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Center for Faculty Excellence
ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
1
Executive Summary The Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) has a mission to provide professional learning resources
and activities designed to help all faculty flourish as teachers, scholars, and colleagues.
Our interactions are: Foundational, voluntary, and confidential Our approach is: For faculty, by faculty
Increased Audience: The number of CFE users remains steady (579 participants), an 83% increase in the number from the 2014-15 academic year, despite a decrease in operational budget of 19% over the same two-year time period.
Improved Portfolio Outcomes: The 2016-17 CFE redesign of the Portfolio Workshops has been very successful. Faculty learned more than in 2015-16 about portfolio inclusion (+47%), due
dates (+30%), reviewer perspective (+29%, narratives (+27%), and locating resources (+26%).
Increased Orientation Satisfaction: Since the CFE revamped Tenure-Track
Orientation in the fall of 2015, satisfaction has greatly improved. In
addition to increased satisfaction rates in our exit evaluations (a satisfaction
rating of 4.4 out of 5) , the 2017 Climate Survey Orientation confirms that new
tenure-track faculty are increasingly getting what they need at orientation.
26%67%
69%72%
74%74%75%
87%
… know the significance of tenure… see the reviewer perspective…write my narrative
… know the review process… know the review schedule… know where to locate resources… know my due dates… know what to include
Portfolio Workshop Learning Outcomes
Percent of respondents who said they learned to ...
Fig. 2
7%35%
29%27%
6%25%
30%47%
Outcome Performance
Increase from 2015-16
Fig. 1
Fig.3
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Increased Degree of Satisfaction: Ninety percent reported they were
Somewhat or Strongly Satisfied with the CFE activities, an increase of 3%
from the previous year.
Learning Communities and Portfolio Workshops are the most popular events, and their satisfaction scores
increased +4% and +10% respectively.
Increased Consultations: The number of one-on-one consultations, related to either Digital Measures or of a general nature, has increased 41% over the last year. The CFE continues to run faculty consultations and workshops affiliated with the Digital Measures portfolio preparation for the review, tenure, promotion, and sabbatical process.
Increased Participation: The popular year-round Writing In The Semester
program (WITS) has nearly doubled its attendance this year.
Workshop and forum participants have
seen an increase of 58% from the previous year.
83%87% 90%
2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Satisfaction Over TimeFig. 4
4.2
4.4
4.4
4.6
4.9
Forums
Portfolio Workshops
Orientation
Workshops
Learning Communities
Event Satisfaction Ratings
Sati
sfac
tio
n le
vel
Fig. 5
207
393
109146
2015-16 2016-17
Individual Consultations
Digital Measures General
Fig. 6
+ 41%
2015-6 2016-7
WITS
25
58
2015-6 2016-7
Workshops & Forums
154
244
Fig. 7 Participation
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
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Preface
We are very pleased to note the achievements of the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) this past year and its contributions in aiding faculty to flourish as teachers and scholars at MSU Denver. The services offered by the CFE are meaningful and valuable to colleagues as evidenced by the overwhelming majority of CFE users who are highly satisfied with programs offered by the CFE. Over 90% of faculty who participated in Center programs reported that they were either ‘Somewhat’ or ‘Strongly Satisfied’ with CFE activities. Over the past year, the CFE has continued to make extraordinary contributions to the MSU Denver community. The Center served 579 participants, which is an 88% increase from the 2014-15 academic year, and with a smaller budget (by 19%) over the same time period. In the past year, the Center also increased the number of participants in faculty and staff forums by 58% from 2015-16. The two faculty & staff forums this past year focused on very pertinent and immediate classroom concerns for faculty – Mindset & Assessment practices. The CFE continues to be adept in partnering with institutions on and off our campus for the benefit of MSU Denver faculty. Collaborators in the past year have included the Auraria library, MSU Denver Faculty Senate, Human Resources, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Student Veterans Organization, among others. These partnerships and
