Faculty Development

Faculty have robust responsibilities for delivering effective programming. Through statewide collaboration and national resources, faculty are able to learn and grow in their roles as they create student success.

Community Colleges for Iowa is proud to partner with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to provide high-quality, evidence-based professional development opportunities for faculty across Iowa’s 15 community colleges. Together, we’re expanding access to professional learning that supports faculty success, enhances teaching effectiveness, and ultimately improves outcomes for Iowa students.

Since this partnership began in the fall of 2015, we have reached 2,421 faculty members with the following opportunities:

27
faculty

Effective Teaching 101

5-hour commitment, delivered asynchronously

89
faculty

Effective Teaching Practices Certificate Program

2 semesters, with an instructor, for our Iowa community college faculty only

12
faculty

National Cohort

5-month commitment, delivered as a one-part certificate program

2,293
faculty

ACUE Commons

Quick online studies

Calling Faculty to Participate

ACUE is nationally recognized for helping educators strengthen their teaching practices and improve student outcomes through proven instructional strategies. Through this statewide partnership, Iowa faculty have access to a range of learning opportunities designed to support both new and experienced educators. These courses include:

Effective Teaching 101

Designed as an entry point into ACUE’s professional learning offerings, Effective Teaching 101 introduces faculty to foundational evidence-based teaching practices and provides a pathway to further ACUE credentialing opportunities.

Effective Teaching Practices Certificate

Faculty can participate in ACUE’s flagship Certificate in Effective Teaching Practices, a comprehensive professional development experience focused on instructional excellence, student engagement, and student success. Multiple statewide cohorts are offered each year for both online and in-person instructors.

National ACUE Cohorts

In addition to Iowa’s statewide cohorts, faculty have opportunities to participate in national ACUE learning communities, connecting with educators from across the country while engaging in the same high-quality professional development experience.

ACUE Commons

Available to all faculty across Iowa’s community colleges, ACUE Commons provides on-demand access to a growing library of short, research-informed learning modules. These 20-minute “Quick Study” courses offer practical teaching strategies that can be applied immediately in the classroom.

What faculty have said so far

“I have implemented the use of skeletal notes because I am guilty of providing PowerPoints that are loaded with information. I (also) discussed why I was changing my presentation of the lecture and the benefits they will see with effective note taking. (As a result), the students were more engaged and I think they liked it. Test scores were also good for that unit. (Next), I am planning on revising all of my PowerPoints and creating skeletal outlines for each unit.”

“This semester, I started a new practice where I teach students how to set goals they can actually achieve. I had them write three goals for the class and share one goal out loud, and (then) we talked about it as a group. We discussed what made a goal realistic and how they could actually work toward it. This activity helped students think more intentionally about what they want to accomplish and how they plan to get there.”

“(For my online course), I have created a scheduled outline with depreciation grids to take handwritten notes step by step while solving in-class practice exercises. This allows the students to watch what I am doing, pause, write down steps to process, and then apply them in the same order. This reduced the amount of steps or notes/work they wrote and allowed them to elaborate their notes to apply later. All of the students stated that it helps keep them engaged and assists with note taking."

“I conducted a quality control check of all my courses, viewing them from a student perspective, because I wanted to make sure all my modules looked and flowed the same way. As part of this, I also did a technology check to make sure all of my external content was working correctly. These steps led to an improved student experience and fewer frustrations.”

“I implemented an optional live chat weekly meeting with my students. At these meetings, I spent time getting to know them as individual learners. I played ‘getting to know you’ games and I made sure to ask them what questions or misconceptions they still had. This allowed me to better support my students and ensure they persist in the course.”

To start an ACUE course, reach out to your Chief Academic Officer, or email Monique to be directed to your campus contact.
Happy learning!