Academic workloads in online learning are influenced by many variables, the complexity of which makes it difficult to measure academic workloads in isolation. While researching issues associated with academic workloads, professional development stood out as having a substantive impact on academic workloads. Many academics in applied health degrees commence their educational careers as specialists or experts within their profession, rather than as professional educators. New educators may have limited access to professional development when orientating to their new role. The available professional development focuses on technological and presentation aspects, rather than pedagogy in practice, increasing workloads and adding complexity without the understanding. This study argues that academics become empowered to better understand and manage their workloads through the implementation of targeted professional development, as well as the use of clear institutional frameworks for instructional design. A framework for course design (LATARE) is presented as part of this study.