In part two of Winthrop's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Flight Ready, faculty will complete the Association of College and University Educators' (ACUE) Career Concentration training which informs both teaching strategies and faculty advising conversations and includes the following components:
This training will occur every semester in the Fall/Spring/Summer, starting Spring 2022 through Summer 2025 (alternatively, should faculty enrollment and/or completion patterns in the first two years indicate a need to restructure the schedule of offerings, ACUE training could extend through Fall 2025). During that time, 16 separate courses with 30 seats per course, will be taught with the Career Concentration training
For the ACUE faculty training, recruitment is a continuous cycle including up to the add/drop date for the last course scheduled during summer of 2025. The Executive Director for the Center for Professional Excellence will continue the recruitment work begun in December 2021: attending college meetings with dean’s offices and department chairs, sending e-mails to faculty conference, providing information to the provost for the provost’s report during faculty assemblies, and following up with individual faculty who express future interest. In addition, celebrating completers will also become an indirect part of recruitment. Completers will be recognized for completing the Flight Ready ACUE Career Concentration at both college-level and university-level assemblies.
ACUE’s assessment for the Career Concentration occurs each course. Faculty Confidence to embed career guidance in their courses and design assignments that prepare students to achieve their career goals is measured, collected, and reported to Winthrop’s Executive Director of the Center for Professional Excellence at the completion of each ACUE course.
ACUE Completer Celebration Lunches will be held at the end of each semester in which ACUE training took place. Each lunch includes faculty trained in the Career Concentration module and will provide an opportunity for the Flight Ready Director and/or Flight Ready Implementation Team members to have an active audience with highly engaged faculty. Lunch programs will include annual updates on Flight Ready along with announcements of upcoming opportunities to further engage in campus career readiness activities.
Recognition award items, branded with the Flight Ready logo, serve as recognition for faculty who successfully complete courses while also increasing the visibility of the QEP. These awards are provided at the end of each semester.
