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Global Teaching Scholars: Virtual Global Collaboration and COIL

Virtual Global Collaboration at Virginia Tech includes a variety of course-embedded global learning strategies that connect students with their peers and others from institutions around the globe through online learning activities and experiences. Aligning with the Beyond Boundaries vision for the future of learning, the Global Education Office, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Technology-Enhanced Learning and Online Strategies have partnered to support faculty in the design and implementation of these online global learning opportunities for students.

While Virtual Global Collaboration can be embedded in an on-campus or an online course, it can also be developed as an effective complement to study abroad programming. When designed successfully, Virtual Global Collaboration experiences can expose students to new perspectives, facilitate meaningful intercultural interactions, and increase students' global awareness, as well as serve as a space for collaborative teaching and project-based learning.

Virtual Global Collaboration at Virginia Tech includes Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a transformative approach that connects students with peers worldwide through technology-enabled collaboration. The COIL model, pioneered by the SUNY COIL Center, creates partnered learning environments where faculty from different cultures collaborate to develop shared learning experiences, giving students new perspectives on course content through meaningful international dialogue and project work (Collaborative Online International Learning, FIU Global). More information about the COIL methodology is available at the SUNY COIL Center’s self-guided introduction to COIL. Virginia Tech faculty also have access to additional SUNY COIL Center resources through our institutional membership to the SUNY COIL Network.

Virtual Global Collaboration is part of Global@Home, an institutional commitment to integrating intercultural, international, and global dimensions into the Virginia Tech campus experience across the Commonwealth, greater Washington, D.C. area, and the world. At Virginia Tech, we’re infusing global into all we do. Global opportunities, culture, and community fuel our teaching and learning and inspire us to live out our motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). We’re making intercultural learning and global engagement accessible to all, beginning here at home.

Policies and Procedures for VGC Courses at Virginia Tech

Virtual Global Collaboration is a flexible teaching strategy that can be customized for specific courses and learning outcomes. Virtual Global Collaboration courses at Virginia Tech, however, must adhere to the policies and procedures outlined below.

  • For collaborations with academic institutions, VGC partnerships must be with international, accredited, bachelor's degree-granting institutions of higher education.
  • Potential partner organizations or entities, as well as individual collaborators, must be vetted by the Office of Export and Secure Research in advance. Virginia Tech employees may not engage in Virtual Global Collaborations with individuals residing in any of the four comprehensively sanctioned countries—Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba. In addition, the U.S. government maintains a list of individuals or organizations on restricted party lists that may require export authorizations prior to information sharing or collaboration. Instructions for the vetting process are provided in the Virginia Tech Virtual Global Collaboration Partner Vetting Form.

  • Faculty interested in designing VGC courses should complete the Virginia Tech Virtual Global Collaboration Interest Form to schedule a consultation with a member of the VGC Leadership Team before proceeding with VGC activities. After consultation, those with continued interest in developing VGC activities will be added to a Canvas site with resources and best practices and provided with next steps for designing and implementing VGC experiences.
  • The course must be approved by the appropriate curriculum and governance committees within the academic unit.
  • Virginia Tech students must enroll at Virginia Tech. Partner institutions’ students maintain enrollment at their home institution.
  • The course’s Virginia Tech instructor of record is responsible for evaluating Virginia Tech students’ work throughout the entirety of the course.
  • Classes may be fully online or may be offered in blended formats with traditional face-to-face sessions taking place at both universities, while collaborative student work takes place online (asynchronously and synchronously).
  • The Virginia Tech instructor of record must disclose any VGC course activities to students early and in the course syllabus. Suggested syllabus language is provided by the VGC Leadership Team after initial consultation.
  • The Virginia Tech instructor of record must adhere to FERPA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and all other relevant Virginia Tech policies and procedures, including those of Institutional Technology, Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance (including IRB), Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, and the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance.
  • FERPA Guidance: Virtual Global Collaborations courses require sharing limited student information (e.g., names, email addresses) with international partners. Faculty must ensure students are informed of such information sharing and provide options to opt out, including providing you with an alternative non-VT email address for communications. 
  • Export and Secure Research Compliance: Virtual Global Collaboration activities are subject to U.S. Export Control Regulations. Faculty must ensure their Virtual Global Collaboration activities comply with these regulations and consult Virginia Tech’s Export and Secure Research Compliance Office for guidance. 

  • VGC courses must provide meaningful and reciprocal virtual exchange interactions. For Virtual Global Collaborations generally, there is not a minimum length of time; however, to align with COIL pedagogy, a minimum of four weeks is required.
  • VGC experiences must create co-equal learning environments where instructors from Virginia Tech work together with instructors from a university abroad to generate shared modules, learning activities, or course goals based on solid academic coursework emphasizing experiential and collaborative student learning. Student learning outcomes, course delivery, contact hours, and assessment must align with the University Registrar’s and program accreditation standards.
  • VGC activities should include learning goals for intercultural and global awareness with appropriate assessment mechanisms.

