Institute/Session Summary:

Purpose of the presentation:

In a paperbound world, updating a traditional faculty handbook is cumbersome and time consuming, and usually the product is outdated before it is printed. Online department handbooks remedy these many problems. Easily updated, these tools can keep faculty abreast of current changes in pedagogy and policies, as well as provide important lessons and materials to enhance instruction and student learning.

The purpose of this presentation is to share our Online Faculty Resource Website with others who want to move their faculty resources online for greater access, flexibility, and currency.

Learning objectives:

Attendees will

• leave with a clear vision of the benefits of an online handbook for both full-time and adjunct faculty
• gain an understanding of the process for creating their own online resources with minimal financial and technological investment
• create their own list of resources they would like to put in such a handbook and will outline their “first steps” in moving to an online format
• discuss obstacles, and solutions to common problems encountered while creating an online faculty resource website

Outline of content:

• College background
  

o Cypress College, 13,000 students, located in Southern California
o District: North Orange County Community College District o Sister College: Fullerton College
o Diverse student population of Cypress College
o Unique features of Cypress College

• Reading Department background o Separate department with six reading courses, listed as English

o Core courses integrate reading and writing
o Seven full-time faculty and 5 – 12 adjunct faculty o Students: approximately 45% of students who take placement test enter developmental reading courses
o Previous handbook was developed in early 1990’s and is comprised of a notebook with many valuable resources.

• Motivation for creating an online handbook

o Orientation of new faculty, both full-time and adjunct. In the past, department coordinators have spent several hours with each faculty member, gathering and reviewing course outlines, selecting texts, sharing syllabi and lessons.
o Many of the materials that full-time faculty commonly used were difficult to access, ie writing prompts, common assignments.
o Previous handbook was outdated and bringing it up to date would require hours of work and lots of trees!
o Repository for department documents for easy access by all, ie IQA reports, EMP reports, etc.

• Process

o Department meeting: Discussed issues of accessibility and privacy with creating an online faculty handbook. Surmised that Blackboard would provide an effective and streamlined format.
o Summer:

1. Set up a template, which we revised several times.
2. Gathered and wrote documents
3. Evaluated further needs and solicited documents from others

o Shared site with dean, who asked us to present it to full-time division faculty
o Shared site with Reading Department adjunct faculty at opening day meeting.
o Considerations: time required, Blackboard capability, shared responsibilities

• Online overview of the Blackboard handbook

o Key features include: course information (including course outlines and overviews, sample syllabi and calendars, Learning Center Assignments, and textbook ordering information), staff information, resources, sample assignments, and links to professional organizations and resources.
o To view the cite, go to http://cypresscollege.blackboard.com and enter username: engadjunct with password: cypress

• Outcome

o New faculty (or faculty who are teaching courses new to them) review materials on the site before meeting with department coordinator. That way they can gather ideas and questions so that the time together is more productive.
o Reading Department members continue to access site to retrieve commonly used materials and documents.
o ESL department has plans to develop their own site but have first developed a website of course-specific resources for ESL tutors in our LLRC.
o We plan to move from Blackboard to a password-protected website when the district implements the new portal.

Significance and relevance: Any department with Blackboard capabilities on campus can develop a useful, easy-to-maintain faculty resource using this model. The benefits to both full-time and part-time faculty are considerable.

Engaging the audience: Attendees will outline essential elements for their own website and will have an opportunity to discuss the process and ask questions. Website will be available to attendees for two months after conference.

Presenter1 Name: Susan Klein
Presenter1 Institution: Cypress College
Presenter1 Bio: Susan Klein has been in education for 25 years, most recently at Cypress College. She is in her sixth year as Reading Department Coordinator, and teaches both on campus and online courses in developmental and transfer-level reading and study skills.

Presenter2 Name: Sarah Jones
Presenter2 Institution: Cypress College
Presenter2 Bio: Sarah Jones is in her seventh year at Cypress College, where she was in the first wave of online instructors.  She currently teaches online developmental reading and college-level study strategies courses as well as on-campus reading courses.