Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
New Faculty Professional Development Program (NFPD)

The New Faculty Professional Development Program, or NFPD program, is a commitment made by the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College administration and faculty association to new faculty who are benefit eligible. The reality is that many of our new faculty come to vocational & technical education with little to no preparation as a teacher, or knowledge of the instructional, curriculum, assessment or learning processes. The aim of the NFPD program is to address that very issue.

What is it

The New Faculty Professional Development program, or NFPD for short, is an opportunity extended to benefit eligible faculty at NWTC (full-time or half-time faculty). The faculty hired to teach in the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) are hired for their expertise in the subject matter and the profession in which they will prepare our learners. The NFPD program provides ongoing and just-in-time support and development opportunities to address the new faculty member’s new found profession - Education. The aim of the program is to provide professional growth opportunities for the individual so s/he is empowered to be an effective educator and contributor to team and organizational initiatives.

What's the Content?

The "canned" program consists of four major topics:

Module 1 is Organizational Awareness (continuation from new employee orientation and in-services)
Module 2 is Curriculum/Course Documentation
Module 3 is Educational Technology Awareness
Module 4 is Technology Integration

A module coincides with each semester, with the exception of half-time faculty who complete one-half of a module per semester. If the pre-assessment (see below) or the faculty member’s input indicates the "canned" approach needs to be adjusted, there are other options that offer a great degree of flexibility in the program to address the professional growth needs of the faculty member. For example, instead of one or more of the "canned" topics, the following topics might be incorporated into one or more modules:

Team Action Plan item/project (if there is opportunity for professional growth, it may be the focus of a module). Team time may be appropriated.
WTCS Certification courses - currently, course construction is embedded into module 2; however, additional specific certification classes are in progress of being added as options for a module. These courses may be offered on an individualized online and/or correspondence basis through the NFPD program, separate from regular NWTC certification offerings.
Action research (don’t let "research" intimidate you). Action research is a simple model of identifying an area in which you would like to improve or discover more through investigation, discovery, and reflection. Topics for action research might include: assessment and evaluation, teaching techniques/methodologies, learning cycle and/or theory, or technology integration. The steps of action research involve identifying the item/topic you want to "research", gather more information about it, construct the experiment, reflect on the results and summarize for the benefit of others (the summaries and reflections will be added to the portfolios and shared with program coordinator).

Each semester, the following steps occur:

At the beginning of each semester, the new faculty member contacts the program coordinator to set up a 1:1 meeting to review goals and establish a plan outlining developmental tasks, outcomes with success indicators, and a timeline. The identified outcomes and success indicators might be related to one of the four major topical areas of the "canned" program: organizational awareness, course documentation/curriculum, technology awareness and technology integration. One of the defining characteristics is that the NFPD program is an individualized program.
An Individualized Development Plan (IDP) is created for each module with the program coordinator. The faculty member has an opportunity to incorporate feedback from the team and supervisor to address any initiatives related to his/her team or the college overall. Another defining characteristic is that the coordinator challenges the faculty member to incorporate authentic projects and tasks that provide an opportunity for the professional growth to occur.
The faculty member obtains approval for the IDP from his/her supervisor (Dean or Associate Dean) and formalizes the IDP and the time allotment from their workload for the module via a Project Form (this form shows approval and completion for each semester). Each semester for the duration of the faculty member’s participation in the program this process is repeated. The Project Form is attached to the IDP and the faculty member is underway.
Through the direction of the IDP the faculty member engages in the tasks necessary to complete the outcomes as defined by the success indicators with the assistance of a mentor and program coordinator, and with the support of the supervisor and team.
Within the specified timeline the new faculty member puts closure on the semester/module by compiling the artifacts demonstrating achievement of the outcomes in a portfolio. Each semester the portfolio is reviewed by the program coordinator.

How is the program delivered?

The delivery of the program combines 1:1 face-to-face (F2F) meetings, group F2F meetings, and online collaboration and retrieval of materials through a course site in Blackboard. Once per year a meeting between program coordinator, new faculty member and the supervisor occurs to review and plan the "big picture of outcomes" for the program.
A portfolio is kept by the faculty member throughout the program and shared with program coordinator and supervisor on a regular basis.
Prior to completing the program, the new faculty member will display the professional development portfolio during a large group meeting in which completers are recognized and congratulated on their accomplishment.

NFPD Program Contact

Amy Mangin, Faculty Development Coordinator

2740 West Mason Street
P.O. Box 19042
Green Bay, WI 54307