Faculty Associate Program

Program Overview

Each academic year, the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) partners with Faculty Associates (FAs) to design and facilitate learning experiences and resources for the BGSU teaching community and to provide insight on CFE programming and projects. Faculty Associates are passionate about teaching, learning, and sharing their knowledge and expertise with members of the BGSU teaching community. The Faculty Associate program is designed to give full-time faculty (tenure-track and QRF) and adjunct faculty the opportunity to serve in a leadership role in a professional development area of their choosing. In addition to supporting the work of the CFE, FAs may also support the work of other units and areas on campus, including the Office of the Provost, the Office of Academic Assessment, the Graduate College, and others.

2024-2025 Faculty Associate Positions

During the 2024-2025 academic year, the CFE is offering a total of six (6) Faculty Associate positions:

  • FAs selected to serve in general positions will develop and facilitate at least one learning community per semester or one learning community that continues for the course of the academic year. The learning community(ies) will focus on a professional development theme of the FA’s choosing.
  • FAs in this position must design and facilitate at least one workshop or learning experience per semester of their service.
  • The term of service for this position is one academic year.

  • The FA selected to serve in this position will develop and facilitate at least one learning community per semester or one learning community that continues for the course of the academic year. The learning community(ies) will focus on the topic of generative AI in higher education.
  • The FA in this position must design and facilitate at least one workshop or learning experience per semester of their service addressing the topic of generative AI in higher education.
  • The term of service for this position is one academic year.

  • The FA selected to serve in this role will assist the OAA with university-wide assessment initiatives. The FA will serve on the Student Achievement Assessment Committee (SAAC) as the OAA FA and review and provide feedback on all SAAC reports and plans. 
  • The FA in this position will develop and facilitate one learning community for the CFE for one semester focused on an assessment-related topic. The FA will design and facilitate one workshop or learning experience for the CFE focused on an assessment-related topic.
  • The term of service for this position is one academic year with the possibility of renewing for up to three years.
  • Please note: This position is currently filled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  • The FA selected to serve in this role will assist the Graduate College on mentorship initiatives. The FA will develop and facilitate one learning community per semester or one learning community that continues for the course of the academic year focused on best practices in graduate student mentorship. The learning community(ies) will be designed for faculty mentors of graduate students. 
  • The FA in this position must design and facilitate at least one workshop or learning experience for the CFE per semester of their service. The workshop or learning experience can be designed for faculty mentors of graduate students and/or graduate students.
  • The term of service for this position is one academic year.

Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2024-2025 Faculty Associate Program. If you are interested in applying to be a 2025-2026 Faculty Associate, please CFE Programming Interest Form.

Program Requirements

Faculty Associates serve as mentors and support for members of the BGSU teaching community by fulfilling the following program requirements:

As a Faculty Associate, you are expected to identify a professional development theme and design a learning community around that theme. 

The learning community should:

  • Have clear program learning outcomes.
  • Have clear participant expectations.
  • Meet regularly throughout the semester.
  • Result in participant-created deliverables to document participant learning.

Proposed learning communities on the following professional development themes are of particular interest for the 2024-2025 academic year:

  • Active teaching & learning
  • Authentic assessment strategies
  • Generative AI in higher education
  • Graduate student mentorship
  • Inclusive pedagogy & assessment
  • Research, scholarship & creative activities
  • The Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SOTL)
  • Teaching large courses

Participation in learning communities may be open to all members of the BGSU teaching community or be limited to a specific demographic of the BGSU teaching community (e.g., graduate student instructors, new full-time faculty, etc.). Learning communities are usually limited to 10-15 participants.

Learning communities may last one semester or for one academic year, unless stated otherwise in the requirements for the specific FA position. The frequency, length, and modality of learning community meetings may be determined based on the goals and activities of the community. 

Learning community deliverables may include written works (e.g., manuscript, blog post, white paper, etc.), sessions or presentations (e.g., CFE workshop or panel discussion, Teaching & Learning Summit session, conference presentation, etc.), resources (e.g., Just-in-Time Resource for the CFE website,  infographic, multimedia presentation, rubric or assessment tool, etc.), or other materials (e.g., creation of a new certificate program or online course or module, etc.).

After designing the learning community in collaboration with the CFE team, you will provide a description of the community to the CFE to be published on their website, and you will participate in CFE’s marketing efforts, including a virtual info session at the beginning of the semester that your learning community starts. 

At the end of each semester, the CFE will collect learning community participant feedback and share the feedback with you.  At the culmination of each learning community, the CFE will collect deliverables from the learning community participants. The data gathered from the participant feedback surveys and deliverables will be used for CFE annual reporting and program evaluation and to inform future offerings as well as overall CFE continuous improvement plans. 