collaborative programs have synergistically amplified the contributions of the Center to help faculty better serve MSU Denver students. For example, in collaboration with the Campus Student Veterans Organization, the CFE has held a workshop titled “Veteran Student Boot Camp: Tools and Best Practices for Supporting Veteran Students to Graduation” several times over the past year. This well-received workshop has been valuable in helping faculty and staff learn more about how they can better support veteran students at MSU Denver. Other collaborations have similarly identified overlapping concerns with other campus centers to maximize resources and competencies to serve faculty needs. The CFE provides individual consultations for faculty on a wide variety of faculty concerns from effectiveness in the classroom to organizing faculty portfolios in Digital Measures. Over the past year, roughly two-thirds of individual consultations (393) concerned Digital Measures. For faculty at CAT II, Tenure-track and post-tenure levels, these consultations are invaluable. Over the academic year, the CFE also hosted workshops for faculty on how to prepare their Digital Measures portfolios. Moreover, the total number of one-on-one consultations increased by 41% from the previous year. As in the previous year, the CFE’s work with new faculty cannot be emphasized enough. This past year, the CFE, in collaboration with Human Resources,
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further expanded its orientation services to include CAT II faculty. In addition, the CFE’s New Faculty Institute serves as a vital support structure for new colleagues in their first year on our campus. Other initiatives, such as the WITS writing program to assist colleagues in their scholarly writing, have further added value to the CFE’s work. Over the past year, the WITS program has almost doubled its number of participants from 2015-16, which is a testament to its value and effectiveness. Other faculty support initiatives include the Faculty Commons, which is a centralized Cloud repository of resources for faculty including outcomes from Faculty Learning Communities. In summary, the CFE has distinguished itself as the premier organization on campus serving the needs of faculty in exemplary ways and thereby serving the needs of MSU Denver students. The CFE and its leadership have fruitfully exploited synergies in forging campus partnerships for the benefit of faculty in their efforts to support student success. With continued and additional budgetary support, we are confident that the CFE will only grow stronger in the coming years. The Center is a valuable part of MSU Denver’s vision of being recognized as the preeminent public urban university in the nation.
The CFE Advisory Board, September 24, 2017
Philip Bernhardt (SOE)
John Ethier (CLAS)
Lorrie Evans (Auraria Library)
Elizabeth Goodnick (Faculty Senate)
Gwendolyn Mami (OSRP)
William Mesa (COB)
Apryl Rogers-Brodersen (Business)
Jean Rother (CPS)
Arlene Sgoutas (CLAS)
Rebecca Trammel (Associate Dean, CPS)
Andrew Thangasamy (CLAS)
Diane Watkins (ITS)
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................ 1
Preface ........................................................... 3
Purview .......................................................... 5
Annual Budget ................................................ 7
Evaluations ..................................................... 7
New Faculty Orientation ................................ 9
Portfolio Workshops .................................... 10
Scholarly Writing .......................................... 10
Faculty Learning Communities ..................... 11
Faculty Commons ......................................... 13
Workshops & Forums .................................. 13
Consultations and Observations .................. 14
Committee Participation and Leadership .... 16
Staffing ......................................................... 16
Strategic Planning ........................................ 16
Purview MSU Denver’s mission emphasizes a diverse
community engaged in scholarly inquiry,
creative activity and the application of
knowledge. While this certainly refers to the
education of our students, it is also crucial to
stimulate these essential qualities for our
faculty so that they might best serve as mentors
for our students. In the spirit of the institution’s
mission, the Center for Faculty Excellence
(known by its acronym CFE) is dedicated to
providing professional learning resources and
activities designed to help all faculty flourish as
teachers, scholars, and colleagues.
Furthermore, the CFE also strives to create and
facilitate an academic climate where faculty
partner with faculty so that all may reach their
full professional potential. Such interactions
focuses upon foundational, voluntary, and
confidential experiences that promote positive
outcomes for improving the professional lives
of faculty.
Table 1 is a breakdown of faculty from the
2015-16 academic year. Our constituency
consisted of 1,575 total faculty. A total of 350
tenured faculty, 219 tenure-track faculty, 1104
full-time Category II affiliate faculty, and 1006
part-time affiliate faculty. A total of 569 faculty
(36%) were full-time, the remaining 1006
faculty (64%) were part-time.
Table 1. The CFE’s 2015-16 Faculty Constituency.
