PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
POLICY FOR ACADEMIC STAFF
IN THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
August 25, 2000
Approved
by the Academic Planning Council, February 7, 2001
The School of Education supports professional
development for all members of the academic staff.
Departments and units are expected to provide
the professional development opportunities necessary so that academic
staff members can perform required responsibilities. Departments
and units are also encouraged to provide access to other professional
development opportunities to enhance the value of academic staff
members as employees of the School or the University.
The School is large, and its departments and units
vary greatly in size and scope. They also vary greatly in practice
regarding professional development. Each department and unit is
encouraged to have a written policy stating support of professional
development for its academic staff members. To avoid confusion,
the professional development policy should be distributed separately
from other policies about academic staff leave and vacation benefits.
Chairs and directors are encouraged to develop
a mechanism for regularly reviewing a department’s or unit’s
policy and practices related to professional development. They
are expected to explore ways to provide support, such as the equivalent
of released time and funding, for the professional development of
each member of the academic staff. This policy should be posted
and also distributed to all academic staff periodically.
Examples of policies now in effect within the
School's departments and units and examples of successfully funded
campus professional development grants can be secured from the School's
Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI). Inquire c/o the Dean's
Office as to the name of the current chair. These examples can
be found here.
A professional development policy should:
-
provide examples of professional
development experiences and resources that might support academic
staff employees' overall professional growth, including a list of
generic types of professional development opportunities to show
the range, e.g., one-hour programs on campus; professional meetings
on campus with counterparts in other departments or schools; attendance
at a workshop or conference being held on or off campus; attendance
at a regional, state or national conference related to one's responsibilities
or academic discipline; opportunities to participate on School,
campus or professional committees; and funding for resources;
-
state some of the ways in which
all academic staff members might find out about and seek to take
advantage of professional development opportunities on campus and
off campus, including but not limited to no-cost and low-cost opportunities;
-
provide examples of professional
development opportunities for which professional released time might
be available and those for which regularly scheduled working time
must be made up;
-
include a copy of any forms
associated with a request for professional released time and/or
funding for professional development, including information as to
whether or not a written report or other kind of formal evaluation
is expected;
-
address the ways in which varying
aspects of academic staff responsibility, longevity, and other equity
matters may affect decisions concerning released time and funding;
-
refer to sources of information
about campus and state travel expense regulations;
-
include steps for revision
of the current policy at the department or unit level;
-
indicate how new and continuing
academic staff employees will find out about the policy and any
modifications to it; and
-
include information about the
School's Committee on Academic Staff Issues.