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Professional Development

Some of the programs which serve to assist faculty in advancing professional development and enhancing their chances of success at Cal Poly are outlined below.  In addition to availing themselves of these opportunities, new faculty are particularly encouraged to consult with their departmental colleagues as well as their department head/chair regularly throughout their probationary period to ensure the highest likelihood of success in their academic endeavors.

The Grants Development Office (GDO)

The Grants Development Office (GDO) assists faculty in identifying and obtaining external funding for research and instructional projects, public service activities, fellowships, and other opportunities. It maintains and disseminates current information on funding through its web page at http://www.grants.calpoly.edu; provides assistance in the development of proposals and budgets and completion of sponsor forms; ensures conformance with institutional and sponsor requirements; and obtains University and Corporation review and approval.  The GDO represents the University in the negotiation of awards with sponsors, and identifies regulatory requirements and intellectual property issues.  It also provides periodic reports on proposals and awards to the University.  For more information please browse the GDO web page, or call 756-2982.

Statistics Consulting Service

The Statistics Department, located in Faculty Offices East (25-107D), provides a statistical consulting service for faculty, staff, and students to facilitate research design and data analysis in any discipline. Those wishing to avail themselves of this opportunity should bring a description of their research goals, collected dataset and a description of how the data was collected. A consultant is available to lead seminars, group lectures or tutorials on requested topics and to offer advice on all aspects of statistical analysis including data collection, experimental design, analytic techniques, and statistical software. This service is not intended to supplant or be an adjunct to classroom instruction. Contact the Statistics Department at 756-2709 for information on walk-in consulting hours, which vary by quarter, or to make an appointment with the consultant.  Additional information is also available on the statistics website at: http://www.calpoly.edu/~stat/consulting.htm.

Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) provides teacher/scholar support for tenure-track and tenured faculty, lecturers, instructionally related staff, and graduate associates. The CTL interacts with colleges and departments; conducts workshops and classes; provides newer faculty orientation; facilitates faculty learning communities; offers grants; conducts individual consultations with faculty; conducts class observations and class video recording; communicates with faculty through the CTL website, newsletter, and e-mail; and coordinates the Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program. The CTL is a safe, supportive environment in which faculty and staff can receive assistance.  CTL interactions are not revealed to others without permission.

The mission is to enhance teaching and learning by providing an environment and resources to:

  • Create opportunities for faculty and staff to improve their teaching skills and learning strategies
  • Promote cross-disciplinary discussion and collaboration
  • Sustain an interactive community of faculty and staff learners
  • Encourage awareness of issues that affect both the academic community and its disciplines
  • Help faculty and staff maintain currency in their chosen fields

Please visit www.ctl.calpoly.edu or call 756-7002 for any Center for Teaching and Learning related information.

Faculty Development Workshops

The CTL offers a variety of workshops and classes to help faculty and staff further develop their skills. Workshops and classes include:

Teaching Well

The Teaching Well Workshops are a series of interactive workshops that cover a variety of relevant topics to help faculty throughout the academic year. Topics include teaching practices, technology integration, and course development. For information on specific dates and times, visit the CTL to view the latest workshop calendar.

Effective Teaching and Learning

The CTL’s Effective Teaching and Learning Course is a quarter-long course for faculty from across the disciplines.  The course offers an opportunity for faculty to attain knowledge and learn skills to improve effectiveness as instructors and to provide better student learning.  This course provides an opportunity for participants to interact and share ideas. 

Dimensions of Learning

Dimensions of Learning is a seminar that uses a comprehensive model of what researchers and theorists know about learning to define the learning process. Its premise is that the following five types of thinking are essential to successful learning:

  1. DevelopingI positive attitudes and perceptions
  2. Acquiring and integrating knowledge
  3. Extending and refining knowledge
  4. Using knowledge meaningfully
  5. Developing productive habits of mind

As part of this quarter-long seminar, participants will learn about instructional strategies, curriculum planning, and assessment practices that can be incorporated into their courses.

Newer Faculty Learning Communities

The CTL provides a wide variety of opportunities to support Cal Poly’s newer faculty, including the Newer Faculty Learning Communities (NFLC) and Newer Faculty Orientation. The main objectives of the NFLC are to provide a support network (social and professional) for newer faculty, to foster a sense of community and collegiality on campus and to build an individual and learning community product.

Writing In Generally Every Discipline (WINGED)

Cal Poly’s WINGED (Writing In Generally Every Discipline) seminar is a workshop series for faculty from across the disciplines. This workshop offers conversation, insight, and pragmatic strategies for a variety of classroom concerns, including encouraging students to think critically about course content, assuring that students complete and understand course reading, and increasing the quality of the projects, exams, and papers. Your students can become better thinkers, readers, and writers—and you can make your classes more focused and relevant, including reducing both your grading load and your worry load.

Grammar Brush-Up

The Grammar Brush-Up workshop offers faculty and staff the opportunity to polish their writing skills. Whether you are struggling with a grant proposal, lack confidence in your writing abilities, never really learned the difference between “lie” and “lay,” or just need to fine-tune your existing skills, this course can help you polish your written work.