Tenured
Professor 161
Associate Professor 188
Assistant Professor 1
Tenure-Track
Associate Professor 1
Assistant Professor 114
Full-Time Non-Tenure Track 104
Affiliate 1006
TOTAL 1575
The 2016-17 academic year was one of
continued growth and success for the CFE. This
report outlines our work during the past year
and our future direction. Details about our
programming and initiatives are grouped in
Table 2 according to the appropriate activities
that deal with our four main areas of purview,
as outlined in our mission: Early Career
Development; Teaching and Learning; Cross-
Disciplinary Collaboration; and Academic
Excellence.
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Table 2. All 2016-17 programs and events categorized according to the CFE’s four areas of purview.
Early Career Development
Teaching and Learning
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
Academic Excellence
Orientation Tenure Track and CAT II orientation
- - -
Scholarly Writing - - - Writing Within the Semester
Provost’s Grants
Faculty Learning Communities
New Faculty Institute
Rapport & Retention
Interventions, Just In Time Teaching, On-Line Teaching,
ePortfolios for Learning, Teaching Mathematics On-
line
Growing Up Men, Multicultural
Awareness and Beyond, Faculty
Commons
-
Workshops eSRI Practice. New Faculty Reunion
Teaching Effectiveness
Institute, Veterans Bootcamp, What Employers Want
- Forums on Mindset and Assessment
Consultations & Peer Observations
Summative Peer Observations
T&L Consultations - Digital Measures Consults and Workshops
$57,000
$117,000
$63,000
$127,000
$48,000 $42,000
$788
$220
$363
$165
$241
$81 $73
$-
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
$-
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,000
$140,000
FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17
CFE Annual Budget & Dollars/User
Budget Dollars Dollars/User
Fig. 9
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The conclusion of this report details the CFE’s
internal improvements and its external
collaborations.
In 2016–17, the CFE events drew 579
participants (see Figure 1), 75% who were
Tenure-Track, Category II, and Affiliate faculty;
these individuals comprise approximately 33%
of the university’s 1500 faculty. This number is
an increase of 262 individuals, an 82%
increase from the 2014-15 academic year (2
years ago), despite a decrease in
operational budget of 19% over the same
two-year time period.
Table 3 shows a percentage breakdown of
participants based upon by the Center’s activity
type. One of the most important successes has
been the additional faculty and participating in
workshops and forums (+58%) and the WITS
scholarly writing workshops (+92%).
Annual Budget Figure 9 illustrates the annual operating budget
of the CFE from Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) to
present. The annual budget has varied based
upon yearly institutional budgeting and
deviations in internal allocations. The 2016-17
annual budget was $42,000, the smallest
allocation in the history of the Center, and a
62% decrease from the 2013-2014 budget.
However, the dollars spent per user (FY dollars
divided by annual users), a relatively simple
measure of performance, indicates that the
Center is the most efficient it has ever been,
spending approximately $73 per user in 2016-
17.
Evaluations We conduct anonymous evaluations for all our
activities. For most one-off events, we ask
participants to complete an evaluation form,
tailored to the areas of our purview. Responses
are used to guide and develop future sessions.
We also conduct end-of-year anonymous online
surveys for multi-session programs. The overall
response for CFE events is very positive. Figures
2-4 (in the executive summary) illustrate that
the mean satisfaction scores for all CFE events
were between Satisfied (4.2) and Highly
Satisfied (4.9). Learning Communities and
Workshops remain the most popular events.
The satisfaction scores for almost all CFE events
increased from the previous year, the largest
increase being the Portfolio Workshops (+10%)
and Learning Communities (+4%).
Ninety percent of faculty reported they were
Somewhat or Strongly Satisfied with the CFE
activities they participated in, an increase of 3%
from the previous year (Figure 2).
The Faculty Senate conducts its annual Faculty
Climate survey (every three years) where it also
asks participants to evaluate the CFE, both in
terms of its approval as an MSU Denver
initiative, and in regard to their satisfaction.
Figure 10 displays the 2015-16 results of the
responses. The concept of the CFE, received the
highest overall approval, (together with the
Master’s Programs) with more than 72% of
faculty reporting that they either Somewhat or
Strongly Approve. This represents an increase
from 2013 where over 83% of the faculty
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
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reported that they either somewhat or strongly
approve.
