(403) Cultivating Growth and Lifelong Learning: Engaging Faculty and Staff in Continuous Improvement

Objective: While the accreditation standards note that programs should cultivate students into lifelong learners, faculty and staff themselves should also engage in lifelong learning. Thus, the objective of this program was to engage faculty and staff in lifelong learning through monthly faculty and staff professional development sessions.

Methods: Since 2016, with the advent of the ACPE Standards 2016, the Office of Assessment has provided monthly professional development sessions after each faculty and staff school meeting. These monthly sessions were 45 minutes to 1 hour in length and ranged across a broad variety of topics related to the school mission and accreditation standards. Snacks were typically provided along with interactive activities to engage faculty and staff with one another.

Results: With the eighth year of sessions completed, faculty remain highly engaged with the sessions. Many staff attend as well, and session topics include information that is relevant to staff whenever possible. Topics over the years have included: ACPE Standards 2016; keys for well-rounded success (teaching, service, and scholarship); grant writing; diversity, equity, and inclusion; leadership; curricular hoarding/overload; pre-readings and student cognitive load; faith-based topics; student success and academic advising; assessment technology; sharing of research interests; discussions from books on leadership and conflict management. Speakers included internal speakers (faculty and staff), speakers from the campus (ex: Center for Teaching and Learning), and external speakers (ex: journal editors). Formats included interactive group discussions and book clubs.

Conclusions: A monthly faculty and staff development session provides an opportunity to engage faculty and staff in becoming lifelong learners and enhance school excellence.