Consultations

The CTL offers a variety of teacher/scholar support and consultations to help individuals or groups of faculty and staff further develop their skills. To schedule a consultation, please contact the CTL at ctl@calpoly.edu or 756-7002.  Available consultations include:

Teaching/Learning Consultation

The CTL consults with faculty regarding the teaching/learning methods that they are using in a variety of ways:

  • Individual meetings (these meetings may cover any classroom questions or concerns)
  • Class observations (a classroom session is observed and then discussed)
  • Classroom video recording (a classroom session is recorded, the video reviewed by instructor, and discussed)

Scholarship Support

The CTL consults with faculty regarding their scholarly activities on an assortment of topics, including potential funding opportunities, potential conferences for presentations, publication opportunities, and mechanisms for improving efficiency. Consultation support is provided in the areas of discipline-based scholarship and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Other Consultation Opportunities

The CTL provides consultative support in other areas such as the retention, tenure and promotion process; inter-personal dynamics; opportunities outside the University; and time management.

Course Enhancement with Technology

Courseware Development

Technology can be used to enhance teaching and learning through the use of animation, simulations, demonstrations, web pages, images, videos, audio, or electronic text for your students. The CTL’s highly experienced Instructional Technology Consultants are available to consult with faculty to effectively use technology to enhance teaching and learning. Their team of student assistants may be able to create multimedia resources for faculty that will turn on that proverbial "light bulb" for students. For more information on the process that the Instructional Technology Consultants have designed to assist you in creating technical resources for your courses, please review the Courseware Development Process at http://www.ctl.calpoly.edu/consult/courseware.html.

Hybrid/Online Assistance

A hybrid or blended course (pdf) is a combination of face-2-face and online teaching and learning. For example: one version of a hybrid course that usually meets three days a week may weekly meet face-2-face for two days and online the other. In contrast, an online course is taken fully online with no face-2-face meetings.

Teaching in these class formats may be a new experience for some faculty. Grant programs (see “Grants,” below) and consultations are available from the CTL to aid faculty in transforming a face-2-face course to a hybrid format to meet their teaching and learning objectives in this new environment.

Blackboard

Consultations are available to assist faculty in using the Blackboard learning management system. The CTL has highly experienced Instructional Technology Consultants who will work with faculty to develop technical solutions to support teaching and learning. These consultants provide faculty with training and development support; consultants may even help faculty create resources that address a faculty member’s particular needs. For additional information on the process for creating technical resources, please review the Courseware Development processes section of CTL’s website at: http://www.ctl.calpoly.edu/consult/courseware.html.

Grants and Awards

CTL Technology Grant Program

The CTL Technology Grant Program is designed to assist faculty in achieving Cal Poly’s commitment to teaching excellence by incorporating technology into their course(s) to enhance student learning and improve in their roles as scholars. Tenured and tenure-track probationary faculty are eligible to participate in the CTL Technology Grant Program. Technology experience of participants may vary from novice to highly proficient, all of whom are welcome to apply.

CTL Grant Program

The CTL Grant Program (CTLGP) is designed to aid in achieving Cal Poly’s commitment to teaching excellence and the resulting quality enhancement of the learning experience. Its purpose is to assist faculty at the assistant and associate professor ranks (probationary or tenured) to improve course activities, particularly course redesign or course development, by providing assigned time, travel support, equipment, and/or funding for student assistance.

CSU Forgivable Loan Program

The Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) seeks to provide loans to a limited number of doctoral students who are interested in applying and competing for California State University (CSU) instructional faculty positions after finishing their doctoral degrees. For program details and additional information, visit http://www.calstate.edu/hr/cdip/index.shtml.

State Faculty Support Grants (SFSG)

The State Faculty Support Grant program supports research, scholarship, and creative activities designed to help faculty members remain current in their disciplines, with the intent of strengthening California socially, culturally, and economically. Priority is given to tenure-track faculty and those in disciplines with few outside funding sources, as well as to projects likely to lead to the acquisition of external funding.

There are three types of support:

  1. Minigrants (maximum $5,000)
  2. Assigned time (maximum WTUs allowed depends upon current WTU replacement value)
  3. One-quarter leave (12 WTU) at full pay

An award may include both a minigrant and assigned time, up to a total value of $9,000 (as of 2009-10). The deadline for SFSG proposals is usually in mid-January of each year. For the current deadline, guidelines and application forms and procedures, contact Research and Graduate Programs (756-1508) or visit their website at www.rgp.calpoly.edu.

Extramural Funding Initiative (EFI)

Funds are made available annually by the Provost’s Office to support faculty in the development of proposals for extramural funding. Any project that has the potential to attract significant external funding and form the basis for a long-term effort will be considered. Priority is given to projects with the most potential for success and those that more closely align with major college/campus initiatives. EFI funding may be used for direct support of the development and submission of a proposal for extramural funding, or for preliminary work needed to support a future proposal (experimentation, data collection, etc.).