In regard to satisfaction, faculty on the climate
survey were also asked how satisfied or
dissatisfied they were with the implementation
of the same MSU Denver’s initiatives. The CFE
received the highest levels of overall
satisfaction (27%) of all the initiatives, more
than the master's programs (25%) and the
institution’s HSI initiative (19%). Over 72% of
the faculty reported that they were either
Somewhat or Strongly Satisfied with the CFE.
PLANNING
We are delighted that our satisfaction ratings
have improved for most of our events
particularly the Portfolio Workshops, and very
pleased with our perception among the faculty.
We view these ratings as the strongest
endorsement possible of our value to the MSU
Denver community.
Qualitative feedback taken from our evaluations
has provided us many ideas for improvement
that we will employ next year. Likewise, the
Faculty Senate analysis of their climate
responses indicates that the CFE could improve
in reaching out to senior faculty, who were less
satisfied with the CFE
Topics more in line with senior faculty is
something on our agenda to address.
Communication has also improved and we now
send bi-monthly newsletters to improve our
ability to reach faculty.
Table 3. CFE Event Participation Rates.
Activity 2014-15
2015-16 2016-17 CHANGE
Orientation 59 32 29 -9%
Workshops& Forums 30 154 244 +58%
Scholarly Writing 45 25 48 +92%
RTP Workshops 102 218 165 -24%
FLCs 67 167 93 -44%
TOTAL 303 596 579 -3%
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Figure 10. Results of the Faculty 2015-16 Climate Survey in regards to the CFE (data provided by
the Faculty Senate).
New Faculty Orientation On August 4-5, 2016, the CFE’s annual New
Tenure-Track Faculty Orientation program
drew 22 new tenure-track faculty representing
all four schools and colleges and approximately
16 departments and programs. This was the
second year that the CFE merged their
orientation with the New Employee Orientation
hosted by Human Resources, creating a
seamless orientation process for new faculty to
complete their employment and benefits
enrollment, addressing key issues for new
faculty through a series of question-and-answer
discussions, and introducing the various
university support units necessary for faculty,
and meeting a cohort of new colleagues.
A total of 21 volunteer presenters addressed a
variety of discussion topics that included:
shared governance, faculty programs and
services, student programs and services,
successful teaching and learning, resolving
conflicts, and retention and promotion. During
two different lunches, participants networked
with their new chairs as well as colleagues from
their respective school and colleges, and met
with an Information Technology specialist. The
second day concluded with a tour led by Human
Resources to help newcomers develop a sense
of the campus and to obtain their university
keys, identification, and transportation permits.
Faculty who participated in New Faculty Ori-
entation rated it highly (4.5 out of 5 on a Likert
scale). In open-ended feedback they stated that
“all content was extremely helpful. I did not find
any of the sessions boring or unhelpful” and
“excellent.” They also appreciated such “nitty-
gritty” information on “where to go to find
policies” and believed that the “classroom/IT
info was really important.”
On August 9, 2016, the CFE initiated a New
Category II Faculty Orientation together with
Human Resources that drew twelve new
Category II. A total of six volunteer presenters
addressed a variety of discussion topics that
included: faculty and student programs and
services, successful teaching and learning, and
Category II roles and expectations.
Faculty who participated in New Category II
Faculty Orientation rated it highly (4.4 out of 5
on a Likert scale). In open-ended feedback they
found “all of it was valuable” as “practical
0% 20% 40% 60%
Strongly dissaprove
Somewhat dissaprove
Somewhat approve
Strongly Approve
Do you approve in the abstract of the CFE? (n = 389)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Very dissatisified
Somewhat dissatisified
Somewhat satisfied
Very satisified
Are you satisified or dissatisfied with the CFE? (n = 318)
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
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information for new faculty members” and
“conversations about the types of Category II
faculty, procedures for portfolios, multiple year
contracts, information about the union, student
ratings system, need for a summative review,
etc.” They also “appreciated receiving the
information from the policy book on Class II and
“really appreciated seeing Digital Measures
examples on the screen.”
PLANNING
This year’s faculty orientation has transformed
the way in which new faculty begin their MSU
Denver careers. We have broken new ground by
combining efforts with Human Resources to
provide a comprehensive and intensive
orientation that is focused on engagement
rather than lecturing.
Qualitative feedback taken from our evaluations
has provided us with ways to emphasize those
topics that faculty felt were important, and
streamline sections for maximum efficiency.
