Chapter 7: Faculty Development

(Reference: Faculty Association Item FA91-38)

The University's goal and responsibility is to offer instruction by highly qualified faculty. Another goal is to enable faculty, through access to resources and assistance in acquiring external funding, to acquire and extend scholarly expertise. Scholarly activity lends vitality to teaching and enables the University to fulfill its traditional role of contributing to knowledge; professional service extends the University's outreach capability.

The University must recruit and retain qualified faculty to fulfill its mission of providing high quality instruction, as well as the accompanying scholarly activity that supports the highest levels of excellence in academic programs. The University is committed to on-going faculty development as a way of strengthening its most important resource--the faculty. Faculty members should be provided opportunities to develop their skills as professors.

UNF offers comprehensive, systematic programs that provide resources for the continuing personal and professional growth of the faculty. Faculty development is a significant aspect of the mission of the University.

Enhancement and support are provided in four areas: (1) instructional activities, (2) research and scholarship processes, (3) publishing endeavors, and (4) grant seeking activities.

Faculty development activities focus on meeting the needs of tomorrow's university classrooms and on supporting excellence in teaching. The University serves a dynamic social, political, technical, and economic environment. Therefore, faculty knowledge and teaching skills must meet those challenges. The specific programs offered depend on resources and faculty needs, among other factors.

Faculty development is essentially self-development. Faculty development programs are offered to assist faculty members in achieving their goals. The stated mission of the University of North Florida recognizes the interrelationships among teaching, scholarship, and service activities for professional development.

Self-development clearly involves activities and outcomes that further enhance the mission, values, and goals of the faculty member's program unit and college. In that sense, the professional development of faculty members has an inherent and integral connection with the well-being and fuller development of the University as a community of scholars.

Requirements for a Successful Faculty Development Program

Certain premises are fundamental to the success of a program. These can be stated in terms of complementary responsibilities of the University and faculty members. The literature suggests three essential elements for a successful program in faculty development:

1. Personal Career Goals: Faculty members themselves need to decide what they want to develop and on which goals they wish to focus.
2. Career Facilitation: Engaging choices must be made available to faculty members if they are to grow professionally and accomplish useful outcomes.
3. Personal and Institutional Goals: Individual and university needs and goals must be mutually beneficial, if they are to simultaneously enhance the careers of faculty and ensure the accomplishment of the University's mission, goals, and values.

Faculty development places responsibilities on both the faculty member and the leadership of the University. Commitments and expressed beliefs from both are essential to the success of faculty development.

Faculty Responsibilities

1. To select their own personal career goals and to become committed to them.
2. To recognize and accept the premise that all development is essentially self-development, only the developing professional can accomplish real results for the individual.
3. To become increasingly proficient and expert in their present field of endeavor.
4. To expand their interests, enhance their abilities, and improve their skills so they can enhance their professional development.

The University's Responsibilities

1. To recruit faculty with potential for academic and professional growth.
2. To provide the encouragement, positive climate, and assistance necessary for faculty to grow personally and professionally.
3. To provide the encouragement, positive climate and assistance necessary for faculty to work together in a collegial fashion to enhance their own and their colleagues= professional development.
4. To provide accessible courses of action (programs) on a continuous basis that will encourage self-development.
5. To organize development programs so that there are sufficient achievement opportunities to challenge the faculty.
6. To provide an opportunity for supervised internships for faculty with unusual educational or leadership potential which could enhance a faculty member's career development.

The mission of the Office of Faculty Excellence (OFE) is to support all faculty members in teaching, research, and service and to facilitate growth of a university culture that champions innovation, the use of technology, cooperation, and ongoing professional development and research.

The OFE provides the following services to the faculty community:

• Speakers, workshops and resources designed to address faculty development needs related to teaching, learning, research, scholarship and technological innovation.
• Training and one-on-one support for faculty using technology for teaching and research (in conjunction with the Center for Instruction and Research Technology - CIRT).
• Advice and support in preparing grant proposals and research projects (in conjunction with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs).
• Confidential classroom visitation, assessment, and consultation.
• Maintaining an open resource library housing literature supporting faculty development in the roles of teacher, learner, technology innovator, and scholar.
• Organizing faculty-led demonstrations, workshops, discussions and seminars on topics related to teaching, learning, research, scholarship and technological innovation.
• Regularly updated website with online resources for faculty enhancement.
• Publication of newsletter to disseminate information about faculty development activities, resources, and faculty achievements.
• Assistance and advice preparing materials for reappointment, tenure and promotion.

