Hello from CETL,
This will be our last newsletter of the year. It is hard to believe we are in the final days of the 2004-2005 academic school year. We started the year with great expectations and ended with great accomplishments. We are so proud of our dedicated faculty who continually amaze us when we offer programs and initiatives.
We began the year with 60 faculty and teaching assistants in seven groups as part of our new Faculty Teaching Certificate Program. These faculty attended monthly seminars on teaching and learning (you can learn the details elsewhere on the web site). We ended the year with 54 who received their certificates! The final capstone projects completed were powerful testaments of the innovation and experiments now taking place at MSU (also posted on this web site under Faculty Teaching Certificate Program). We will have a new cohort of faculty in next year's Faculty Teaching Certificate Program, along with 22 returning faculty from the first program as they continue to explore teaching and learning in the Faculty Teaching Certificate Program II.
The Mentor Program instituted this year was a great success. We matched 37 mentors with 37 mentees. The in-depth evaluations done on this program indicate it was a success, and the administration announced at the final luncheon that it will continue this program next year.
In March, CETL was invited by the Higher Learning Commission to present our work. With over 100 higher education leaders in attendance we were able to spread the word of the great things occurring at MSU in terms of faculty development. For this we owe our faculty who take the time to continue to learn and develop innovative teaching strategies and ideas for their students.
Based on the success CETL has had this year and last year, the administration has granted our request for two, 1/2 time faculty for next year, along with a third round of mini-grants for teaching and learning (a total of $30,000). These new awards are aimed specifically at the use of active learning activities in the classroom and course redesign.
CETL has many great initiatives planned for the next academic school year, and through the Experiential Education department we will be hosting a two-week summer workshop course entitled The Teaching Academy. You can read more about and register for this special offering on the Home Page of this website.
Have a great summer.
Stewart Ross
Director, CETL
