University-Wide Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development Charge

The role of the University Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development (UCTFD) is to facilitate collaboration and engagement among all University schools for faculty development programs, services and issues. The UCTFD will assist the Provost in affirming excellent teaching and learning as a priority at Tufts, and in that context to promote and coordinate the educational and faculty development activities of the several schools. Each School should develop its own mechanisms for educational and faculty development in coordination with the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) and by drawing on existing University and School resources to support their faculty in teaching innovation, enhancement, and the integration of technology.

Appointed by the Provost and representing the University, the Associate Provost will serve as the Chair of the University-wide Committee for Teaching and Faculty Development (UCTFD). Partnering with the Chair is a rotating co-chair from one of the schools who will have a two-year term. Membership includes academic deans and faculty, as appointed by the school Deans or Directors to represent their local faculty and teaching development “office” or “process,” the dean for undergraduate education, a library representative appointed by the University Library Council (ULC), the director of CELT, and representatives from other institutional offices that support faculty in their academic work, including the Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation, and Academic Technology.

UCTFD will meet monthly throughout the academic year to address topics that relate to best practices in teaching and faculty development across the University and elsewhere, and include the following activities:

• UCTFD will serve as the advisory board for CELT (which is supported by the Office of the Provost) and provide guidance on major strategic, programmatic, and budgetary issues for CELT.
• UCTFD will serve as the advisory board for the University Seminar program, including soliciting and selecting faculty proposals for University Seminar courses.
• UCTFD will advise in the planning and development of UCTFD-sponsored conferences.
• UCTFD will serve as the hub for information that may result in schools and other UCTFD members sharing the cost and planning of programs that will benefit more than one faculty group. The committee may recommend that the Provost assist with the cost of workshops/consultants that are used in common among schools.
• UCTFD members may also bring particular needs of their faculty to the table for discussion, and UCTFD and CELT are charged with helping to identify resources to meet those needs.

Each year UCTFD should meet with the Provost and/or provide a brief written report on UCTFD activities and summarize each school’s progress and needs for educational and faculty development. In this way, the Provost can be kept informed about educational and faculty development as a focused university-wide topic, in addition to updates within the annual reports of each school.

Charge originally written on March 12, 1997 by June Aprille, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs; revised on March 12, 2007 and March 12, 2009 by Mary Y. Lee, Associate Provost