Fostering Innovation with a Hands-Off Approach
Millersville’s Open Education Working Group was initially formed by like-minded faculty, librarians, and staff who wanted to promote the use of OER across campus. The self-assembled group planned events for Open Education Week and organized a virtual conference to help broaden the understanding and use of OER. The group created an Open...
Program Acquisitions: Lessons for Leaders
In my role as dean of the College of Health and Science at Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP), I collaborated in the acquisition of two resource-intensive healthcare programs associated with university closures. In December 2016, CSP began the acquisition process for a pre-licensure nursing program, and, in March 2019, CSP...
How to Talk to Faculty Who Receive Low Course Evaluations
This article is the second installment on conversations about course ratings. The first installment explored how to frame a discussion with a faculty member who receives average ratings semester after semester. This second scenario may be the most challenging for department chairs. It’s the conversation that needs to occur with a faculty...
Reinventing a University and Reputation: Four Lessons Learned
The higher education landscape has changed significantly over the years, causing universities to adapt and reinvent themselves. More than ever, telling a new story through a refreshed brand promise is becoming an integral part of academic conversations. Student demographics are shifting. And universities are seeing new patterns in data, methods,...
Understanding Course Evaluations: Resources for Faculty and Chairs
Despite a great deal of research on course evaluations, institutional policies and practices are not always well informed by that research. Faculty are often not as informed as they should be either. Anecdotal evidence, myth and folklore tend to prevail. It’s good to encourage faculty to learn more about how...
Gaining Cred: Why Universities Should Embrace Micro-Credentialing
I’ll confess, when I first heard about digital badges in the early 2000s, I thought they were kind of silly. I was just starting my career as an instructional systems designer (ISD)—the original title for learning designers. While I had fond memories of my Girl Scout sash, peppered with badges,...
Designing Meaningful Institutional Assessment Plans: Putting It All Together
Institutions with regional accreditation now have access to a great deal of information about developing assessment plans and many fine examples of general education assessments, academic department assessment plans, and a plethora of student affairs and student support assessment plans. But many institutions are lacking in the overall institutional level...
Developing and Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness at Colorado State University
An international conversation around an increased focus on high-quality teaching at R1 institutions has been gaining momentum for several years. A recent shift in the conversation, focused on identifying fair and valid measures to evaluate effective teaching, continues to grow. On the one hand, individual departments and colleges look to...
Top Dogs Inspire Leadership Lessons: An Asset-Based Approach to Human Resource Development
As a long-standing department chair, director of a complex school of education, and associate dean of a large college comprised of many differing disciplinary departments, I have learned over time that keen observation plays an important role in many aspects of leadership, including faculty development and personnel management. Ultimately, effective...
Strategies for Creating a Collegial Department
In assessing an individual for tenure, promotion in rank, reappointment, or merit pay increase, how important are the following factors in the future success of the individual? How much potential do they have to greatly affect the work of the department? Positive attitudes Collaborative work Flexibility Positive interpersonal relationships within...
