Professional Development Planning
Each tenured member of the College Faculty will create and maintain an individual Professional Development Plan and revise it periodically in consultation with a small team of colleagues. Six years after earning tenure, the faculty member will create an initial Professional Development Plan; thereafter at six-year intervals, the faculty member will revise and extend the Professional Development Plan. The Professional Development Plan is a concise statement of specific goals and realistic objectives to be met during the upcoming six-year period and should inform the faculty member’s ongoing reflection on one’s work. Professional Development Plans should be forward-looking and developmental, addressing goals and milestones for the faculty member’s professional career in the years ahead. This recurring process of professional formation is grounded in the fundamental value of self-examination with collegial peer-review. By maintaining and regularly revising the Professional Development Plan, the tenured member of the faculty manifests sustained commitment to the aims and values in the profession of higher education, demonstrates purposive and enhanced formation of requisite skills for the profession, and exhibits sustained desire to strive for excellence in the performance of all professional responsibilities.
The process of creating and revising the Professional Development Plan occurs in three steps:
- Faculty member chooses and consults with at least two colleagues about ongoing or planned teaching, scholarship, or other work. Each colleague summarizes observations and suggestions in a written report to the faculty member.
- Faculty member creates or revises the Professional Development Plan, describing and discussing goals for future work in light of past performance. Faculty member shares the Professional Development Plan with the consulting colleagues and the Dean of Faculty.
- The Dean of Faculty confirms the conscientious and timely completion of steps 1 and 2 and includes a copy of the Professional Development Plan in the faculty member’s file.
On completion of the Professional Development Plan, the faculty member may wish to meet with the Dean of Faculty in order to identify available resources and opportunities that would support the achievement of goals envisioned in the plan.
Approved by College Faculty Assembly, April 3, 2018
Approved by Board of Trustees, April 21, 2018