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Section IV: Programs
SACS Comprehensive Standard for Faculty 

IV-25. The institution provides evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Yes, East Tennessee State University is able to provide a portfolio of evidence supporting compliance.

STATEMENT OF RATIONALE FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

East Tennessee State University has a stated commitment to ongoing professional development of its faculty (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Policy on Faculty Development) that requires the university to plan and implement, on an annual basis, a structured and coordinated program for faculty development. This professional development program currently embraces the following components:

• grants-in-aid for faculty development;

• research development grants;

• instructional development grants;

• international travel grants;

• specialized forums, lectures, and workshops on faculty development issues;

• support for faculty educational expenses and travel;

• systematic evaluation of instruction by students, faculty, and administrators to enhance faculty instructional effectiveness;

• a dedicated unit charged with assisting faculty in documentation of and improvement strategies for teaching effectiveness; and

• encouragement of accomplishments in teaching, research, and service through annual faculty awards.

University-Sponsored Grants

Presidential Grants-in-Aid. These grantsare awarded for planned programs of faculty development that enhance teaching, research development, or service (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Presidential Grant-in-Aid). Both tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible to apply for grants, which provide a maximum of $1,500. An ad hoc committee of faculty representing each college evaluates and recommends faculty grant applications. In fiscal years 1998-2000, the committee approved 60 grant applications, totaling $61,520. In fiscal year 2000, $12,770 was awarded to faculty through this program.

Research Development Grants. While ETSU faculty members have proven adept at securing external funding for their research, they also may obtain internal funds to further their scholarship. The ETSU Research Development Committee provides funds for both minor ($1,000 or less) and major grants (up to $6,000). The selection process for the grants is competitive, but priority is given to new researchers, researchers for whom external funding realistically is not available, and experienced researchers entering new research fields. Thus, the selection process seeks to maximize faculty development. In 2000-2001, 21 faculty members were awarded major grants (total $119,330) and 20 faculty members obtained minor grants ($17,430), providing a total of $136,760 in research grant awards (RDC Grants Awarded).

Instructional Development Grants. Another internal source of funding for faculty development at ETSU supports the improvement of instruction (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Instructional Development Grants). Instructional development grants (IDGs), available to tenured and tenure-track faculty members, are awarded on the basis of applications evaluated by the Instructional Development Committee (IDC). The maximum amount for each grant is $5,000. Twenty-three grants were awarded for the 2000-2001 academic year, providing a total of $59,878.00 in instructional grant awards (Instructional Development Grant Awards). These grants support necessary instructional equipment (e.g., graphing calculators for a mathematics course), faculty workshops on pedagogical issues (e.g., civility in the classroom), and curriculum studies (e.g., a longitudinal study of critical thinking in the nursing program). While the range of instructional approaches is diverse, the program clearly motivates ETSU faculty development efforts for instruction.

Faculty Travel Grants, ETSU Office of International Programs. This office offers travel grants for faculty development opportunities abroad. The grants are intended to facilitate teaching and research at those universities with which ETSU has exchange agreements (Anhui University, Hefei, China; North China University of Technology, Beijing, China; Shanghai Technical College of Metallurgy, China; State University of Bolivar, Guaranda, Ecuador; Hochsule Bremen, Germany; University of Rostock, Germany; and Edinburgh University, Scotland). Grants are awarded for amounts up to $1,000.00. At least one grant is reserved each year to support travel for a non-instructional assignment (see below). In 1999-2000, 10 grants were awarded, providing a total of $6,000 for international travel (Faculty Travel Grant Awardees).

Support for Faculty Educational Expenses and Travel

Faculty Educational Expenses. All Tennessee higher educational institutions support a variety of continuing educational expenses for faculty (ETSU Personnel Policies and Procedures, Educational Benefits). Faculty employed by ETSU for two or more years may apply for these grants to pay for the completion of a terminal degree. All full-time employees in the TBR system are eligible to enroll in one course per term at any State of Tennessee post-secondary institution, when course space is available (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Faculty and Staff Support for Educational Expenses). During Spring 2001, 19 faculty members enrolled in classes paid for by ETSU (ETSU Faculty and Staff PC-191).

Non-Instructional Assignment(NIA). While routine sabbaticals are not established benefits for tenured faculty at ETSU, faculty members with at least five years in the professorate may apply for a semester at full pay (or two semesters at partial pay) for a non-instructional assignment (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Guidelines for Faculty Non-Instructional Assignment). The purposes of NIA are to:

• enhance scholarship and the academic excellence of the university;

• contribute to the professional growth and renewal of the faculty;

• strengthen ETSU's total curriculum; and

• improve teaching across the university in ways that cannot be accomplished under the constraints of regular workload assignments.

Faculty committees from each college or school evaluate NIA applications and make recommendations to the appropriate academic dean, who then makes recommendations to the vice president for academic affairs or for heath sciences. Although participation in the program has been modest, the number of successful NIA applications has increased in recent years---between spring 1996 and fall 2000, 27 ETSU faculty received NIA grants (Non-Instructional Development Grant Applications and Awards).

Faculty Travel and Conference Participation. Each academic department and division at ETSU has a limited travel budget used for faculty participation in academic conferences or other institutional purposes. Faculty at ETSU agree that travel budgets are meager, at best. All funded, ETSU faculty travel conforms to Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) policy (TBR Manual, General Travel). A complementary source for faculty travel funds is provided by the ETSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, which endeavors to match department or college contributions for faculty travel to professional meetings (Internal Support and Incentives for Research at East Tennessee State University).

