PROF Center

Mission

The PROF Center promotes professional growth and development to enhance teaching effectiveness and improve student learning outcomes.

Goal

The goal of the PROF Center is to engage all faculty, adjuncts, and graduate teaching assistants in at least one professional development initiative, service, or program through timely offerings, meaningful engagement, and sustained support.

History

In 2005, a team of administrators and faculty attended the Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) Conference. Briefly, from 2003 -; 2008, BEAMS was a five-year initiative that supported Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities in using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) with the backing of numerous organizations. At the time, student engagement at TAMIU was measured through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

By attending the conference, the team quickly realized the need for a dedicated program to increase student engagement and learning. The team identified a need that required the creation of a center focused on supporting faculty to enhance their teaching and learning skills. To gather more information, the team administered a campus-wide faculty survey to plan successful programs.

Since 2009, the PROF Center began implementing programs to enhance best teaching and learning practices through applied faculty professional growth opportunities.

Team