We hope to create a similar integrated
orientation experience for Category III faculty in
2018.
Portfolio Workshops In 2016, the CFE assumed responsibility for the
Review/Tenure/Promotion Portfolio workshops
and redesigned them in response to faculty
feedback. The redesign has proved to be very
successful. Faculty learned more than in 2015-
16 about portfolio inclusion (+47%), due dates
(+30%), reviewer perspective (+29%, narratives
(+27%), and locating resources (+26%) (see
Figure 2).
The workshops were received favorably (4.4 out
of 5 on a Likert scale), a dramatic +0.4%
increase from 2015-16. Figure 2 is a breakdown
of responses, indicating that the most useful
information conveyed was what must be
included in my Portfolio/Sabbatical Leave
application. All nine measures dramatically
increased (+7 to +43%) from the 2014-15
responses, indicating the change of workshop
was a success. Open ended comments about
our new workshop format included: “Very
helpful to get tips on portfolio preparation from
reviewers.” “I enjoyed hearing from different
people, having multiple voices and perspectives
is very helpful.” “It was helpful to hear other
faculty members’ perspectives and challenges
working through tenure process.” “I thought it
was much more helpful than previous years.“ “I
think that it was well organized, Thank you.”
“Seems to be getting better over the last 2
years.”
PLANNING
The CFE will increase the number of these
workshops in 2017-18.
Scholarly Writing Faculty seeking support for their scholarly writ-
ing activities have a variety of options, including
workshops on the writing and publishing
processes, writing circles, various Faculty
Learning Communities, and a dedicated quiet
space for writing.
The primary CFE scholarly writing offering is a
set of weekly writing workshops (called Writing
In The Semester, or WITS) held all year long in
order to provide faculty the opportunity to
jump-start their writing projects. Dr. Elizabeth
Kleinfeld from the Department of English, who
begins each workshop with a fifteen-minute
discussion about different practical evidence-
based strategies to become more prolific and
confident writers, facilitates the WITS series.
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In 2016–17, 48 different faculty members
attended 34 different WITS workshops to
develop scholarly publications, books and book
chapters, grant proposals, and presentations.
This represents a 92% increase over the 2015-
16 year. Faculty who participated in WITS rated
it highly (4.8 out of 5 on a Likert scale). They
stated in open-ended feedback: “WITS has
helped me to publish two articles and a major
report” and “has helped build a writing habit
and … validate time prioritized for research.”
Virtually all the participants have stated WITS
“boosted my focus” and “helped me
tremendously.”
Each year, the CFE works with the Provost’s
Office to administer the selection of the
Provost’s Mini-Grants for awards that support
grant writing. Selected faculty are provided a
stipend or release time to pursue grant writing
activities that leverage existing Facilities and
Administrative (F&A) Costs Recovery funds to
secure additional sources of external grant
funding in the future. Nine faculty were
awarded mini-grants in the fall of 2016 and
eighteen were awarded mini-grants in the
spring of 2017.
PLANNING
Scholarly writing plays an important role for
faculty, and faculty seem pleased that WITS has
become a year-long program, evident by the
fact that attendance has increase 92%.
We hope to increase participation this coming
year as well as broaden the topics and focus of
scholarly writing.
Faculty Learning Communities Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) are cross-
disciplinary groups of faculty, numbering
roughly 8 to 12 members, engaged in active,
collaborative learning throughout the academic
year around a specific theme and toward
defined outcomes. At MSU Denver, FLCs vary by
theme or by cohort, but they all have in
common a connection to the University’s
teaching mission along with a commitment to
taking scholarly approaches toward meeting
that mission.
Ten FLCs were supported in 2016-17, a 33%
decrease from the fifteen FLCs supported the
previous year. A total of 93 different faculty and
staff members participated, a 43% decrease in
participation from the previous year.
