Instructor

Gabriele Bauer, Ph.D., Assistant Director
Center for Teaching Effectiveness, 212 Gore Hall
Office hours by appointment
gabriele@udel.edu
Phone: 831-2914

Please use WebCT mail to communicate with the instructor and fellow students. I will try to reply to your e-mail messages within 24 hours.
 

This course has been designed for graduate students across disciplines who are pursuing careers as faculty members at institutions of higher education. As you are preparing for the transition from graduate school to a faculty appointment, you may experience emotions that range from excitement and "can't wait!" to anxiety and uncertainty. A specialist in your discipline, you may find yourself an amateur on the new campus. The experiences that you bring with you are foremost the experiences of graduate education, not the experiences of faculty status. How can you maximize these experiences, prepare yourself for the transition, and achieve the best fit among your academic preparation, personal needs, institutional and departmental characteristics?

I look forward to exploring the terrain of faculty life at various types of institutions with you and helping you prepare for an effective transition. I welcome your input and questions; they are essential to making this course personally meaningful and relevant to you. 
 

Course Description

This course entitled “Faculty roles in institutions of higher education” reflects one content area of the Higher Education Teaching Certification (HETC) program that is designed to provide a systematic and comprehensive preparation of graduate students for all aspects of their future faculty careers.  The program is open to all graduate students (both at the Masters and Doctoral levels) who intend to become future faculty (regardless of discipline).

Context

Each year, hundreds of graduate students begin new faculty appointments. How did they make this career decision? What facilitates their transition? How do they settle into a new job and establish themselves as academics? What is expected of them at different types of institutions? How do they balance their professional work and personal lives?

The main goal of this course is to help you acquire a basic understanding of the higher education context, the types and characteristics of academic institutions, and the multifaceted roles of faculty through readings, research, discussions, and assignments that will allow you to make informed career decisions, enhance your awareness of academic career issues and prepare you for your responsibilities as junior faculty in your discipline. This course builds upon the knowledge and skills acquired in the course focused on the academic job search, UNIV 603.

The course consists of three units, each pertaining to a different aspect of faculty roles and responsibilities at different types of institutions.

Unit 1:      Characteristics of various types of academic institutions and implications for faculty worklife
                Transition from graduate work to academic profession
                June 7 - June 14

Unit 2:      Academic profession: roles, responsibilities, expectations, rewards and challenges
                Experiences, stories and advice of junior faculty colleagues
                June 15 - June 25

Unit 3:      Academic productivity and success: The road to tenure and beyond
                June 26 - July 5
                 

Back to contents

• Prepare for the transition from graduate study to a professional career by asking you to think about what it is to work in a faculty position.
  
• Enhance your knowledge of the higher education context by researching the various types of academic institutions and their characteristics.
  
• Explore the multifaceted roles of faculty in higher education, such as advisor, committee member, conference presenter, grant writer, researcher, teacher, time and task manager.
  
• Apply aspects of faculty work life to the context, expectations and conventions of your discipline.
• Deliberate standards and principles of professional ethics and delineate guidelines for your professional behavior in the discipline.
• Reflect on your personal academic career aspirations and beliefs based on your understanding of the issues presented in the course
  
• Design an action plan to help prepare for your responsibilities as junior faculty in your discipline and to help manage aspects of faculty life.
• Enhance your readiness to start a faculty position - prepare or refine your teaching statement (philosophy).
  
• Work within a a supportive forum in which you discuss aspects of your future faculty career with faculty and peers.
• Identify and use research and resources that help you prepare for and succeed in your junior faculty position.

Back to contents 

Many of you will be taking the various content areas of the HETC program at the same time, thus forming a learning community. As a member of this learning community you will engage in informed discussions about higher education with the same cohort of peers, continue to learn from each other, and provide support and resources to each other. The online discussions facilitate this ongoing conversation and reflection.
 
Instructional methods utilized in the course (both online and in-class):

• Team-based projects.
• Small group work and discussion.
• Class discussion.
• Case study analysis and discussion.
• Individual readings, writing, and reflection.
• Guest faculty.
• Oral and written presentations.

Back to contents

• June 7, 2007:              First seminar (course context, objectives, and structure)
• June 14, 2007:            Second seminar
• June 21, 2007:            Third seminar
• June 28, 2007:            Fourth seminar
  
• July 5, 2007:               Final seminar

Refer to University Guidelines for Responsible Computing to assure appropriate use of computing resources.

Back to contents

• Guest faculty: institutional profile and questions           Seminars: June 14, 21, and 28, and July 5    Team project
  
• Teaching statement with copy of peer feedback             July 6
  
• Expectations for scholarly productivity                          June 30
  
• Reflective audio or print journal                                    July 7 -  submit to instructor via WebCT e-mail                                                                                    
  

• Attend and actively participate in seminar activities. You need to attend all seminars. Inform the instructor in advance of legitimate absences.
• Complete required readings prior to each seminar session. You need to keep up with the readings as they form the basis for assignment completion and class discussion.
• Initiate a discussion per unit or respond to a peer's posting.
  
• Keep a reflective journal throughout the course; submit to the instructor at the end of  the course.
  
• Complete the application assignments at a satisfactory level and submit on time.
• Provide and incorporate constructive online feedback.
• Participate fully in the evaluation of the entire course. Your constructive feedback is essential in enhancing this course.

• Required readings provide an overview and address key concepts; they reinforce and support the seminars. Please complete required readings prior to each seminar.
• Supplementary readings elaborate on these key concepts and provide examples and illustrations.
  
• Online discussions allow you to synthesize, evaluate and think back on the readings, particularly as they pertain to your post-graduate plans.
  
• Applications and online discussions are outlined in each unit. Refer to "Due Dates" or calendar to keep track of your work.

Ethical Academic Conduct

You are responsible for understanding and acting according to the University of Delaware's policy concerning ethical academic conduct. You are expected to be honest and forthright in all of your academic work. Attempts to falsify or plagiarize will be treated in accordance with University policy.

Back to contents

In addition to the resources provided in the course, also access the University of Delaware electronic library holdings, your department library, and the Internet for references.

Back to contents

Last Updated: June 4, 2007