III. Improving the Teaching and Learning Experience

Goals

• Ensure CUNY SPS invests in recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty

• Enhance innovative and reflective practices in teaching and learning

• Support faculty research, particularly in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), to reflect and confirm our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion

The CUNY School of Professional Studies has always been committed to high-quality instruction for underserved students and emerging fields, exemplified by its development of online instruction for working adults and the changing workforce. With the growth of CUNY SPS as well as the growth of online instruction, our commitment will broaden in scope, promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and strengthen the conditions supportive of excellence in online teaching and learning.

III. Proposed Actions and Initiatives

Faculty Hiring & Support

• Develop criteria to determine full-time faculty and staff hiring needs across programs according to shared standards

• Ensure that adjunct faculty are compensated equitably and consistently for work beyond teaching (professional development, participation in assessment, etc.)

• Ensure that all faculty have access to the tools they need for teaching (digital resources, library access, etc.)

• Become an employer of choice for adjunct faculty

• Create opportunities for student-centered anduser-driven learning experiences embracingEDI in ways of knowing and learning

• Improve communication among students,faculty, and advisors in the service of improvingthe teaching, learning, and advisementexperience

• Invest in and develop a variety of studio spacesfor the creation of high-production audiovisualcontent to be incorporated in our courses

Innovation, Growth, & Collaboration

• Testing out models of sustainability for shorterterms, synchronous/asynchronous coursemixes, and hybrid and low-residency programformats

• Benchmark costs and document strategies inlaunching programs, assessing their viability,flexibility, and growth projections

• Develop structures and processes to allowPEWL and OFDIT to share knowledge,resources, and new developments regularly

Teaching & Learning

• Establish a Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship, virtual and/or physical, to provide space and support for faculty collaborations, pedagogical initiatives, and inclusive practices in online learning

• Develop intentional, coordinated use of digital tools and technology in teaching and learning

• Review and revise master course sites and practices to support program, faculty, and student needs

• Identify, support, and expand effective teaching and learning practices across programs and units

• Charge a small task force of OAA and PEWL staff to propose growth initiatives crossing for-credit and not-for-credit areas that serve marketplace and student needs in specific academic or occupational sectors

EDI/Assessment & Research

• Undertake individual program assessment through an EDI lens

• Create a standing committee to develop and review strategies that ensure consistency across programs while acknowledging differences in those programs’ students and goals

• Fund applications of research via pilot projects in such critical areas as accessibility and EDI level setting

• Create opportunities for research, presenting, and collaborating (particularly for faculty-mentored student research and research across units)

Measuring Our Efforts

• Tenured and tenure-track faculty as percentage of total faculty

• Underrepresented faculty as a percentage of total tenure and tenure-track faculty

• Investments in digital tools and technology

• Full-time and adjunct workplace satisfaction and retention

• Investments in a Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship

• Metrics for improved faculty/advisor communication

• Assessment of teaching and learning

• Student satisfaction with the learning experience

• Faculty and student feedback on EDI learning and ways of knowing

• Investments in subject matter, pedagogical, and EDI faculty research