The New Faculty Institute is an FLC that builds upon New Faculty Orientation by offering a series of six conversations over the full academic year to facilitate new faculty to meet again and discuss their experiences. Facilitated by Jean Rother (Nursing) and Michael Kolb (CFE, Anthropology), this FLC used chapters from Learner Centered Teaching by Maryellen Weimer. The benefit of these conversations was constructive camaraderie and shared experiences as well as joint discussion of best classroom practices. Fourteen first-year faculty participated in the New Faculty Institute. Faculty rated this FLC very favorably (4.9 out of 5 on a Likert scale). They stated in open-ended feedback that the New Faculty Institute “presented information that answered many of my questions and questions that I had not even considered” and “helped me to understand the expectations for tenure track faculty at MSU Denver and to make connections with peers across campus.” Comments also included: “I formed a network and got valuable advice on many aspects of being a new faculty member at MSU Denver. I became part of a group immediately, and enjoyed sharing experiences with other new members.”
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Cynthia Dormer (Nutrition) facilitated the
Rapport and Retention Interventions FLC that
explored how to plan and administer a campus-
wide workshop on classroom and online
techniques to support student rapport,
retention and eventual graduation.
Sheila Rucki (Political Science) facilitated the Developing a Student Growth Mindset for Academic Success FLC that reviewed current research on the influence of a growth mindset on the academic success of students of color, first-generation students, and other students at risk of stopping out of college in their first year. Three FLCs were offered in co-sponsorship with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. All focused upon promoting inclusive teaching and learning on campus. Crafted with collaborations with numerous faculty and staff in multiple departments, these FLCs featured dynamic discussions, interactive formats, and practical strategies that participants could immediately implement in their classes or units. Tanya Greathouse (Social Work) offered her FLC
entitled Diversity Learning Community:
Multicultural Awareness and Beyond in both
Fall 2016 and spring 2017. This was an
Interactive Learning Community, that focused
upon Intercultural Developmental Inventory,
used to lay ground work for us to have common
language and assess and review our personal
multicultural orientation and learn how we
respond in cross-cultural situations. We learned
about implicit biases and gained an
appreciation of how they inform our
interpretation of situations and practice
facilitating critical conversations.
Steven Rissman (Health Professions) offered his
Growing Up Men FLC in the fall of 2016. His
goal was to examine what is going on with men
and to explore cross-curricular avenues for
helping men to thrive, bringing together faculty
who are currently teaching specific topics
related to the issues affecting men’s lives
(college men and the community at large),
and/or faculty who have an interest in
embedding these topics into their curriculum.
The Assessing Authentic Learning FLC was facilitated by Emily Matuszewicz (Health Professions) and co-sponsored with the Center for Individualized Learning. The goal of this FLC was to explore how student ePortfolios could be used in classrooms across campus. Members sought out departments and developed a pilot ePortfolio program that was tested in a number of departments with shared interest in using an ePortfolio in the classroom.
Two FLCs specifically addressed classroom
pedagogy. Mona Mocanasu and John Either
(Mathematics) facilitated an FLC titled Effective
Methods for On-line Mathematical
Instruction that focused upon ways to build a
community to study effective methods for
online instruction. This will benefit not just
the instructors for online (or mostly online)
courses, but also instructors that want to
implement effective online tools in their
courses.
Jeffrey Loats (Physics) facilitated the Just in
Time Teaching FLC that assisted participants in
employing the Just in Time Teaching method of
student engagement.
One summer FLC on On-Line Teaching was run
in June 2017 by Chris Jennings (Journalism and
Technical Communications) in order to meet
the needs of faculty developing on-line courses.
The focus of this FLC was on the pedagogy of
instructor presence rather than technological
innovations. Faculty who participated in this FLC
rated it very favorably (4.8 out of 5 on a Likert
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scale). In open-ended feedback they found this
to be a “great FLC” and “that all departments
would benefit from this type of focused
workshop relating to online teaching.” They also
stated that it was “really nice to see faculty
needs/conversations, etc. on such an authentic
level” and “I learned how to create a video
lecture/presentation for my online course and
was able to record video for one of my online
courses.”
PLANNING
Our MSU Denver faculty and staff seem to find
the engaged and integrated nature of a learning
community to suit their needs regarding
professional development. We hope to continue
this trend of more and diverse learning
communities in the coming year.
Faculty Commons In conjunction with the Educational Technology
Center (ETC), the CFE has maintained a series of
faculty virtual common spaces called
“communities of practice.” Known as the
Faculty Commons, these spaces are a
centralized Cloud repository of resources that is
readily available to all faculty for the
dissemination of online discussions,
collaborations, and information. This repository
helps create a learning space within the Faculty
Commons (Community of Practice), an online
shared space that offers all faculty the
opportunity to keep abreast of online practices.
