Faculty and Staff Development
Department Leadership in Faculty and Staff Development
(new tenure-track, general faculty, and staff development information)
New Tenure-Track Faculty Development
The College offers a New Faculty Orientation before the start of the semester.
The Chair is the point of ongoing contact for new faculty members in a department. In addition, the Chair may wish to assign a departmental mentor to a new faculty member. Some Chairs host receptions for new department faculty early in the fall semester. Information for new faculty is available here but this cannot substitute for the chair's introduction to the department and college.
Some discussion of teaching on the block plan, of departmental policies and expectations, of College resources for research and development (development blocks, divisional R&D funds, Student-Faculty Collaborative grants, etc.), and of course evaluations will be useful to new members of the department. Chairs should also discuss basic grade policies and procedures, such as the use of the 'incomplete' grade, the submission of grade by their due dates on Banner, Stellic for advising, the function of the class waitlist, as well as required course evaluations and classroom observations. It should not be assumed that a new faculty member will discover this information on his or her own. The new faculty member should be introduced to the Crown Faculty Center and encouraged to attend workshops seminars. The Chair should discuss the criteria for tenure with new tenure-track faculty each year, taking as a starting point the information in the Faculty Handbook, Part Two, VII.
Chairs should discuss academic advising with second-year tenure-track faculty, who will be assigned student advisees for the first time. Chairs should review with their second-year tenure-track faculty the all-college requirements, the use of Stellic, and departmental major requirements and expectations regarding majors advising.
In addition to department efforts toward integrating new faculty into the life of the College, the new faculty member will join the Mentoring Alliance Program for formal mentoring.
Since the mentors (conveners) are typically not a member of the new faculty's department, the MAP program augments but does not replace mentoring and sharing of information within academic departments and programs. Chairs and new faculty members should find time to discuss these important topics:
- College policies and procedures
- Conversations about teaching, service and research at the College
- Tips and departmental practices for the block-plan syllabi, course assignments and examinations, and course evaluations, giving timely and frequent feedback for students' work, the 'pacing' of the block, student comprehension of course material, and other course-related issues
- Classroom visits to support teaching development
- Support and advice regarding all additional academic aspects of their first year at the College
General Faculty Development
The Office of the Dean of the Faculty urges chairs to support as far as possible specific faculty member's interests in teaching, scholarship, and service. For example, there are opportunities for team-teaching and interdisciplinary teaching, participation at professional conferences and workshops, and service on college committees. Chairs should remind departmental colleagues about divisional research and development funds and other funds supporting scholarship and pedagogical innovation.
Staff Development
Conferences, institutes, or workshops may be appropriate for various department staff. In addition, the Dean's Office strongly urges chairs to support a staff assistant's attendance at Colorado College Human Resources workshops and seminars.