ACUE COHORT

Subject: [faculty] Don’t miss this opportunity for full AND adjunct faculty! New ACUE cohort starting this August. Applications now open!

Date: January 31, 2022 at 1:10:41 PM CST

To: noreply-faculty@oakton.edu

Dear Fellow Faculty:

I am thrilled with the strong interest in the ACUE course on Effective Online Teaching, and I am happy to announce that we are planning for another cohort to begin in August 2022. The ACUE course on Effective Online Teaching consists of 25 weekly modules that help you learn and apply research-proven strategies to your own class and in your work with your current students.

Have you heard the campus buzz? Do you already know you want to apply and submit your application? You may click HERE to complete the application.

Want to know more? Keep reading! I will link again to the application below.

Enrollment, engagement, and completion in the course is associated with 3 LHEs of alternate time for both full and part-time faculty.

Participants may choose to take all three LHEs during the fall 2022 semester (recommended), all three during the spring 2023 semester, or divide the LHEs among the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters. This program represents a significant investment by the College in supporting our faculty. It is also a very significant time demand on faculty. Faculty should expect to engage in the course weekly and implement new material and approaches into the course they are teaching concurrently with their ACUE course enrollment. Average time per module is 3 clock hours. Enrollment in the cohort indicates a commitment to keep pace with the cohort and fulfill the entire 25 module sequence. Faculty are strongly encouraged to use the 3 LHEs associated with ACUE to REDUCE their class load in order to allow sufficient time to do the work associated with the course. Past participants who fell behind indicated they underestimated how much time would be required and expressed wistfulness at not dropping a course in order to have sufficient time.

This will be our third cohort of Oakton participants. We have one cohort working now, and graduates from the first cohort were recognized at President’s Smith opening remarks at the start of the Spring Orientation Week. We will also recognize and celebrate them at a pinning ceremony on May 17 from 3-4:30pm.

The first cohort graduates include:

Ragaa Abdallah

Olabisi Adenekan

Maria Antonopoulos

Arti Ayachit

Stephanie Levi Blumer

Bob Gynn

Anna Hammer

Khursheed Ichhaporia

Mary Johannesen-Schmidt

Paul Johnson

Scott Johnson

Cheryl Joseph

Marcia Kiraly

Megan Klein

Steven Ko

Kristine Lefeber

Eva de la Riva Lopez

Kanchana Mendes

Ragy Mikhaeel

David Molley

Edith Monroy

Sarah Moses

Ji-Hyae Park

Myrthe Potts

Phil Prale

Gerardo Salvacion

Bill Strond

Cecilia (Cecy) Villarruel

David Williams

Bradley Young

Here’s what some of our Oakton ACUE participants have said:

“Energizing and inspiring. I love that throughout the semester I am being provided with new ideas and the time to practice with and implement them.”

“No matter how long you’ve been teaching or whether you teach online or f2f, you’l learn SO many strategies that will enhance your teaching and facilitate student success.”

“No matter how experienced you are, you wll take something away from every module. You wll need to dedicate about three hours per week to complete each module, but every single thing you do is rich with information, enjoyable to watch, and very easy to navigate. My new life goal is having an online course that works as well as the ACUE course. I love time online with colleagues too!”

This program promotes teaching practices proven through independently-validated research to improve student achievement and close equity gaps. Faculty who complete the program earn a nationally recognized Certificate in Effective College Instruction, the only college teaching credential endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). Full-time faculty who complete the program also will be qualified to teach fully online and hybrid courses as required in the most recent Agreement between the College and OCCFA.

This program will be offered fully online through a cohort of Oakton colleagues with an Oakton-based facilitator.

The program addresses all of the core competencies defined in ACUE’s Effective Practice Framework© and is organized into five major areas of practice:

• Designing an Effective Course
• Establishing a Productive Learning Environment
• Using Active Learning Strategies
• Promoting Higher Order Thinking
• Assessing to Inform Instruction and Promote Learning 

The ACUE curriculum is appropriate for all faculty who teach, and in any discipline. Faculty who have declared their retirement to commence prior to March 2024 are ineligible.

Of the thousands of faculty who have enrolled in ACUE’s courses:

• 94% found the course content relevant to their work
• 94% found the course helpful in refining their teaching practice
• 88% would recommend the course to a colleague

What does the course cost?

• This opportunity is offered at no cost to you or your department.
• Faculty receive 3 LHEs alternate time for enrollment, engagement, and completion of the full 25 modules. (Adjunct faculty should confirm with their division managers that they are LHE eligible.)
• Full-time faculty may elect to take the course for graduate credit toward lane advancement. In this case no LHEs would be awarded, but 2 graduate credits would be awarded following successful completion of the course.
• Adjunct faculty may, in addition, consult with their chair to use the course as evidence of Continued Eligibility.
• Faculty who complete the course will earn the Certificate in Effective College Instruction.

What is the time commitment?

• Course begins August 2022 and runs through May 2023. 
• Cohorts typically complete one module per week over 25 weeks. 
• Internal ACUE research indicates that a faculty member spends approximately 2-3 hours of activity per week, on average, in the course.

We have a limited number of seats available! For full consideration, interested faculty are encouraged to apply by 9am on Tuesday, March 1. You may click HERE to complete the application. The rubric used for evaluation is available HERE. Because of the robust interest in this opportunity and the limited spots available, we strongly suggest you submit your application by the deadline for full consideration.Please note you must be signed in to your Oakton Google account to access the submission form and the rubric. If you receive a message that says you do not have access to these documents, it means you are not logged in to your Oakton Google account. There is a link to a video at the end of this email showing you how to check and change which Google account is logged in.

Those accepted into the cohort should expect to attend a local “launch” meeting during the August orientation week as well as an orientation session from ACUE. They will also be required to sign a commitment letter indicating their understanding of expectations and compensation structure. Please contact Mary Johannesen-Schmidt at mjohanne@oakton.edu for more information.

Click HERE for the video on how to check the Google account that is logged in and active.

I am excited and grateful that Oakton is able to provide this opportunity to faculty for another year.

With kind regards,

Mary Johannesen-Schmidt