Getting Started with VGC

Virginia Tech VGC Interest Form

The Virginia Tech Virtual Global Collaboration Interest Form is designed for faculty at Virginia Tech to express interest in developing a Virtual Global Collaboration course.  After completing this form, you'll be contacted by a member of the VGC Leadership Team to schedule a brief consultation to discuss your interest in VGC as well as important policies, procedures, and resources for VGC courses at Virginia Tech. Please complete the form if you are interested in designing a Virtual Global Collaboration course. *If you are already facilitating a VGC-like experience in your course and have not connected with us, complete this form to learn about VGC policies, procedures, and resources and to be onboarded into our VGC faculty community.

Complete the Virginia Tech VGC Interest Form

VGC Faculty Cohort Program

Ready to begin designing a Virtual Global Collaboration experience for your students? Apply for the Virtual Global Collaboration Faculty Cohort Program! Throughout the spring semester, faculty selected for this cohort-based program will participate in design sessions facilitated by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), the Global Education Office (GEO), and Technology-Enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) to create a Virtual Global Collaboration experience for their students for the upcoming academic year. During the program, faculty will engage in interactive sessions and small group discussions, and be guided through the topics below with CETL, GEO, TLOS, and faculty mentors. At the end of the program, participants will have a design for a significant Virtual Global Collaboration experience to be implemented in the upcoming academic year. All cohort meetings will be held online.

  • Fundamentals of Virtual Global Collaboration course design
  • Strategies for finding and working with international partners
  • Effective project or assignment design for Virtual Global Collaboration
  • Technology integration for online, international collaboration
  • Assessment methods for global and intercultural learning
  • Best practices for addressing common challenges (e.g., time zones, language differences, varying academic cultures)

Check Back for the Spring 2027 Call for Applications

Additional Ways to Learn More!

Each academic year, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Global Education Office offer workshops for faculty members to learn about global education, its benefits, and strategies for incorporating it into students’ learning experiences. In addition, CETL and GEO co-host a Global Learning and Engagement Community of Practice to bring global educators across the university together for sharing and conversations about creating and enhancing students’ global learning and engagement opportunities. These opportunities are a great way to start exploring VGC as a global learning pedagogy.

Each academic year, CETL and GEO offer workshops to support faculty seeking to implement global learning into their students’ experiences. Workshops for fall 2026 are listed below.

Foundations of Global Learning: Expanding Your Teaching Toolkit

  • Date and Time: Tuesday, September 8, 1-3 p.m.
  • Location: Online Only
  • Registration Link: Coming Soon

This workshop is designed to provide faculty and staff with a shared understanding of global learning and intercultural development. This session introduces key concepts, institutional priorities, and practical steps for incorporating global perspectives into teaching, programming, advising, and campus life at Virginia Tech. Participants explore why global learning matters, what it looks like in different contexts (curricular, co-curricular, research, and advising), and how it aligns with Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission, Ut Prosim ethos, and Beyond Boundaries vision. By the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1) Define global and intercultural learning in context; 2) Describe how global education aligns with Virginia Tech’s institutional mission and values; 3) Identify practical opportunities to contribute to global education and engagement at Virginia Tech through teaching, advising, programming, or research; 4) Recognize ethical considerations for global engagement, including best practices for local-global connections; and 5) Learn about Virginia Tech’s global education network, tools, and resources.

Virtual Global Collaboration and COIL: Bringing the World into Your Classroom

  • Date and Time: Tuesday, September 15, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Location: Online Only
  • Registration Link: Coming Soon

Join the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Global Education Office, and Technology-Enhanced Learning and Online Strategies to learn about Virtual Global Collaboration (VGC) and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) - and ways to incorporate these global learning opportunities in your courses! VGC at Virginia Tech includes a variety of global and intercultural learning strategies that connect your students with their peers from institutions around the globe through online learning activities and experiences. This session will cover 1) what VGC is, its benefits, and ways it can be implemented, including examples of COIL and other types of virtual learning experiences, and 2) opportunities to engage in VGC at Virginia Tech. The goal of this session is for participants to leave with an expanded notion of how to incorporate global learning in their classes and a plan to include global engagement in their courses through Virtual Global Collaboration.

Not ready to get started with Virtual Global Collaboration but interested in exploring and learning more about Virtual Global Collaboration and other ways to incorporate global learning in the classroom? Designing a VGC experience and interested in learning more about global learning in a group of colleagues? Join our Global Learning and Engagement Community of Practice!

Sign Up for the 2026-27 Global Learning and Engagement CoP

VGC Leadership Team

Tiffany Shoop
Director of Special Programs, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
tshoop@vt.edu
540-231-0785

Theresa Johansson
Director, Global Education Office
theresaj@vt.edu
540-231-8205

Larry Cox II
Senior Instructional Designer, Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies
lacox@vt.edu
540-231-2131

VGC Faculty Spotlights