Online Faculty Institute

The Academy for Teaching and Learning in collaboration with Learning Design welcomes faculty participation in the Online Faculty Institute (OFI). OFI seeks foremost to build a sense of belonging and connectedness for our faculty working remotely. Additionally, OFI will focus on the foundations of high-impact online teaching by helping faculty build a practical skills toolbox. A cohort of 10-15 faculty will complete a two-semester program with live sessions by Zoom twice each month and reading and writing assignments in between sessions. A three-day campus visit in Fall provides opportunities for in-person community-building with the OFI cohort and meetings with key Baylor leaders.

Participants are expected to spend an average of five hours per week on OFI study, discussions, and live meetings. Departments will fund faculty travel to Waco for the on-campus meeting and a one course release per year to provide time for faculty participation. The OFI curriculum is designed to include familiarity with Baylor distinctives, best practices in online learning, and advice for faculty flourishing in online programs at Baylor.

Scheduling

Time commitment: 5 hours per week (20 hours per month)
Required Zoom sessions: 90-minute live sessions twice each month
In-person three-day meeting in Waco

Fall Topics

Module 1 Christian Universities - Building a Culture of Caring
Module 2 How People Learn - Exploring Learning via Foundational Theories
Module 3 The Art of Facilitating Online Discussions
Module 4 Enhancing Learning through Technologies
Module 5 Campus Visit and Communicating Caring through Video
Module 6 Midterm Reflection and Forward Planning

Spring Topics

Module 1 Educators at Christian Universities
Module 2 Developing Meaningful Assignments
Module 3 Effective Grading and Feedback
Module 4 Artificial Intelligence as a Learning Tool
Module 5 Faculty Flourishing
Module 6 Iterative Approach for Improvement

Application Process

Applications due: Friday March 21, 2025
Submit electronically to atl@baylor.edu

OFI is available to permanent, full-time faculty members who are primarily teaching online with an appointment for the upcoming academic year and the expectation of continued employment beyond the upcoming academic year. Departments are asked to provide one course release for the academic year of participation.

Eligibility for participation and eligibility for course release are determined prior to application in conversation with chairs/division heads and deans.

Applicants begin the process by expressing interest to their chairs and confirming they would receive necessary support (course release and travel funds) if accepted into the Online Faculty Institute. The application form should be submitted with signatures by the posted due date.

OFI Leadership

Dr. T. Laine Scales, Professor of Social Work and Baylor Master Teacher

Dr. Scales began her Baylor career in 1999 as a faculty member in the School of Social Work. Focusing on development of future faculty, she served from 2004-2018 as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professional Development in Baylor’s Graduate School and from 2008-2018 she served the School of Education as Professor of Higher Education. In 2016, Baylor honored Dr. Scales with its highest teaching award, Baylor Master Teacher. Moving into online education in 2018 and returning to the Garland School of Social Work in 2019, Dr. Scales began applying her faculty development skills to Baylor through Baylor’s Academy for Teaching and Learning and Learning Design. In 2021, she began as co-facilitator of the Designing for Online Teaching Success (DOTS) program for doctoral students and in 2022 co-created Designing Instruction for Virtual Engagement (DIVE) with Baylor’s Learning Design team. She was appointed co-director of the Garland School of Social Work’s online PhD program in 2022, where she teaches courses in Ethics and Qualitative Research and facilitates a teaching practicum seminar. An accomplished researcher and writer, Dr. Scales has authored, co-authored, or co-edited eleven books and over fifty articles and chapters in the areas of case method teaching, rural social work, doctoral education, and history of Baptist women in higher education.

Dr. Chris Zakrzewski, Director of Learning Design, Library and Academic Technology Services (LATS)

Dr. Zakrzewski has spent over 21 years in higher education working with administrators and faculty to develop a culture of innovative empowerment. Chris believes strongly that teaching innovation is a journey and that it requires a commitment to positive one-on-one interaction with faculty to flourish. Chris has spent time in the classroom teaching undergraduate and graduate class in-person, online and in hybrid formats. Chris most recently spent time as the Director of Educational Technology and the NYU School of Professional Studies and before that as the Assistant Provost for Technology and Instructional Innovation at Saint Xavier University. Chris speaks across the country on creating cultures of innovation and on the development of innovative learning spaces. Most recently Chris' work on Experiential Problem-based Learning was published in the Journal of Problem-based Learning in Higher Education.