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About

Mission

We promote and support a culture of excellence in teaching through the application of technology, assessment, research and collaboration, with the goal of improving student performance in a health care environment.

Center for Teaching Excellence

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) was established in 2007 to support teaching and learning at Clarkson College. CTE currently houses a director and two coordinators who focus on Instructional Design and Instructional Technology. We currently support over 130 faculty and over 1100 students enrolled in over 340 courses. All CTE services are oriented towards meeting the mission of the College.

The Director oversees daily operations of the Center for Teaching Excellence, including budgeting, troubleshooting, leading Diversity Council, as well as representing CTE at Academic Council, Operations Council, and other committees as needed. The director also plays an important role in all of the events and services provided by CTE throughout the year.

The Coordinator of Instructional Technology supports education by ensuring timely creation of course shells, as well as creating and providing training and resources related to the Learning Management System (LMS). The coordinator also provides support with daily tickets and requests in connection with the LMS. Faculty and students have access to technical assistance for questions, concerns, and LMS information 24/7, 365 days a year.

The Coordinator of Instructional Design provides support to faculty by providing resources and guidance with content development for on-campus and online courses. The coordinator creates, updates, and maintains faculty resources delivered online for faculty. The coordinator also provides assistance with course assessment and redevelopment.

CTE plays a crucial role in training faculty on how to navigate and make best use of the learning management system. All faculty members have access to training and materials in order to be able to post written materials for student use, maintain gradebooks, post audio/video lectures, provide feedback, conduct threaded discussions, facilitate online testing, and make use of online communication tools.

CTE provides opportunities for faculty development throughout the year. The director works closely with the Faculty Development Committee to decide on future training opportunities. CTE delivers five training sessions every week during the semester, which focus on instructional methods and current technologies. Additionally, CTE hosts three comprehensive faculty development events annually. These training events occur in August, December, and May. Training sessions are also available electronically to all full-time faculty and adjunct instructors.

CTE also assists with on-Campus faculty development for adjunct faculty each semester. Adjunct faculty who are able to meet on Campus are provided with instructional resources and college updates. Each adjunct faculty session is also broadcasted live, via web-conferencing software (Zoom), for those unable to participate on Campus.

CTE is responsible for assessing online courses systematically with a rubric focused on criteria from best practices derived from research and academic program directors. At the end of the course evaluation period, faculty and academic program directors are provided with feedback and guidance to improve online, hybrid, and on-Campus courses.

To fulfill our mission, all of us at CTE are continuously looking for new approaches to quality curriculum delivery, as well as new resources that can impact teaching and learning in a positive manner.