401-4 Professional Development
| Title: |
Faculty Professional Development |
| Owner: |
VP Faculty Services and Scholarship/Deans/Provost |
| Last Update/Revised: |
08/31/2023 |
Policy: Aspen supports the professional growth and training of our faculty through the Professional Growth and Development Fund where all faculty, including adjuncts, can apply for a reimbursement up to $500 per year to attend a webinar, seminar, workshop or conference of their choice that relates to their role as a faculty member at Aspen. Faculty may also use the fund to pay for MOOCs, coursework/continuing education credits at another institution, recertification/licensure exams, or other training experiences that are pre-approved. Additionally, Aspen provides a 50% tuition benefit for all adjuncts and a 100% tuition benefit for full-time faculty so that they may earn additional degrees and certificates.
For our nursing educators in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, they have free professional development available through the National League for Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Nurse Tim membership. Nursing faculty record continuing professional development as it is completed in their Project Concert accounts.
The Faculty Services and Scholarship department provides additional professional development to all faculty, both full-time and adjuncts, in the form of a ‘New Faculty Orientation’ course, as well as other trainings related to Web 2.0 Tools, Using Google Tools, and Dissertation Committee Training. To show the importance of these PD opportunities, Aspen pays stipends for faculty who attend these trainings. Aspen University also provides a Faculty Scholarship Event Center (https://sites.google.com/aspen.edu/faculty-services-scholarship/home) which serves as a hub for a variety of professional development opportunities for faculty, including the Faculty Speaker Series, the Biannual Research Colloquium, and the Aspen Journal of Scholarly Works (AJSW). Finally, the Faculty Services team has created 15+ teaching tip tutorials for providing faculty with professional development in best practices in online learning.
Aspen values faculty and their continued commitment to teaching, learning and research. As such, we support faculty to stay current in their field to bring quality learning to the student experience.
Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to provide clarification on the professional development required for and offered to Aspen University faculty members.