You are expected to design and facilitate CFE workshops or learning experiences that address a professional development theme. These experiences may include an interactive workshop, a facilitated panel or group discussion, a webinar, a working session, a technology demonstration, or another session-type of your choosing. 

The workshop or learning experience should:

  • Have a clear topic that is either related to your learning community’s professional development theme or another area of your expertise.
  • Have clear learning outcomes.
  • Provide relevant examples of concepts, skills, and practices.
  • Provide opportunities for participant collaboration, interaction, and/or engagement.
  • Be approximately one hour in length.

While CFE workshops or learning experiences are usually open to all members of the BGSU teaching community, your workshop or learning experience may be designed to meet the needs of a specific demographic of the BGSU teaching community (e.g., graduate student instructors, new full-time faculty, etc.). Participation in CFE workshops and/or learning experiences is generally not restricted to a specific number of participants unless requested by the facilitator. Average participation in CFE workshops and/or learning experiences is 10-30 participants.

You are expected to develop and share at least one instructor support resource that will be posted in the Just-In-Time Resources page of the CFE website and/or shared with the CFE’s audience as needed. 

These resources may include materials you developed to support your workshop or learning experience (e.g., presentation slide deck, Zoom recording of a session, video of a webinar or demonstration, etc.), materials designed and developed in collaboration with your learning community (e.g., conference presentation slide deck, rubric or assessment tool, article, infographic, etc.), and/or materials designed to address another area of your expertise (e.g., how-to guide, recorded instructional video, etc.). 

During your tenure as a Faculty Associate, you will serve on the CFE Advisory Board to assist with long-term initiative development and strategic planning. The Advisory Board meets one to two times per academic year.

You will collaborate with the CFE team and other Faculty Associates in the piloting of a new professional development initiative or the revision of an existing professional development initiative. 

The professional development initiative for Faculty Associates serving the 2024-2025 Academic Year is to develop an informal peer observation guide. This guide will be designed to be used by faculty and instructors to engage in informal and self-directed peer observations of teaching and inspire reflective teaching practices.

Faculty Associates serving in one of the positions being offered in collaboration with other colleges, departments or units on campus may be expected to meet additional program requirements depending on the position.

A Faculty Associate position may be shared by two faculty members who wish to collaborate on the program expectations together. 

Program Recognition

If you are selected as a Faculty Associate and successfully meet the program expectations, you will receive the following forms of recognition:

  • A payment of $2,500 at the conclusion of each semester that you successfully meet the program expectations for a total of $5,000 for the academic year. Payments may be disbursed to your department’s budget to be used for professional development or disbursed as supplemental pay to your paycheck at the end of each semester.
  • Acknowledgement on the CFE’s website
  • Acknowledgement at the annual BGSU Teaching & Learning Summit
  • A CFE Faculty Associate digital graphic that can be added to your email signature

Frequently Asked Questions

The following members of the BGSU teaching community are eligible and encouraged to apply for this program:

  • Full-time faculty (tenure-track and QRF) 
  • Adjunct faculty who are instructors of record for a BGSU course during the 2024-2025 academic year
  • Administrative or classified staff who are instructors of record for a BGSU course during the 2024-2025 academic year

This program is not open to graduate students, graduate student instructors, and administrative or classified staff who are not instructors of record during the 2024-2025 academic year. 

If you have any questions about your eligibility for this program, please reach out to the CFE at cfe@bgsu.edu

Yes, as long as you meet the above eligibility criteria and are able to meet the program requirements, you do not need to teach at BGSU’s Main Campus to apply for this program. Faculty and instructors who are located at Firelands campus and/or work remotely or on a hybrid schedule are welcome to apply for this program.

Yes, if you are a full-time faculty member, you may use your service as a Faculty Associate as evidence for merit and/or promotion. Additionally, you may request a letter from the CFE Director stating your terms of service as a Faculty Associate to be uploaded to Faculty180, BGSU’s faculty activity reporting system.

Yes, faculty members who have served as Faculty Associates in previous academic years are welcome to apply for the program. The CFE also encourages faculty members who have not yet served as a Faculty Associate to apply. In the case of two equally strong applications, preference may be given to applicants who have not yet served as a Faculty Associate.

The CFE will provide requested books to support the research and development of your learning community. If you assign a book to your learning community, the CFE will purchase one book per learning community member. The CFE will also provide material resources needed for the facilitation of a learning community and/or learning experiences (e.g., handouts, classroom or conference room space, classroom technology, writing materials, etc.) as well as support for learning communities and/or learning experiences (e.g., marketing, scheduling, registration, evaluation, etc.).

Updated: 04/18/2024 01:14PM