Faculty Lead for Teaching and Learning

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

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• CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

POSITION SPECIFICS

The College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at Penn State, University Park campus is seeking a  Faculty Lead for Teaching and Learning to lead the College’s efforts in supporting excellence in Penn State’s teaching mission.

Our college’s mission is to foster a welcoming and affirming community engaged in innovative interdisciplinary education, research, and service to prepare leading professionals and scholars who leverage technology and critical thinking skills to solve complex challenges and to advance opportunities in an information society. It is an ideal destination for those that want to be part of a community that values innovation and collaboration. In the pursuit of excellence, we strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

This is a 48-week non-tenure line academic appointment, funded for three years from the date of hire, with the strong expectation of continuation for subsequent years, pending satisfactory performance. The University provides a clear pathway for professional advancement for its teaching faculty through its non-tenure line promotion process.

The Teaching and Learning unit supports instructors and students in designing, delivering, and/or participating in educational courses and experiences across undergraduate and graduate programs in the broad area of information sciences. Courses and experiences occur in residence, online, and in other formats.

The primary purpose of the position is to provide leadership in the College of IST in the areas of teaching development, learning support, and academic program assessment. This role has broad responsibility for excellence in these areas across undergraduate, graduate, residential, and online programs in the College of IST. As such, the Faculty Lead works closely with the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Associate Dean for Student Success, the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs, and the faculty directors and coordinators of the College's academic programs. This role includes supervising and coordinating the duties of two to three staff members who support the college’s teaching mission. We are currently going through a reorganization effort, so more individuals may be added to the supervisory responsibilities. The primary internal collaborators and partners include residential and online faculty, teaching development professionals across Penn State, and the college’s Teaching and Learning team.

This position is a teaching faculty position, focused on supporting the development of and the scholarship of teaching. While a teaching schedule is not included in the job, there is the opportunity to teach, especially when the college needs extra sections of its preparation courses for undergraduate learning assistants and graduate teaching assistants.

The appointment could begin as early as August 1, 2025. Application review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Responsibilities: The successful candidate will:

Leadership, Supervision, and Budget Management of Unit

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for the Teaching and Learning Office.

• Define and articulate the area’s vision and mission and ensure their integration into individuals' goals. 

• Establish and guide ongoing program planning, including setting goals, budget, and measurable outcomes for staff.

Teaching Development, College-wide

• Assist Department Heads, Program Coordinators, and Associate Deans in designing and providing developmental programming and formative review processes for new and mid-career instructors, both full-time and part-time, Graduate Teaching Fellows, and all classroom assistants (undergraduate, Master's, and doctoral students) for residential and online programs and across instructional modes.

• Promote, guide and conduct formative evaluation of innovative teaching practices.

• Support innovative teaching grants.

• Organize and facilitate programming as part of the teaching development strategy.

• Work with Associate Deans and with faculty leaders to review, modify, and/or establish mechanisms to recognize teaching success.

• Assist Program Coordinators and Associate Deans in defining and applying quality standards for online teaching to better align with the University’s quality standards for online education and to meet the U.S. Department of Education’s requirement for regular and substantive engagement.

• Observe teaching, collect student feedback, and consult with instructors who experience instructional hurdles.

• Manage the College’s teaching website (https://teaching.ist.psu.edu/).

Academic Program Assessment, College-wide

• Assist the Associate Deans with managing the internal College assessment process for Middle States accreditation across undergraduate, graduate, residential, and online programs.

• Consult with faculty Program Coordinators to organize and lead annual program review studies, overseeing the compilation of data, the preparation of materials for review, the faculty meetings to discuss direct assessment of learning, the writing and/or editing self-study reports, and the coordination of faculty assessing similar programs at other Penn State campuses.

• Consult on the collection and reporting of data on College and institutional surveys. 

Learning Support, College-wide

• Assist the Teaching and Learning team in developing a comprehensive learning support strategy for residential and online undergraduate students, including attention to first-year students, first-generation college students, women in STEM, change-of-campus students, students with disabilities, and the range of developmental needs represented across four years; to include utilization of peer instruction, instructional technologies, motivational tools (e.g., badges), metacognition workshops, generative AI tool use, self-directed learning skills, collaborative learning, and/or other modalities.

• Use data collected from members of the Teaching and Learning team to make decisions about student academic success programming.

• Assist the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in coordinating the assignment of Instructional Assistant (IA) and Learning Assistant (LA) support for college courses.

Partnerships, Committees, and Professional Development

• Develop and guide strategic relationships and partnerships for faculty and for staff with internal and external teaching-focused, learning-focused, and assessment-focused entities. 

• Appoint, direct, or lead various committees, teams, or projects focused on teaching, learning, or assessment with impact on the overall College and on the University as a whole.

• Improve knowledge, skills, and effectiveness required for the position, including keeping abreast of research and trends in assessment, higher education, and learning sciences, as well as in leading and managing an educational support unit.

• Engage faculty in scholarship about teaching, including publishing, conference presentations, and reading higher education scholarship.

Qualifications:

• We are seeking applicants who possess a PhD or are considered to be ABD in Higher Education Administration, Workforce Education, Counseling, Student Affairs, or a related field, but encourage applicants without a Ph.D. to apply. Candidates will be appointed to a teaching faculty rank commensurate with their education and experience in accordance with AC21:https://policy.psu.edu/policies/ac21#E. Minimum of 8-10 years of progressive experience in faculty development or related areas within higher education.

• Demonstrated experience in developing, facilitating, and assessing faculty teaching support programs.

• Demonstrated experience in teaching college-level courses that engage students in practices shown to promote learning.

• Strong leadership, project management, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Proficient in data analysis tools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in programmatic learning outcomes assessment.

• Experience with predictive analytics and data-driven decision-making.

• Publications on teaching, learning, and/or assessment.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional wellbeing. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

For more detailed information, please visit ourBenefits Page.

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Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

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