Faculty Development Committee Guidelines: Outline

Faculty Development Profile Outline

I. Self-Assessment

Write a frank assessment of your strengths and current interests as well as your weaknesses and current dislikes. Include items directly related to your current institutional responsibilities (e.g., a preference for conducting small seminars in contrast with large survey courses; an interest in conducting research in contrast to administrative duties). Also include items that may be only indirectly related to current institutional responsibilities (e.g., lack of aesthetic sensitivity in contrast to an ability for critical thinking; a need to devote more time to study or activity outside of your discipline).

II. Statement of Current Roles

1. Institutional Responsibilities
   Write a statement of you current institutional responsibilities based on the assignments actually carried out during the past academic year. This statement ought to be comprehensive, including such items as specific teaching duties, scholarly activities, counseling, committee work, administrative involvement, advising students, supervising student organizations, etc.

2. Other Major Responsibilities
   Write a statement of extra-institutional responsibilities that you consider to have significant rights to your time or that relate to your concept of personal development. This statement might include such items as community service, leadership in professional organizations, family time commitment, etc.

III. Long-Range Projections

Write a statement projecting future (typically three to five years) roles and responsibilities you would like to fill. Do you see new directions that might alter your current roles? Do you see improvement in current areas of responsibility? This should be a brief statement that you develop in detail in your Faculty Development Plan.

IV.  Synthesis

1. Assessment of Current Responsibilities
   Write an assessment of your current responsibilities in light of your stated strengths and weaknesses and of your long-range projections. To what extent are they compatible?
2. Definition of Responsibilities During the Period Covered by this Profile
   Write a statement that outlines your proposed responsibilities during the long-range projection period. Give a rough outline in yearly blocks of how you hope to develop over this period. Are there special roles relating to these projects that may imply the need for departmental or colleague accommodation? Are major redefinitions of your institutional roles involved? Are other changes implied that will necessitate dialogue with those responsible for institutional planning? This statement should define the larger context out of which specific Faculty Development Proposals may be formulated.

** The Profile is meant to be revised every three years in conjunction with the Plan (see below).  Please submit one (1) paper copy to the Chair of the Faculty Development Committee.

view Faculty Development Profile Outline PDF

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Faculty Development Plan Outline

Begin with a cover sheet that includes your name, department, and the time period for which the current Plan is being designed (not to exceed three years).

I. Scope of the Plan in Relation to the Faculty Development Profile

The purpose of your Faculty Development Profile is to give direction and coherence to your personal development over a long-range period, typically three years). State in this section the relationship between the development Plan you are now designing and your long-range Profile. Which particular aspects of your Profile are you emphasizing in this Plan? For example, if your Profile calls for a long-range program of personal study or for an eventual major change in institutional role, what steps will you be taking most immediately?

II.  Individual Plan for Growth

The basic components of your growth plan will consist of your statements of personal goals, means of accomplishing these goals, and means for assessing the extent and quality of goal accomplishment.

You may design as many goals as you judge to be attainable within the time frame of your Plan. Some of your goals may be simple in the sense that you specify only one means for accomplishment and one means for assessment. The outline for stating such goals should be as follows:

• Goal A
• Means of Accomplishment (1)
• Means of Assessment (1)
• Means of Accomplishment (2)
• Means of Assessment (2)
• Means of Accomplishment (3), etc.
• Goal B, etc.

Whether your goals are simple or complex, the instructions for each of the categories listed above are as follows:

A. Goal Statement

State a particular goal that you wish to accomplish this period of development. Avoid vagueness and generalities. A well-stated goal is specific enough to suggest means for accomplishment. A goal should also be measurable in the sense that it suggests means and criteria for assessing the extent and quality of accomplishment. For example, the goal "to excel in teaching" is too vague and general to suggest either means for accomplishment or means for assessing accomplishment. In contrast, the following variation of this goal is an improvement:

"To ascertain student and colleague opinion on the effectiveness of my teaching in introductory courses in Mathematics"

Obviously the example above is not as global as the originally conceived goal. It can be seen as a first step in implementing the desire for excellence in teaching. It is specific enough to suggest means for accomplishment and means for assessing accomplishment. Furthermore, once accomplished, this goal provides the basis for additional goals that can be part of a later development Plan.

B. Means of Accomplishment

Describe the step or steps that you will take during the time period to accomplish your stated goal.  Be as specific as possible. For example, relative to the above goal on ascertaining teaching effectiveness, the means of accomplishment should not merely be a paraphrasing of the goal statement. Rather, it should indicate a clear procedure as follows:

Means of Accomplishment (1)
At the completion of my 2008 courses in Countless Numbers (MATH 101) and A Baker's Dozen and Other Math Anomalies (MATH 450), all students will be asked to complete the university's course evaluation form.

Means of Accomplishment (2)
Dr. Louis Skolnick of the math department will be asked to sit in on three consecutive sessions of both MATH 101 and MATH 450. He will also be asked to complete a written statement on observed strengths and weaknesses.

Means of Accomplishment (3)
After discussion with Dr. Skolnick relative to student opinions as well his observations of my teaching effectiveness, I will prepare a written statement describing the areas where I now see the need for improvement, with an indication of possible corrective measures in areas of weakness.

Note that the third means of accomplishment provides a possible transition between the present goal and a future goal of initiating corrective measures.

C. Means of Assessment

For each step under "Means of Accomplishment" indicate:

1. the means you will use to measure your progress toward accomplishing your goal;
2. the colleagues who will assist you in this process;
3. the feedback that will help to assure the committee that the funding received through Faculty Development was a factor contributing to you professional growth.

The above instructions for writing goal statements, means of accomplishment, and means of assessment should be used for each goal in your development Plan.

III.  Signature of Chairperson

The chairperson's signature should appear with yours at the end of the Plan indicating that the faculty member's stated goals are consonant with those of the department.

** Individual development Plans should be submitted to the Faculty Development Committee prior to requests for funding (e.g., Proposals). Faculty Plans must be updated every three years in conjunction with the Profile.  Please submit three (3) paper copies and one (1) electronic copy of your Plan to the committee.

view Faculty Development Plan Outline PDF