Faculty Development Collaborative in Technology Program

The Faculty Development Collaborative in Technology Program (FDTC) is intended to assist faculty members at independent colleges and universities make more effective use of digital tools in their teaching.  FDTC enables state groupings of colleges to work collaboratively to provide workshops, materials, and on-campus technical assistance for faculty members.  FDTC is itself a collaborative effort of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education and the Council of Independent Colleges, together serving almost a thousand private colleges and universities.

The Program

A key challenge for small, independent institutions is the difficulty of realizing large returns in learning or in cost-effectiveness resulting from their significant investments in new technology.  In addition to bearing the disadvantage of small scale, thee institutions often have limited financial resources and insufficient staffing in both their information technology and faculty development offices. 

Based on four years of successful experience in several states, CIC and FIHE have been able to determine they key elements of successful institutional collaborations and to create professional development strategies that can be of use to other states and institutions.  The FDCT Program works at three levels:  institution, state, and national.

Campus-based Teaching and Learning Mentors.  Participating institutions select at least one individual respected for their understanding of pedagogical issues and for expertise in the use of digital tools who can help other faculty colleagues to use technology.  Mentors work with campus leaders to determine their institutions’ needs, plan programs with other mentors from their state, and participate in the FDCT’s professional development workshops. 

National Resources.  A considerable amount of material has already been developed to help mentors assist their faculty colleagues and can be used by faculty directly.  Institutions participating in FDCT will thus be able to gain cost-effective access to proven strategies and resources.  There is also an annual national professional development institute for mentors.

State Collaborations.  States have proven to be an effective focal point for this work.  State foundations have mechanisms in place for cooperation and geographical proximity creates efficiencies of time and money for planning and professional development activities.  In each state collaboration, a presidential leadership team is formed from the state’s participating colleges, a planning team is composed of the Teaching and Learning Mentors, and a smaller leadership task force is drawn from these two groups.

The Need

The Foundation for Independent Higher Education seeks grant support to develop the FDCT is each of the states where a viable collaborative can be formed and a plan implemented.  The annual support required is $ 20,000 per state, which is matched through local gifts, for a total of $ 40,000 per state.