Faculty Development
Faculty Development
Our Mission
The Faculty Development Team at Bethel University seeks to partner with faculty by:
- Providing occasions for collaboration and conversation around our common purposes;
- Offering resources and perspectives that promote effective teaching;
- Encouraging the scholarly activities of faculty.
Based on feedback from faculty as significant needs, we aim to provide development by facilitating:
- Improved general teaching skills,
- Increased use of innovative instructional practices,
- The development of classroom-based assessment,
- Effective instruction for our students, and
- The management of professional roles of the professor.
Services
- Classroom observation and one-on-one improvement planning
- Collaborative workshops
- Materials for developing and refining instructional practices
Visit our blog for more resources.
Faculty Development Funds
Professional Development Biennium Funds
Every faculty member is encouraged to attend regularly the meetings of appropriate learned and professional societies. To foster this professional involvement a faculty member may draw up to $1,150 per biennium of professional development biennium funds to help defray the cost of attending such meetings. Biennia begin in odd-numbered years. Professional development biennium funds do not require pre-approval as long as they are used to attend a professional conference.
Adjunct faculty with adjunct plus status are funded on a pro-rata basis (i.e., 5/7 load for two years = 5/7 of the established amount). Full-time and teaching partner faculty members on one-year appointments (such as a term appointment for one year) are not eligible for funding. Full-time faculty with term appointments (e.g., a two-year appointment) are eligible for half the funds available to faculty in continuing or tenure-eligible positions.
Paper Presentation Funds
Faculty who are presenting a paper at a professional conference may apply for an additional $600 per biennium to cover expenses at the conference where the paper will be presented. The professional paper must be accepted for reading at a national meeting of a learned or professional association before requesting these funds. Faculty may also apply for $500 per biennium on top of that if they will be presenting at an international conference. These additional funds may only be used if the original $1,150 has been exhausted, or will not be enough to cover the travel/conference expense. Application for the funds should be made at least 30 days prior to the conference.
Competitive Seminar Funds
All full-time College of Arts & Sciences faculty may apply for funds to participate in competitive professional development summer seminars. Seminars that are considered competitive usually include letters of recommendation and essays or proposed projects as part of the application process. Funding of up to $1,500 is available per biennium.