ACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY
1.0 Definitions
1.1 The following words and expressions have the meaning hereby assigned to them:
1.1.1 Academic Appraisal: A framework that encourages Academic Members to participate in and share responsibility for their professional performance, development.
1.1.2 Academic Management: Academic Members assigned administrative duties of a: President, Vice President, Associate Vice President, Academic Manager, Director, Dean, Associate/Assistant Dean, Department Head, Program Head and other Heads (as applicable).
1.1.3 Academic Members: Faculty Members and Instructional Members.
1.1.4 Academic Promotion: Advancement to the next highest rank/classification level through formal academic recognition by the University of a specified record of achievement by the Academic Member. It also confirms that the Academic Member has the potential to make a continuing contribution to the University vision and mission in (a) Teaching, (b) Scholarly/Creative Activities, and (c) Services.
1.1.5 Academic Professional Development: A planned program of activities and events that provides for and contributes to the personal and professional improvement of Academic Members, and is intended to help Academic Members improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness.
1.1.6 Academic Unit: An entity within the University that delivers Courses for Programs or for entry into Programs.
1.1.7 Faculty Members: Members of the teaching and/or research staff, whether on part- or full-time, holding the following titles: Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer/Senior Technical Instructor, or Lecturer/Technical Instructor.
1.1.8 Instructional Members: Members of the teaching staff, whether on part- or full-time, holding the following titles: Assistant Lecturer/or Workshop/Lab/Clinical Instructor, Assistant Technical Instructor, Trades Technical Instructor, or Teaching Assistant.
1.1.9 Research: The systematic and organized investigation of a subject/topic, and study of the materials and sources in order to establish new knowledge and/or reach new conclusions.
1.1.10 Scholarly/Creative Activities: Empirical (experiential and applied) Research that is aligned to the focus of the University, and the orientation of the vocational and technical type of the education the University is providing, and intellectual attainment including; published journal papers, peer reviewed conference papers/articles, book chapters, as well as other activities that are peer reviewed and/or publicly disseminated and which include the discovery of new knowledge; development of new materials/practices and/or new uses for existing materials/practices; and which broaden and expand the learning communities in which Academic Members function and in which the University is situated.
1.1.11 Services: Engagement by Academic Members in University wide or departmental activities such as leadership on University committees, program development and accreditation support activities special project assignments, or other such work in fulfillment of the University’s strategic and academic objectives; in their professional organizations through attendance at meetings, professional presentations, or other such work; and service to the broader community such as representing the University in the broader community, professional presentations to audiences outside the campus; or other such activities.
1.1.12 Teaching Release Time: Approved teaching reduction allocated to Academic Members involved in Scholarly/Creative Activities, Services, or Academic Professional Development in line with the Academic Workload Procedure.
1.1.13 Teaching: The delivery of theoretical and/or practical instruction for the purpose of Student learning and development, that is generally organized by disciplines and/or interdisciplinarity of study and administered within an established mode and timeframe.
1.2 Where the context requires, words importing the singular will include the plural and vice-versa.
1.3 Where a word or phrase is given a particular meaning, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of that word or phrase have corresponding meanings.
2.0 Policy Purpose
2.1 The University values Academic Members who are highly qualified and committed to life-long learning and development. The University’s distinction as an applied and experiential learning institution requires continued Academic Professional Development and training to ensure academic relevance and excellence. This policy sets the expectations for Academic Professional Development as the Academic Members progress in their careers with the University.
3.0 Policy Scope
3.1 This policy applies to all Academic Members at the University.
3.2 Academic Members with temporary/short term employment contracts might be required to attend Academic Professional Development and training at the discretion of the Academic Management, as appropriate.
4.0 Policy Statement
4.1 Academic Professional Development intends to promote a life-long learning environment, provide evidence for continuous improvement, and support Academic Members in their professional growth and Academic Promotion.
4.2 Teaching Release Time for Academic Professional Development is based on the operational needs of the Academic Unit/department and is at the discretion of the Vice-President, Academic, upon the relevant Dean/Academic Manager’s recommendation.
4.3 Academic Professional Development is categorized broadly into two (2) categories:
a. Technical / discipline-specific Academic Professional Development, which is based on the academic or professional area relevant to the area the Academic Member is teaching in.
b. Pedagogy and instructional skills Academic Professional Development that is University-specific, to use the University systems for job performance or the advancement of teaching and learning.
a. Technical / discipline-specific Academic Professional Development, which is based on the academic or professional area relevant to the area the Academic Member is teaching in.
b. Pedagogy and instructional skills Academic Professional Development that is University-specific, to use the University systems for job performance or the advancement of teaching and learning.
4.4 All Academic Members are expected to participate in Academic Professional Development activities at the University for continuous improvement that can serve the University, as stipulated in the relevant policies and procedures.
5.0 Procedures
5.1 The Vice-President, Academic will ensure that procedures are developed and implemented in accordance with this policy.
6.0 Related Documents
6.1 PL-AC-09: Academic Appraisal Policy;
6.2 PL-AC-02: Academic Credentials Policy;
6.3 PL-AC-04: Academic Promotion Policy;
6.4 PL-AC-12: Academic Members’ Retention Policy;
6.5 PR-AC-11: Academic Professional Development Procedure.