Sixty-two Missouri S&T faculty members have started the Effective Online Teaching Practices year-long program. It is part of a National Association of System Heads grant to the University of Missouri System titled “Scaling Instructional Excellence for Student Success.”

The initiative, created in cooperation with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), is focused on improving quality instruction, and ultimately student success, through intentional, high-quality professional development for faculty across the four universities.

Four systems nationwide were selected for this program: UM System, California State University System, City University of New York, and the Texas A&M University System.

Dr. Irina Ivliyeva, professor of Russian and director of the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFÉ), is the S&T campus liaison for the initiative. Dr. Merilee Krueger, teaching professor of psychological science, serves as the faculty facilitator for the two cohorts of instructors going through the program.

In the first module, faculty explored how to foster a welcoming environment in an online class through strategies to build a clear course structure, welcoming environment and community. Resources about these topics are available to all on the ACUE website.

For more information about these topics, please contact CAFE cafe@mst.edu or 341-6713.