning in 2025, iDesign and Iona will jointly launch program planning for Health Care Leadership & Innovation, Education (Special Education and Literacy), and Occupational Therapy, followed by development for additional programs—including Public Health and the MBA—as state approvals and internal governance processes advance. The university will also adopt Align, iDesign's SaaS platform for curriculum mapping and accreditation support, starting in January 2026.

"Our investment in this powerful new curriculum-mapping technology will help us scale the extraordinary expertise of our faculty while reducing the academic and administrative burden required to build hybrid and online courses and benchmark them against national quality standards," said Christoph Winkler, PhD, founding director of Iona's Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. "This collaboration will provide the support, tools, and shared capacity that allow faculty to bring their teaching and mentorship into new formats—and ultimately ensures we are meeting students where they are and helping them thrive."

A team of faculty experts and staff from Iona University will collaborate with iDesign to translate the university's high-demand on-campus programs into fully online and hybrid degree offerings, developing approximately 85 courses over the next five years. This work will include creating video- and media-rich learning experiences that apply high-production standards, evidence-based design principles, and AI-generated instructional media to strengthen learner engagement and outcomes.

"Instructional design empowers great teaching to meet students wherever they are," said Whitney Kilgore, PhD, co-founder and chief academic officer of iDesign. "Iona brings a strong foundation of academic and programmatic expertise, and our role is simply to support that work with the right technology, tools, and processes. This is about building bringing programs to life in ways that uphold high-quality instruction and help more students achieve their educational and career potential."

The collaboration will ensure course designs reflect the university's mission, accreditation expectations, and commitment to serving diverse learners—including adult students, degree completers, and working professionals seeking flexible pathways.

About Iona University
Iona University is a private, Catholic institution located in New Rochelle, New York, dedicated to transforming students' lives through a commitment to academic excellence, career readiness, and service to others. With nationally recognized programs in business, health sciences, education, the arts, and innovation, Iona prepares graduates to lead, serve, and make a meaningful impact in their communities. The university's partnerships with NewYork-Presbyterian and regional employers expand opportunities for hands-on experience and workforce-aligned learning. Learn more at www.iona.edu.

About iDesign: iDesign partners with colleges and universities to build, grow and support online and blended programs. We are passionate about helping faculty harness the potential of emerging technologies to design courses and degrees that make an impact, whether they are fully online, flipped, blended, adaptive, or competency-based. Our unbundled, fee-for-service model is rooted in a commitment to flexibility and institutional autonomy, while our analytics platform supports continuous improvement through rigorous measurement of student engagement and course quality. From statewide university systems to private colleges, our custom solutions pair instructional design with technologies to enable great teaching. To learn more, please visit www.idesignedu.org.

SOURCE idesignedu.org