If You Build It, They Will Come

Faculty Resource Center at Scottsdale Community College

After five years of planning, Scottsdale Community College (SCC) rolled out the red carpet last March for the opening of the Faculty Resource Center. Faculty development coordinators, Linda Hicks and Pat Serrano, were pleased to see many faculty, both residential and adjunct, come by and show their support. The Center is the result of efforts by the Faculty Development Committee, chaired by Karen Chalmers, who is also the president of the SCC faculty senate, the faculty development coordinators, and the SCC administration. The Center is multifunctional. It offers a place for faculty to gather, learn, and collaborate and can be used for workshops, seminars, and meetings as long as the activity is learning-centered. It is also a repository of resources and tools for faculty, including copies of FPG sabbaticals and summer projects and applications, FEP, books, tapes, high-end computers, and TV and VCR. The colorful art pieces on the walls showcase local student talent. The room is available to SCC faculty from Monday to Thursday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Scottsdale Community College faculty Development Coordinators (from left to right): Linda Hicks, Karen Chalmers. and Pat Serrano.

A Model For New Faculty Orientation

New Faculty Orientation Class
Along with the new Faculty Resource Center, SCC is debuting its new faculty orientation program. A central piece of the orientation is the New Faculty Orientation Class (NC 500), that includes sessions on teaching and learning (e.g., Instructional Skills Workshop, creating a positive learning environment, outcomes assessment, and the faculty evaluation plan), technology resources, library services, budget process, course and program development, service learning, diversity in the curriculum, student services, professional growth and development, and faculty governance. Instructors for each session develop specific curriculum objectives for each class, with the assistance of the faculty developers and the Faculty Development Committee chair. Classes are designed to be interactive and hands-on, and engage the participants in group discussions. Out of class assignments and readings are required for some of the sessions.

Evaluation is an important component of the class. At the beginning of each session, a needs assessment is conducted to determine if a change in the scheduled delivery is necessary. For example, the group may raise issues or specific instructional challenges that the instructors for the session may not have foreseen. At the end of each session, an evaluation form is used to collect participants' feedback about the topic and/or format of the session. The data collected are used to make adjustments to future sessions.

Every new faculty receives 3 hours of release time to participate in the class, which shows the commitment of the SCC administration to the program. The group meets every Friday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., usually in the Faculty Resource Center.

Mentors
Each new faculty member is assigned two mentors. Last year's new faculty group volunteered to be "buddy" mentors to this year's new faculty. The buddy mentors act as pals and offer friendship and comfort to the new faculty. They are the individuals to go to for emotional support. The second mentor is appointed by the new faculty's division chair. The division mentor is the person to go to with questions about the job or the teaching discipline.

Orientation Session
An orientation session was held the week of August 12, from 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The orientation was an opportunity to bring the new faculty together to discuss expectations and to get information on residential faculty policy and college governance, the SCC catalog, how to create a positive learning environment, faculty development structure and opportunities, and outcomes assessment and evaluation. The new faculty were introduced to all members of the administration, division chairs, faculty senators, and several key people in student services areas. Each new faculty received a copy of the Resource Guide To Success, a handbook that includes information a new employee would need to have at their fingertips about the Maricopa Community Colleges, and Scottsdale Community College specifically.

The Path to Success

Linda Hicks, Pat Serrano, and Karen Chalmers believe that several factors have contributed to the early success of the program. One significant factor is that the goals of the Faculty Development Committee are aligned with the college strategic plan, which includes as a priority "to support growth and development of employees." Another key aspect is that they took time to plan. They researched models at other institutions, adapted the ideas to the culture of Scottsdale Community College, and continuously evaluated their implementation to assess progress. Most importantly, the success is the result of hard work and dedication as well as commitment and support from their colleagues and the administration. Pat and Karen agreed with Linda when she said "We all feel that we're making a difference because we're getting such tremendous campus support."

Maria Harper-Marinick, Ph.D., mcli

Faculty Development
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fsd/