Professional Development
Coastal Carolina Community College has an ongoing commitment to providing professional development opportunities for the faculty. The College offers many opportunities to assist faculty members in their growth and development, to include workshops, conferences, seminars, visits to industry, and certification or re-certification opportunities.
Professional development is offered for the faculty as a whole, as well as for individual faculty members. The Community of Practice is a standing committee of the Faculty Assembly. The Community of Practice identifies in-service training needs for membership, studies and recommends means of developing and improving professional capabilities, and encourages the publicizing of membership achievement.
In addition, the Community of Practice of Coastal’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) assists the Community of Practice in the identification of focused workshop topics and necessary resources to enhance the faculty’s skills in facilitating student engagement, persistence, and success.
As part of the College’s commitment, professional development opportunities are held on a regular basis. Examples are below.
- Fall Workshops: This is a two-day professional development opportunity held at the beginning of each fall semester. This activity is planned by the Community of Practice and supported by the administration.
- Spring Workshops: This is a professional development day offered at the beginning of each spring semester. This activity is planned by the Community of Practice and supported by the administration.
- New Faculty Orientation: This event provides an orientation to teaching at Coastal Carolina Community College. Faculty have an opportunity to hear from the Vice Presidents and President concerning the overall culture of educational quality of Coastal Carolina Community College, and receive vital information concerning the available resources.
- Instructors’ Academy: The Instructors’ Academy is an interactive, hands-on, professional development opportunity designed to support and enhance teaching skills and abilities.
- Academy for Online Instructors: The Academy for Online Instructors is designed to enhance the community college instructor's craft by applying strategies from each of the sessions in the development and implementation of online courses.
- Faculty Mentoring: The Faculty Mentoring program is focused on teaching excellence. Through the mentoring program, full-time faculty strategically affect the professional life of new faculty by fostering insight, impacting student learning outcomes, providing support, and establishing an environment that supports collegial learning.
- Discipline-Specific Professional Development: Each year, as part of the budget planning process, faculty identify discipline-specific professional development for approval by the Budget Oversight Committee. These activities include certification programs, attendance at professional conferences and workshops, re-certification programs, “return to industry” programs, and other training opportunities.