The deadline for EFI proposals is usually in March or April of each year. Requests made early in the academic year or prior to the start of the year will have a greater likelihood of approval. For more information, contact the Research and Graduate Programs Office (756-1508).

Faculty Exchange Opportunities

Faculty exchange opportunities are initiated by the faculty member cooperatively with a colleague from another university, and must have the concurrence of the faculty member’s department head/chair and dean. A formal agreement is negotiated and must be approved by officials at both affected campuses. The faculty members each retain their position at their respective universities, and their salary and benefits continue just as if they were in residence at their home campus. Exchanges may be negotiated with faculty from other CSU campuses or other universities in the U.S. or abroad. Exchanges may be negotiated for an entire academic year or specific terms thereof. More information about and administrative support for faculty who have an opportunity for such an exchange may be obtained by calling Academic Personnel at 756-6570.

International Faculty Exchange Opportunities

There are numerous international exchange options available to faculty members that provide opportunities for travel, professional development, and a unique teaching experience. Cal Poly has faculty led programs in Australia, London, Thailand and the Cal Poly at Sea program in association with Cal Maritime. International opportunities may also include coordinating departmental exchange agreements with an overseas university, coordinating an extended field trip with students in within your department, serving as a resident director in one of the CSU International Programs sites, teaching overseas with University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), and teaching and research opportunities with the Fulbright Program. Faculty interested in participating in an exchange should consult with their department head/chair to inquire about both the college and department policies on faculty participation in international education, and with Academic Personnel regarding the paperwork necessary to document an exchange between a Cal Poly faculty member and a faculty member from an international institution (see preceding paragraph). For additional information visit the International Education and Programs Office.

Sabbatical Leaves

Sabbatical leaves with pay may be granted to eligible employees if the research, scholarly or creative activity, instructional improvement, or faculty retraining provides a benefit to the University. Full-time faculty members, except coaches, are eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave after completing six (6) academic years of full-time service in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave and at least six (6) years after any previous sabbatical or difference in pay leave. Eligibility lists are distributed annually to each dean and department head/chair by Academic Personnel, and applications must be submitted to the department head/chair by November 1 of the academic year preceding the proposed leave.  Sabbatical leave compensation for academic year employees is:

  • one quarter at full pay; or
  • two quarters at three-quarters pay; or
  • three quarters at one-half pay

Difference-In-Pay Leaves

Full-time faculty members, except coaches, are eligible to apply for a difference-in-pay leave after serving full time for six (6) years in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave.  For a subsequent difference-in-pay leave, a faculty member is eligible after serving three (3) academic years following the last sabbatical or difference-in-pay leave. This leave must be for a purpose that provides a benefit to the University such as research, scholarly or creative activity, instructional improvement, or faculty retraining.  The salary for a difference-in-pay leave for a faculty employee is the difference between the individual's salary and that of the minimum salary of Instructor. Eligibility lists are distributed annually to each dean and department head/chair by Academic Personnel, and applications must be submitted to the department head/chair by November 1 of the academic year preceding the proposed leave.

Fee Waiver

Eligible faculty members can enroll in two (2) courses or six (6) units, whichever is greater, of work-related or career development courses per quarter. Tenured and probationary faculty unit employees as well as lecturers with three (3) year appointments pursuant to Article 12 of the collective bargaining agreement are eligible. Coaches with at least six (6) years of full-time equivalent service in a department may be considered eligible. Employees on approved leave of absence, if otherwise eligible, may participate in the program. Fee waiver forms and information are available from Human Resources.

Under current IRS regulations, fees waived for employee undergraduate or graduate coursework are nontaxable up to $5,250 annually. Fees for courses taken through Extended Studies can not be waived.

Faculty Dependent Fee Waiver Program

Eligible faculty members may transfer a partial fee waiver benefit to a spouse, dependent child, or to a certified domestic partner.  Eligible members of Unit 3 include all tenured and probationary faculty employees, as well as temporary faculty employees with at least six (6) years of full-time equivalent service in any one department. FERP employees are considered tenured faculty and are eligible for fee waiver only during the quarters when they are actively employed.

The fee waiver benefit entitlement consists of two (2) courses or six (6) units, whichever is greater in total units, per term. The program allows for a reduction of tuition fees based on statutory restrictions, CSU policy and collective bargaining agreements. For a summary of fees and calculations, go to Human Resource’s Dependent Fee Waiver Site for fee waiver forms and information and Human Resources for guidelines and forms.

A dependent child is:

  1. Your child or stepchild who has never been married
  2. A child living with you in a parent-child relationship who is economically dependent upon you (in accordance with IRS guidelines) and has never been married. Requires completion of the affidavit of Eligibility for Economically Dependent Children, Form HR 133e
  3. Your child or stepchild who is incapable of self-support due to a disability that existed prior to age 23. Requires completion of the Disabled Dependent Benefit Form HR 133d

Fees waived for graduate classes are reported as taxable income; fees waived for undergraduate courses for spouse or dependent child are non-taxable.