Three Commons areas are now functional:
Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Diversity in
Academia, and Academic Research.
PLANNING
The Faculty Commons is an exciting new
initiative that has just begun, and will be
developed further in the upcoming year. We will
gauge interest and participation accordingly.
Workshops & Forums In 2016–17, we organized eight professional
development workshops and two faculty and
staff forums with 244 total attendees including
over 160 faculty. These activities are more
diverse than the other CFE activity categories,
and so we have grouped them here.
Faculty who participated in the Teaching
Effectiveness Institutes rated them very
favorably (4.8 out of 5 on a Likert scale) for
both Fall 2016 and Spring 2017). Open-ended
feedback indicates that faculty were going to
enact “more practical, real-world assessments,”
“more structured peer- and self-evaluation,”
and “student-centered syllabi.”
Faculty who participated in the Veteran
Students Boot Camp were highly satisifed (4.7
out of 5 on a Likert scale). The Boot Camp was
offered in both fall 2016 and spring 2017. Open-
ended feedback states: “I plan to employ
immediately this semester and to connect
incoming veterans with the right resources and
support on campus” and “I plan to launch an
affinity alumni group for veteran alumni. I have
high hopes that our veteran alumni can also
assist veteran students on campus through
campus partnership programs.”
Faculty who participated in the eSRI Workshop
rated it very favorably (4.7 out of 5 on a Likert
scale). The discussion centered around
conducting an eSRI for your course and the
history and best practices of SRIs at MSU
Denver.
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In collaboration with the Career Services Center
and the Applied Learning Center, faculty and
staff participated in a What Employers Want
workshop in February 2017 to learn more about
how to support students with career
planning. The satisfaction ratings were also
very high (4.4 out of 5 on a Likert scale). Staff
from the Office of Career Services and the
Applied Learning Center shared information
about career pathways for students and how to
assist and direct students with their post-
baccalaureate career goals.
Faculty who participated in the Mindset for
Success Forum in March of 2017 rated it as very
satisfying (4.5 out of 5 on a Likert scale). Sixty-
two people attended to hear our keynote
Martha Casazza Ph.D. discuss how mindset
affects student achievement. Other presenters
included our Mindset FLC work group and Mark
Koester (Mathematics and Computers Science)
Open-ended feedback states: “Great ideas!”
“Love to see what other faculty are doing” and
“it’s good to know that we are on the forefront
of what is being done to improve classroom
learning.”
The CFE also collaborated with the University-
wide Provost’s Assessment Committee to
conduct a Forum on Academic and Co-
Curricular Assessment. Sixty-five people
attended to hear our keynote Marilee Bresciani
Ludvik, Ph.D. from San Diego State University
discuss best practices. Open-ended feedback
stated that “I really appreciated the positive
emphasis on doing assessment … to help
develop our own assessment practices without
reinventing the wheel.”
PLANNING
This year is highlighted by continued increase in
the number, diversity, and participation rates
for workshops.
These events, compared to other CFE activities,
are often simpler to organize and execute and
so we are able to experiment by pairing with
other units to offer a broad selection of
workshops. We will continue this practice in
2018, and host a Tri-institutional Teaching and
Learning Forum during the spring of 2018.
Consultations and Observations Throughout the course of the year, the CFE
offers One-On-One Consultations to help
faculty assess and update their course designs,
work on their review, tenure, and promotion
portfolios, or discuss any matter of concern. All
of our consultations follow a confidential
process, which might include evaluations of an
instructor’s syllabus or course learning
outcomes, their curriculum vitae or promotion
portfolio, their formative or summative peer
evaluations, or other material relevant to the
consultations. In 2016–17, over 100 faculty
members across disciplines and career stages
have utilized a CFE consultation (see Table 4).
Table 4. CFE 2016-16 Individual Consultations.
2015-16 2016-17
General Consultations 109 146
Portfolio Consultations 207 393
In addition, 200 faculty members were assisted
either via email or telephone. Those who took
advantage of the consult hours stated in open-
ended feedback: “Thank you SO much for
helping me with my portfolio!” “Thank you
again for your ongoing support and
programming for tenure track faculty,” “Thank
Center for Faculty Excellence
ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
15
you so much for your support and patience!!”
and “Thanks again for the good help you
provided yesterday.”
