Standard Number 3.7.3: The institution provides evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners.

Full Compliance

Georgia Southern University actively supports and encourages its faculty to continue their professional growth and development. This strong institutional commitment is a reflection of the University System's commitment to faculty development as delineated in the “ Faculty/Staff Development Policy Directive .” This 1995 document articulates numerous objectives with the primary purpose of linking expectations of continued professional development to faculty evaluation mechanisms and tenure review processes and providing opportunities for continued professional growth. The result of this directive is illustrated in the establishment at the System level of programs and initiatives to enhance career development for faculty, staff, and administrators. Specifically, the System noted the following examples of activities it supports to further faculty development: (1) tuition remission and reimbursement; (2) courses offered through Continuing Education; (3) courses offered through a Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE) institution; (4) external professional programs and conferences; and (5) Systemwide/institutional faculty and staff professional development programs (see Board of Regents Policy Manual , § 802.18 ). Furthermore, the Board of Regents mandates that each institution within the University System reserves at least one percent of full-time employee salaries for faculty and staff development. This one percent is matched by state appropriated funds (to the extent that funds are available).

Under the tuition remission and reimbursement policy, faculty and staff may seek tuition remission for courses taken at Georgia Southern and tuition reimbursement for those taken at other regionally-accredited, degree-granting institutions. This policy permits employees to take up to three courses each semester. Georgia Southern faculty are apprised of the availability of this program through the Faculty Handbook (see §217.06, p. 41). For Fall 2003, 25 University faculty members participated in the tuition remission and reimbursement program. Seventeen faculty participated in Spring 2004, and eleven took Summer 2004 classes under this program (see trrlog.mdb).

In addition to the above, Georgia Southern grants faculty educational and professional leaves under the guidelines established in the Board of Regents Policy Manual, § 802.0804 . These leaves are specifically for the purpose of promoting scholarly work and encouraging professional development. Again, faculty receive notification of the availability of these leaves through the Faculty Handbook (see §217.09, p. 42), and several faculty members have used this program to obtain advanced degrees. For the 2003-2004 academic year, three Georgia Southern faculty utilized educational leaves to pursue development opportunities (see LWOP_LWP.xls).

Through its Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET), the University provides its faculty with resources for enhancing professional development. The Faculty Technology Development Lab is designed to provide ongoing training for faculty who wish to integrate new or emerging instructional methodologies into their teaching. The Center also offers four types of grant support: (1) grants for the development of instruction; (2) grants for professional travel; (3) faculty development summer awards; and (4) awards for excellence in contributions to instruction. Grants for instructional development are earmarked specifically for faculty to pursue projects that will directly impact classroom instruction, while grants for professional travel provide funds for travel to conferences and professional meetings with the purpose of updating discipline-related knowledge. The University's FY 2004 allocation for instructional development (n=63 awards) and professional travel grants (4 awards) was $91,985.24 of which $89,317.52 was expended—a 97% utilization rate. ⁴⁴ The faculty development summer awards (in the amount of $3,000 each) allow faculty members to upgrade skills in the discipline, develop innovative teaching strategies, devise new courses or significantly revise existing ones, plan curriculum changes, or pursue other creative endeavors that impact the instructional process. Eight faculty members received Summer 2004 awards under this initiative. The University grants two awards for excellence in contributions to instruction annually (in the amount of $4,000 each) specifically designed to recognize and reward faculty who have made outstanding contributions to the teaching-learning process at Georgia Southern. Moreover, CET provides online resources to promote effective teaching in both real and virtual classrooms. These resources cover topics such as: teaching enhancement; assessment; instructional design, learning research, and effectiveness strategies; student engagement/student centered approaches; presentation/teacher-centered approaches; addressing learner differences; and instructional materials.

In addition to those initiatives designed to enhance development and promote excellence in the teaching-learning environment, the University offers competitive faculty research grants to support faculty research and scholarly/activity (see Faculty Research Grants ). For FY 2004, Georgia Southern allocated $117,143.69 toward funding research under this program and expended $94,734.90, yielding an 81% utilization rate (n=42 awards). ⁴⁵

Likewise, competitive grants are made each year for service activities (see Faculty Service Grant Proposal Guidelines ). Service grants are awarded to full-time university faculty who propose to improve the quality of life for the local, state, national, or international community through the use of uncompensated professional skills and expertise, or to serve the academic community through uncompensated public service to professional and honor societies. These grants support faculty activity as practitioners. For FY 2004, the University allocated $31,025.18 toward this initiative and expended $29,552.55, yielding a 95% utilization rate (n=22 awards). ⁴⁶

All of these initiatives demonstrate the University's commitment to the continuing professional development of its faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners. Georgia Southern's total FY 2004 allocation for faculty development activities was $240,154.11. The University expended 89% of this amount, providing $213,604.97 in funding. ⁴⁷

⁴⁴ Source: Provost's Office Budget Office, Acting Associate Vice President Diana Cone ( 8/30/04 ).

⁴⁵ Ibid.

⁴⁶ Ibid.

⁴⁷ Ibid.