III.A.14. The institution plans for and provides all personnel with appropriate opportunities for continued professional development, consistent with the institutional mission and based on evolving pedagogy, technology, and learning needs. The institution systematically evaluated professional development programs and uses the results of these evaluations as the basis for improvement.
ASCC’s budget allocates funds for local or off-island professional development. Professional Development is approved contingent upon alignment with identified strategic needs. ASCC permits career service staff to take one course per semester at no cost to the employee.
Professional development activities at ASCC are provided to meet identified strategic priorities of the College. The professional development focus has been on SLOs and assessment. Another identified professional development priority is Total Cost of Ownership. Faculty and staff are provided with opportunities to participate in professional development activities.
Grant budgets include professional development funds, which are used to enhance programs and achieve institutional objectives. Grant programs with budgeted professional development funds include Community and Natural Resources (Land Grant), the Small Business Development Center, Teacher Education, and grants supporting CAPP and counseling programs.
The College provides faculty and staff workshops and/or trainings to increase informational awareness. Opportunities are also offered for faculty and staff to participate in institutional committees, providing for an increased knowledge of the College’s operations, leadership and management, and enhancing professional capabilities.
ASCC has supported a range of professional development, programs and activities, including the following:
- SLOs
- Teaching Content and Pedagogy
- Assessment
- Technology
- Financial Management
- Resource Management (safety, human, facilities)
- TCO
- Institutional Planning
- Program Review
- CIP Implementation
- Federal Grants Management
- Accreditation Standards and Self Study
- Leadership Academy
- Financial Aid
- Board Development
- Organization Affiliation and Membership (NACUPA, NACUBO, CUPA, IPEDS)
- Food Safety
Professional development participation has enhanced the College’s ability to respond to emerging needs of higher education and provide improved services to students. Professional development plays a key role in ASCC’s commitment to continuous quality improvement.
On a divisional level, faculty and staff communicate teaching and learning needs to their colleagues, department chair and Dean/Director/Officers. On an institutional level, the Institutional Program Review assesses the needs of each academic division in relation to the College mission. The Divisional Assessment feeds into the Institutional Program Review to coordinate needs assessment with planning, budget, resource management, and program improvement.
The College provides funding for professional development opportunities to fulfill identified needs. Overall professional development opportunities center on WASC workshops and identified strategic priorities. Approval for professional development is initiated by divisions and must be approved by Vice Presidents, CFO and President to ensure alignment to the outcomes of the division.
Evaluation of professional development activities begins at the divisional level through review and discussion of new information, which can lead to improvement. The value of professional development is gauged by the impact on divisional improvements and capacity building.
ASCC has fulfilled its objective of providing on-island and off-island professional development in SLO and assessment for all faculty. This has enabled ASCC faculty to embrace trends in technology, outcome expectations, assessment, and dialogue for continuous quality improvement.