Strategy & Plan
At the U, we recognize the value of supporting and empowering our instructors. Student success and academic achievement are both largely dependent on the ongoing professional development of teachers. A Teaching Excellence Working Group collaborated closely with the Martha Bradley Evans Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) to support this commitment and lead a campus-wide initiative to explore, develop and adopt a framework to define, evaluate, advance, and celebrate teaching excellence. In alignment with our peer institutions, we are creating a unified, campus-wide approach to instructional assessment and development.
The Teaching Excellence & Development Framework is designed to be flexible, adapting to the diverse disciplines across our institution, and centrally supported to ensure its cohesion and efficacy. For many years we have relied too heavily on limited and partial sources of evidence, mainly student feedback, to evaluate teaching and support faculty development. This innovative framework prioritizes teacher development through holistic, evidence-based assessment practices and connected services and resources. It is proposed that CTE will provide centralized, multidimensional assessment tools to support the evaluation efforts of our faculty and administrators.
August 2022 | Formation of Teaching Excellence Task Force
Dr. Martell Teasley establishes a Teaching Excellence task force to develop a framework that the University of Utah can adopt. This will be chaired by Jim Agutter and comprised of faculty from across the institution, representing various teaching ranks. In addition, we will partner with the faculty office to ensure it fits with the RPT process and guidelines. Informational information sessions will be given to a wide range of groups across campus so that it widely known that the effort has begun.
Teaching Excellence Working Group Memo to Council of Academic Deans (CAD) and campus leaders
Teaching Excellence Working Group Members: Jim Agutter (chair), Anne Cook, Adam Halstrom, Staci McIntosh, Rob MacLeod, Brian Harris, Rachel Hayes, Wendy Hobson-Rohrer, Myra Washington, Rebecca Wilson, Holly Godsey, Sneha Kasera, Hollis Robbins, Emma Houston, Pablo Plantino
Fall 2022 | Development of Framework
Utilizing best practices and working with our partner institutions, such as the University of Colorado at Boulder, we will prepare a draft of a framework that can be modified, adapted, and aligned with University of Utah goals. This includes inviting Dr. Noah Finkelstein from the University of Colorado to visit Utah and lead the task force through UofC's work and how it can work here.
Late 2022 | Technology Support
The task force would put together a series of town hall meetings for faculty and others to give feedback on the proposed framework so we could have substantial faculty input. This would include information discussions with Deans and other leaders on campus. The results would be consolidated, and adjustments would be made to the framework.
Spring 2023 | Town Halls & Info Sessions
The task force would put together a series of town hall meetings for faculty and others to give feedback on the proposed framework so we could have substantial faculty input. This would include information discussions with Deans and other leaders on campus. The results would be consolidated, and adjustments would be made to the framework.
Teaching Effectiveness Framework Feed Back Sessions were held on March 2nd and March 15th, 2023
Fall 2023 | Presentation to CAD
The task force would present the framework to CAD and the Academic Leadership Committee for review and adoption. Feedback would be integrated, and the framework would be adjusted accordingly.
Late Fall 2023 | Faculty Senate Consideration
In order for the framework to be widely validated, supported, and utilized it will require feedback from the faculty senate. This step ensures that in addition to the town halls and other informal feedback sessions that we have a strong faculty support for this initiative.