Excellence in teaching and learning has been a
steadfast quality of a Metropolitan State
University of Denver education, and the CFE is
responsible for delivering the Summative Peer
Observation required prior to either a tenure or
promotion review that consists of an objective
descriptive statement drafted by a peer
observer. It captures the relevant aspects of
their instructional delivery and design in order
to foster an environment for improvement and
development in faculty teaching and learning.
Peer observation is the process by which faculty
provide observational feedback to colleagues
on their in-class instructional delivery and
design.
Christine Odell (Human Performance and
Sports), the CFE’s Faculty Associate for
Summative Peer Observations coordinated 80
Summative Peer Observations in 2015-16 that
were conducted by trained volunteer faculty
(Figure 11). Over 70% of the AY16-17
observations were conducted for tenure-track
faculty, representing an 11% increase from
2014-15. Figure 11 illustrates that the number
of trained faculty who serve as observers have
decreased since 2015-16, from 28 to 20.
In the Spring of 2015, the Center for Faculty
Excellence partnered with the Faculty Senate to
convene a task force to examine the required
summative peer observation for promotion or
contract renewal. Because excellence in
teaching and learning has been a steadfast
quality of a MSU Denver education, the goal is
to improve the existing Summative Peer
Observation requirement in order to better
foster an environment for improvement and
development in faculty teaching and learning.
The work of this task force is now complete and
the decisions regarding summative peer
observations are in the hands of the
departments – there is no longer any verbiage
of a university-level requirement for a
40
64
8780
89
11 12
2428
20
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Peer Observations and Observers by Year
Observations Observers
Fig. 11
Center for Faculty Excellence
ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17
16
summative peer observation in the Professional
Handbook.
PLANNING
This is the second year that the CFE has begun
recording the number of consultations and
consultation hours it conducts. The individual
consultations are conducted in confidentiality,
and so no additional data is collected.
In response to the services the Center provides
regarding Digital Measures, our Associate
Director for Teaching and Learning conducted
most of those consultations.
We will continue to record our consultation
numbers and hours for comparative purposes.
Our Faculty Associate for Peer Observation
assured oversight and consistency in scheduling
observations and match faculty with observers.
Committee Participation and Leadership The CFE staff participates in a variety of
planning and advisory circles including the: HLC
Accreditation Team Three, Council for Online
Programs; Equity in Excellence Advisory
Committee; Instructional Resources Committee;
Universal Design in Learning Committee;
Academic Technology Subcommittee; Gateway
to Completion Steering Committee;
Undergraduate Research Council; SRI Online
Implementation Committee; Classified Staff
Council Advisory Committee; and the
Constitutional Bylaws Committee. The CFE staff
had leadership roles in the: Summative Peer
Observation Task Force; Undergraduate
Outcomes Task Force; and the Digital Measures
Advisory Group.
Staffing In 2016–17, Dr. Michael J. Kolb served as
Director of the CFE, Dr. Meredith Flynn served
as the Associate Director for Teaching and
Learning, and Ms. Liz Gettings served as our
Administrative Assistant. Dr. Elizabeth Kleinfeld
and Dr. Christine Odell served as Faculty
Associates for Scholarly Writing and Peer
Observations (respectively).
Strategic Planning The Center relied on the collective wisdom and
divergent thinking of our 2016-17 advisory
council:
Philip Bernhardt (SOE)
Jennifer Capps (CPS)
Michael Erskine (ETC)
John Ethier (CLAS)
Lorrie Evans (Auraria Library)
Judson Faurer (COB)
Elizabeth Goodnick (Faculty Senate)
Gwendolyn Mami (OSRP)
Apryl Rogers-Brodersen (COB)
Jean Rother (CPS)
Brian Sevier (SOE)
Arlene Sgoutas (CLAS)
Andrew Thangasamy (CLAS)
We would like to acknowledge the contribution
to the CFE over the years of Liz Gettings,
Administrative Assistant of the CFE. Here since
the inception of the Center, Ms. Gettings retired
in May of 2017 and then suddenly passed away
in June.