The Center for Instruction & Research Technology (CIRT) offers expertise, resources, and training to assist faculty in ways that enable them to develop greater capacities for using technology for teaching and research. CIRT also disseminates ideas, frameworks, and materials that apply pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process. CIRT is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Facilities are open to all faculty at UNF and staff are available to consult on a variety of topics, including:

• Instructional design and technology integration
• Canvas and online learning support
• Faculty web hosting and website design
• Research support – web-delivered surveys and forms, hardware checkout and support, and analysis software support
• Media support – video & audio production and publishing, preparation of images and maps (GIS) for print and web publication
• 3D printing and scanning services
• Equipment checkout – laptops, tablets, cameras, projectors, and more
• Graphic design services – conference and event posters, brochures and other printed materials, and photographic retouching and digitization

The Office of Academic Affairs provides support for faculty through the following grant programs:

1. Summer Scholarship Grants support research, scholarship and artistic endeavors at UNF. Academic Affairs regards it as important for the well being of the university that these grants be widely distributed across the university=s disciplines, and that their use benefit the reputation of the University as well as the individual scholar or artist. Tenured and tenure-earning faculty members are eligible to apply. These grants are competitively awarded to the most meritorious proposals, providing a $7,500 stipend to selected faculty members for their use in the Summer A term. For eligibility restrictions, application procedures, and other pertinent information, view the Provost's website.
2. Summer Teaching Grants support faculty in developing improved or innovative instructional strategies for use in current or new courses. These proposals may focus on technology-based innovations or other forms of instructional innovation/improvement. They may extend current University or college initiatives, such as the development of Web-enhanced courses or the use of learning communities, or examine other methods of strengthening the University=s curricular offerings. The Office of Academic Affairs regards it as important for the well-being of the University that these grants be widely distributed across the University=s disciplines. Preference is usually given to proposals that will be implemented during the academic year when application is made. Instructors, tenured and tenure earning faculty members are eligible to apply. These grants are competitively awarded to the most meritorious proposals, providing a $7,500 stipend to selected faculty members for their use in the Summer A term. For eligibility restrictions, application procedures, and other pertinent information, view the Provost's website.
3. Summer Proposal Development Grants support and assist faculty with the development and submission of proposals for major programs of external funding. Grants will be made to faculty or faculty teams for development/preparation of one or more proposals which are to be submitted to funding agencies during the summer or fall term. Funds can be used to pay a stipend to faculty member(s) or can be used for travel to a meeting specific to the proposal, for materials, for student assistance or other expenses related to proposal development. Tenured and tenure-earning faculty members are eligible to apply. These grants are competitively awarded to the most meritorious proposals, providing a $7,500 stipend to selected faculty members for their use in the Summer A term. For eligibility restrictions, application procedures, and other pertinent information, view the Provost's website.
4. Undergraduate Research Award Program funds up to a maximum of $500 to undergraduates who wish to conduct independent, scholarly or creative projects. Each grant recipient must have a faculty sponsor, who will receive remuneration of $1000 (in addition to the $500 that is available for the student award) for guiding the grant recipient=s scholarly or creative project. The faculty remuneration can be received as salary or as expense money to fund equipment purchases or travel. The student remuneration can be used only as expense money. Student grant recipients will be expected to undertake research projects for a minimum of three hours of directed independent study academic credit. If students wish to receive more or less than three hours of academic credit for their research projects, then students should make a formal request for special academic credit as part of their grant application. for Additional information please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research.

For more information, interested faculty should contact the Office of Academic Affairs, (904) 620-2700, which administers these programs.

(For in-unit faculty, refer to BOT-UFF Agreement, Article 24)

Sabbaticals and professional development leaves are granted to increase a faculty member's value to the University through enhanced opportunities for professional renewal, educational travel, study, formal education, research, writing or other experience of professional value, not as a reward for service.

7.5 (1) Sabbaticals

Sabbatical leaves for professional development are available to full-time, tenured, in-unit faculty members who have at least six years of continuous service at the University. A faculty member who is compensated through a contract or grant may receive a sabbatical only if the contract or grant allows a sabbatical and the faculty member meets all other eligibility requirements.

The University normally makes available two types of sabbaticals subject to conditions set forth in Article 24.3 of the Agreement: 1) a sabbatical for two semesters at half-pay to each faculty member whose application has been reviewed by the University and 2) a sabbatical at full-pay for one semester to each 40 eligible faculty members.

The President awards sabbaticals. For the purposes of awarding one-semester sabbaticals at full pay, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs normally serves as the representative of the President. For the purposes of awarding two-semester sabbaticals at half pay, the Dean of the college concerned normally serves as the representative of the President.

7.5 (2) Professional Development Leave

Professional development leaves are available to full-time faculty members with six or more years of service, except those faculty members who are serving in tenure-earning or tenured positions. A faculty member who is compensated through a contract or grant may receive a sabbatical only if the contract or grant allows a sabbatical and the faculty member meets all other eligibility requirements. Eligible faculty members are notified annually regarding their eligibility and application deadlines.

Each year, the University will make available at least one professional development leave at full-pay for one semester or its equivalent for each 30 eligible faculty members subject to the conditions set forth in Article 24.1 of the Agreement.