Purpose

The role of the Faculty Development Committee is to lead the college’s efforts in further advancing the professional development of all NWACC faculty to regularly review and recommend applications for development activities to the Associate Vice-President for General Education throughout the fiscal year, and to annually recommend ongoing improvements to the policies and procedures of faculty development.

Major Responsibilities:

Meet monthly or as needed to review and recommend applications for development activities.
Under the direction of the Committee Chair and in collaboration with the Faculty Development Coordinator, monitor the faculty development budget to assure fiscal responsibility and to achieve maximum efficiency of available funds.
To monitor the effectiveness of faculty development policies and procedures and to recommend any necessary revisions/improvements.
To solicit faculty participation and application for development and training opportunities.
To annually administer the process for faculty development.

Alignment with College ENDS:

The College’s “ENDS” refers to the major constituent groups served by the NWACC Board of Trustees as a policy governance board. The five constituent groups are the following: College Community (all employees), Owner Community (area citizens and taxpayers), K-16 Community (area educational providers and partners), and the College’s faculty development efforts are the College Community (specifically faculty) and the Learning Community (students).

Faculty development initiatives are aimed at providing faculty (primary) and staff directly supporting the learning process (secondary) with opportunities to acquire additional knowledge or affective teaching methodologies, and their ability to improve student learning. The constituent groups (ENDS) served by the College’s faculty development efforts are the College Community (specifically faculty) and the Learning Community (students).

Committee Structure and Composition

Committee composition will include representation from the following areas: one full-time faculty member each from the following departments: Communication & Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics and Science, Health Professions, Business and Computer Information Systems, and Culinary. One academic dean will serve on the committee. The Faculty Development Coordinator will be a standing member of the Committee.
The committee will be chaired by a faculty person recommended by the Associate Vice-President for General Education and approved by the Senior Vice-President for Learning.
Committee members will serve terms of 1-3 years and rotating no more than 1/3 of the committee member is any given year with the goal of eventually having all members serve three-year terms.
Membership Responsibilities. The Faculty Development Committee Chair will be responsible for the following: a. setting monthly meeting agendas, disseminating/communicating information to all stakeholders, leading committee efforts to perform described duties, collaborating with the Faculty Development Coordinator to monitor the budget and exercise fiscal responsibility, and forward committee recommendations to the Associate Vice-President for General Education while providing him/her with regular communication on the Committee’s progress. b. Members will faithfully attend all committee meetings. Members will actively participate in committee discussions. Members will complete appropriate action items for designated committee meetings. When voting electronically, members must respond with their votes within seven days of receipt of the funding application. After seven days, if all votes have not been received, the chair will send one reminder out to vote. c. Committee members will communicate faculty development policies and procedures to all faculty of their school and particularly to adjunct faculty when matters affect them directly. d. If a committee member goes on sabbatical or can no longer serve, the committee member is responsible for securing a proxy to serve during the period in which they are absent. If the member is unable to provide the proxy, their dean would appoint a proxy.

Committee Meetings. a. The Faculty Development Committee will meet at least once a month or more often as needed to fulfill its charge. b. If a committee member has unexcused absences from three consecutive meetings, the chair will recommend to the Associate Vice-President for General Education the appropriate steps for replacing members whose terms have expired or who have otherwise requested to discontinue serving. c. New member appointments (at end of term) will be in April prior to the new academic year. The Faculty Development Coordinator will recommend to the Associate Vice-President for General Education the appropriate steps for replacing members whose terms have expired or who have otherwise requested to discontinue serving. d. Committee decisions must have a simple majority present to represent a quorum (50% or more).

Current Committee Membership (2025-2026):
Ex-Officio: Jo Schwader, Faculty Professional Development Coordinator as liaison for Ex-Officio
Chair: Paul Lowrey, Mathematics & Science
open, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Michelle Frazier, Health Professions

Christopher Neyland, Business and Computer Information
Lindsay Welsher, Communication & Arts
Lenora Clouse, Dean