University-Sponsored Faculty Development Support and Opportunities 

ETSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). A significant aid to faculty development at ETSU is the ORSP, which supports faculty in seeking external funding for research and instructional innovation (Internal Support and Incentives for Research at ETSU). A dramatic illustration of ETSU's ongoing efforts in faculty development is the ORSP Annual Report of Sponsored Activity. The 2000 annual report shows that ETSU faculty applied for $51,018,819 in grants and received $27,912,726, including $8,304,272 in federal funds. The faculty of the ETSU James H. Quillen College of Medicine contributed the largest share (59%) of external funds obtained.

ETSU Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). The mission of the TLC is to further the professional development of faculty and to improve instruction at ETSU. The TLC offers a meeting place for faculty, and the staff frequently arranges workshops and discussion groups for faculty. In 1999, the TLC sponsored 10 faculty workshops, including subjects such as parliamentary procedures, beginning a successful research program, and service-learning, with a total faculty attendance of 168. In 2000, the TLC sponsored 14 faculty workshops, with subjects such as problem-based learning and grant writing, with a total attendance of 173 (ETSU Teaching Learning Center Statistics, 1999-2000).

Academic Technology Support (ATS), ETSU Office of Information Technology. This division provides faculty with a wide variety of professional development opportunities in the area of instructional technology (Faculty Technology Professional Development Plan). Open-enrollment and faculty-cohort workshops, multimedia classroom training, and one-on-one assistance are provided by ATS staff. This division also provides and enables faculty access to the NetG online web-based tutorial system (SACS Standard IV-13). A dedicated ATS staff member is assigned as an academic user liaison to each college in order to maximize consistency in technology training (SACS Standard IV-33). In addition, the ATS sponsors the Faculty Technology Leadership Program (FTL). This program provides faculty a graduate-level sequence of two semesters (six credit hours) of instructional technology coursework. In addition to maintenance fees, each faculty participant is provided with a laptop computer and appropriate software. Twenty faculty members participated in the first FTL Program (2000-2001) and similar groups will be enrolled in the future (SACS Standard IV-33).

Continuing Medical Education. The ETSU Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME; ETSU Quillen College of Medicine) promotes the ongoing education of health care professionals throughout the northeast Tennessee region and is especially beneficial for professional development of health care faculty. From August 1998-December 2000, the CME program hosted 56 educational sessions including lectures, grand rounds, physician conferences, and grant-writing workshops. There were 5,840 participants during fiscal year 1999. The CME is active and successful in obtaining external educational grants designed to provide programs for regional health care professionals. From July 1999 to July 2000, the CME Extra-mural Funding report shows awards that total $93,595 in educational grants and $8,800 in educational exhibits (CME Exhibits).

Faculty Research and Educational Development (FRED) Program, Department of Family Medicine, ETSU Quillen College of Medicine. The FRED program provides faculty members in family medicine with release time, technical assistance, and a series of 20 formal half-day workshops that focus on pedagogy and research. These half-day workshops cover various pedagogical topics, such as the use of feedback, feedback models, and teaching on rounds. The program also establishes three specialized, collaborative, faculty-development work groups in the areas of research writing, advanced clinical teaching skills, and special educational topics.

ETSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC), Faculty Development Workshops.

Although the primary goal of the WCC is to support instruction in the general education curriculum in the fields of writing and oral communication, the WCC also provides faculty development support. The center offers faculty development workshops on such topics as assessing writing and developing an intensive course syllabus to instructors who teach writing or oral communication intensive courses (SACS Standard IV-15). Typically four open-enrollment workshops, with training for 100 faculty, are offered each year.

Evaluation of Instruction

Every faculty member at ETSU is required to complete an annual plan and report of his or her activities in teaching, research, and service (SACS Standard IV-24). This process is intended to demonstrate the faculty member's current effectiveness and to assist in development of improvement strategies. The process also directs faculty and administrative efforts toward the achievement of individual, departmental, school/college, and university goals (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Annual Evaluations). If an annual evaluation reveals performance that does not meet expectations, the faculty member develops and submits a written proposal, outlining a program of professional development designed to produce improvement in problem areas (Evaluation and Professional Development Programming for Tenured Faculty).

The ETSU James H. Quillen College of Medicine provides evidence of faculty research and enables department chairs to evaluate the professional development of their faculty (ETSU Quillen College of Medicine Scholarly Activities Report Database). The report generated from this database is a compilation of information about faculty accomplishments in the areas of professional presentations, publications, research, and other scholarly endeavors. Department chairpersons use this information to highlight research interests and accomplishments, evaluate efforts at dissemination of information, and assess scholarly productivity at both the individual and departmental levels.

Faculty Awards in Teaching, Research, and Service

At the beginning of each academic year, the ETSU Foundation recognizes excellence in teaching, research, and service to the university and region by providing faculty awards at the annual faculty dinner (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Faculty Awards). The distinguished faculty awards are intended to inspire faculty development efforts. Faculty committees receive nominations from within their respective college or school, and then forward nominations to a university-wide selections committee, which recommends recipients of these distinguished faculty awards. The honored faculty members are recognized with inscribed plaques, $5,000, and their accomplishments are widely publicized by the ETSU Office of University Relations.

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