Mission, Goals, & Guiding Vision

Our Mission

The mission of the Academy for Teaching Excellence is to create a vibrant teaching and learning culture for full-time and adjunct faculty that cultivates professional development in support of student success.

Goals

Faculty Development & Engagement
  • Provide programs and workshops that support faculty growth and innovation
  • Create opportunities for faculty discussion and collaboration on student-learning
  • Provide a space for informal conversation about diverse topics related to teaching and learning, work/life balance, and technology
  • Examples: Communities of Practice, Graduate Equivalency Courses (GECs), teaching consultations, book discussions, special programs and events
Instructional Design & Technology
  • Support the design of classroom, online, and blended courses in group and 1-on-1 formats
  • Offer workshops and support classroom implementation of various instructional technologies
  • Provide Blackboard support for all faculty
  • Examples: Instructional support workshops, Blackboard tech support, certificate workshop series, custom graphic and instructional design support, lecture capture and multimedia solutions, on-demand and on-request teaching and learning workshops for traditional and technology-assisted teaching methods
Adjunct Faculty Outreach & Support
  • Identify and provide relevant faculty development opportunities for adjunct faculty
  • Support the adjunct faculty evaluation process
  • Provide orientation to new adjunct faculty
  • Promote awareness of teaching and employment resources
  • Arrange peer classroom visits
  • Provide consultations related to teaching, career development, and navigating the institution
  • Examples: New Adjunct Faculty Orientation, Adjunct Faculty Teaching & Learning Conference, Adjunct Faculty Evaluations, special programs and events
Distance Education Quality & Support
  • Provide professional development for distance education faculty
  • Facilitate course design reviews
  • Support synchronous online communication and class instruction
  • Provide instructional design support for the Distance Course Development process
  • Examples: Teaching Online Successfully GEC, Collaborate virtual classroom support, on-request course design and review consultations

Guiding Vision

The Academy’s programming is guided by three sources of input:

Strategic Initiatives of the College
  • Inclusion: foster an environment that values and respects each member of Harper’s diverse community and actively encourages cross-cultural engagement
  • Engagement: foster and support a culture of engagement throughout the College
  • Achievement: Enhance and support the academic environment in ways that lead to increased student achievement and facilitate greater equity of student success across demographic groups
Faculty Needs Assessment Survey

The needs assessment survey provides the Academy updated information on faculty interest and directs the programming of the Academy so that it best serves the needs of the faculty as they continue to support student engagement and learning.

Faculty Development Committee

The Faculty Development Committee includes representatives from each academic division and provides input that informs decisions related to Academy programming and policies. Committee members communicate with colleagues to continually identify faculty development needs and disseminate information about the Academy.