Matthew Champagne
Area(s) of Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Evaluation of Learning Technologies, Ethical Use of GenAI, Survey Methodology, Judgment & Decision Making, Faculty & Course Evaluation
Overview
Dr. Matthew Champagne co-founded 3 EdTech companies that created evaluation and assessment tools used by hundreds of colleges and universities, including MyClassEvaluation (the first online institute-wide course evaluation platform) and WebAssign (the first wide-scale online homework assessment tool). He founded the IDEA Lab - the first U.S. laboratory to evaluate emerging web-based educational technologies (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).
Dr. Champagne has served as PI or Evaluator on 20 federal and philanthropic grants of national impact, primarily assessing student and adult learning via learning technologies. His Embedded Assessment methodology is the preferred assessment framework of the U.S. Departments of Energy and Education.
A lifelong educator, Matt has delivered 1,700+ hours of virtual training to entrepreneurs and professionals, and taught 15 course titles to undergraduate and graduate students at Purdue and RPI. He was a Founder’s Member of the Robert Cialdini Institute for Ethical Persuasion & Influence.
Education
- Ph.D., Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Purdue University, 1994
- M.S., Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Purdue University, 1991
- B.A., Psychology & Statistics, Oakland University, 1988
Research/Special Interests
Student Engagement & Retention, Ethical Influence & Persuasion, Entrepreneurial Mindset, GenAI
Courses Taught
- ENTR 3010 – Creativity, Innovation & Entrepreneurial Mindset
Work Experience
- Founder/Director of Engagement & Retention, Embedded Assessments, 2012 - 2026
- Senior Evaluator/Consultant, U.S. Department of Energy (EPRI), 2013 - 2025
- Co-Founder/Chief Learning Officer, IOTA Instructional Systems, 2001 - 2004
- Co-Founder/CEO, IOTA Solutions, 1999 – 2013
- Senior Research Fellow, Consortium Research Fellows Program, 1998 - 2000
- Founder and Director, Interactive and Distance Education Assessment (IDEA) Lab, 1997 - 2000
- Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1993 - 2000
Personal Information
When not teaching, Matt can be found cruising with his family or playing keyboards in one of his classic rock/jam bands.
Publications
Champagne, M.V. & Axelrod, M. D. (2025). The Influencer’s Manifesto: How to Ethically Influence Buyers. Kindle Direct Publishing.
Champagne, M. V. (2014). The Survey Playbook, vol 1. Kindle Direct Publishing.
Champagne, M. V. (2013). Student use of mobile devices in course evaluation: A longitudinal study. Invited chapter in T. Johnson and K. Morrison (Eds.), Educational Research and Evaluation, Vol 19 (7), 636-646. Routledge.
Champagne, M. V. (2003). Embedded assessment: An evaluation tool for Web-based learning environments. In T. Duffy and J. Kirkley (Eds.), Learner Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Case Studies. Erlbaum, NJ.
Champagne, M. V., & Stevenson, M. K. (1994). Contrasting models of appraisal judgments for positive and negative purposes using Policy Modeling. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 59, 93-123.
Exhibitions
Champagne, M.V. (April 2025). Artfully leveraging the art of persuasion. Continuing Education Marketing Summit.
Champagne, M. V. (June 2023). Using survey conversations to engage and retain your attendees, students, members and clients. Sales & Marketing Management Connect. [955 attendees]
Champagne, M. V. (October 2023). Your influence advantage: Powerful persuasion strategies not found in Robert Cialdini’s book Influence. Training Magazine Network. [891 attendees]
Champagne, M. V. (May 2023). Practices to make your virtual and in-person training remarkable. Training Magazine Network. [1,445 attendees]
Champagne, M. V. (February 2020). Evaluation recommendations. Workshop for new awardees, Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), U.S. Department of Energy.