COIL at Cal State LA
Projects & Impact
See how Cal State LA faculty and international partners are putting Collaborative Online International Learning into practice.
Learning through collaboration
COIL looks different in every discipline
A COIL project may involve comparative research, shared problem-solving, discussion, design, presentations, interviews, case analysis, or another form of collaborative learning.
What makes the work COIL is not a particular assignment. It is the sustained collaboration between students in courses at different institutions, designed together by faculty partners.
A growing initiative
Building global learning through the curriculum
COIL at Cal State LA is still developing. Early collaborations have connected Cal State LA students and faculty with partners in several parts of the world while helping us learn how to support future projects more effectively.
International Partnerships
Faculty collaborations have connected Cal State LA with colleagues and students in countries including Colombia, Germany, Mongolia, and Japan.
Student Learning
Students encounter course concepts through direct interaction with peers studying within different social, cultural, professional, and academic contexts.
Faculty Development
Faculty partners learn from one another as they compare courses, teaching approaches, student needs, academic systems, and disciplinary perspectives.
Continuous Improvement
Reflection and student feedback help faculty refine collaborations when partnerships continue across semesters or academic years.
Featured project
Child Welfare Across Munich and Los Angeles
Social work students in Los Angeles and Munich worked in international groups to compare child welfare systems, policies, services, professional practices, and lived experiences.
Student feedback showed that direct interaction with international classmates was one of the most valued parts of the project. James Simon and Andrea Nagy used that feedback to redesign the collaboration for Fall 2026 with fewer sessions, more structure, and a more focused comparative assignment.
What we are learning
Impact includes what happens after the first project
COIL can generate valuable student learning during a collaboration, but the faculty reflection that follows also matters. Early projects are helping shape how Cal State LA supports future faculty partnerships.
Interaction matters
Students often value the opportunity to talk and work directly with international peers as much as the final assignment itself.
Structure matters
Clear expectations, manageable assignments, communication plans, and early preparation help international teams work more effectively.
Iteration matters
Faculty can use student feedback and their own reflections to improve a partnership when they collaborate again.
As the initiative grows
Building a clearer picture of COIL at Cal State LA
As more faculty projects are implemented, this site will document the collaborations and what we learn from them.
Projects and Partnerships
We are building the infrastructure to track participating courses, faculty, international institutions, countries, repeat collaborations, and the reach of COIL across the curriculum.
Learning and Reflection
Student assessment, faculty reflection, and project documentation will help us understand what is working, what needs refinement, and how COIL can better support meaningful global learning.
Build the next project
Interested in developing a COIL collaboration?
Cal State LA faculty begin with COIL Foundations. Faculty who need an international collaborator can also explore partner development support.