To Improve the Academy

An annual publication of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, volume 22 of To Improve the Academy is a collection of articles that focus on the role of faculty, instructional, and organizational development in ensuring excellence in education. Recognizing the urgency caused by a recent rash of budget and staff cuts and falling course enrollment, the authors provide new perspectives on how to address the growing need for providing quality, effective higher education.

The book is divided into six sections:

• Section I, Past, Present, and Future of SoTL: provides an overview of the scholarship of teaching and learning
• Section II, Assessment and Faculty Development: presents tested methods for assessing both student learning and the impact of faculty development
• Section III, Curriculum Design and Evaluation: describes different tools for redesigning curriculum and improving student learning
• Section IV, Faculty Development Tools: presents models for enhancing current methods of faculty development
• Section V, Student Learning and Faculty Development: focuses on helping faculty work with students to enhance and improve their learning
• Section VI, Faculty Development with Part-Time Instructors: includes ideas for integrating adjunct faculty and graduate students into the life of an institution

This book makes sense of how the changing climate in higher education is affecting how, when, and in what circumstances American students are learning. It offers an essential resource for improvement in higher education to faculty and instructional development staff, department chairs, deans, student services staff, chief academic officers, and educational consultants.