California State University, Channel Islands
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

In Spring 2022, CSUCI hosted a Faculty Inquiry Project: Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Ventura County as a Living Laboratory.
“Sustainability” (AKA use without compromising future productivity) is a construct discussed in many disciplines and taught in many courses across our campus. This Faculty Inquiry Project (FIP) worked to lower disciplinary silos and facilitate a holistic understanding of the sustainability phenomenon. Participants discussed the origins of the term “sustainability” and how it manifests in their different fields. The facilitators welcomed a diverse pool of participants to bring their disciplinary perspectives. Their focus was on sustainability teaching across disciplines. The participants discussed pedagogy and specific examples from their courses and crafted interdisciplinary activities, events, and formative assessments that can be implemented in future semesters. They planned several sessions off campus to also learn from sustainable organizations in the for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors within Ventura County. The group also worked on a draft outline of an interdisciplinary sustainability minor drawing from multiple programs across campus.
https://padlet.com/MariaBallesterosSola/fip-sustainability-spring-2022-yv6pdwitndw4w62n

Although the following course development incentive programs do not exclusively target sustainability courses, faculty are able to apply them to the development of sustainability courses.

Faculty Development at California State University, Channel Islands provides a number of support services for faculty to support them in developing sustainability course offerings - from professional development for junior and more senior faculty members to teaching workshops and training. Faculty Development is now housed in our newly renamed Faculty Affairs Success and Equity office and collaborates with Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), the Mission Centers, Teaching and Learning Innovations(TLi), and Human Resources, among others, to offer support services for faculty related to teaching, research and creative activities, more collegial practices that value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and career success and excellence for all of our faculty.

According to their Mission Statement, the “…Office of Faculty Development and the Faculty Development Advisory Committee (FDAC) are dedicated to helping all faculty flourish as teachers, scholars, and colleagues. Faculty development programs, services, and resources enhance instructional innovation and effectiveness and support scholarly and creative activities, including the scholarship of teaching, and University or community service. The Office of Faculty Development and FDAC advocate for university resources to support faculty needs and cultivate a positive, sustainable academic environment.”

1) Mentoring Networks at CSUCI: CSUCI’s Mentoring Program for New(ish) Faculty–is built on a network model of mentoring. A network model of mentoring asks faculty to reflect on what they want and need and then seek out connections to help them achieve these things–in other words, to identify and cultivate an individualized team of people who can help them realize their professional goals.

2) Mentoring Mondays: All Tenure Track faculty in their first or second year are invited to participate in Mentoring Mondays. These gatherings for new(er) tenure track faculty enhance their knowledge of CSUCI faculty roles and to provide space for collaboration and supportive conversations about responsibilities and expectations.

3) Faculty Inquiry Projects (FIPS): Faculty Inquiry Projects are “faculty communities” focused on meaningful questions around big ideas. Groups will meet 5 times throughout the semester either in-person or virtually via Zoom; schedules are set ahead of time, and faculty apply to a particular group knowing that they are expected to attend at least 4 meetings.

4) National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD): CSUCI is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) - a nationally-recognized independent organization dedicated to supporting faculty, particularly under-represented faculty, post-docs, and graduate students in making successful transitions throughout their careers. NCFDD provides online career development, training, and mentoring resources.

A brief description of Incentives:
General incentives include funding for professional development, training in demonstrating effective student learning (assessment), workshops in teaching and assessment, retreats, in-class guest lectures on learning, ethics and critical thinking.

General incentives include funding for professional development, training in demonstrating effective student learning (assessment), workshops in teaching and assessment, retreats, in-class guest lectures on learning, ethics and critical thinking. Specific examples are listed above.