The Campus Technology Resource Center’s (CTRC) old location on the second floor of O’Neill Library has been filled this semester by the new Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). A number of resources that Boston College offers to support its faculty and graduate students have been consolidated with the formation of the CTE. The Instructional Design and eTeaching Services (IDeS) office, which provides assistance with key technological teaching services such as the new Canvas Learning Management System, has relocated from Brighton Campus to the more central O’Neill location, improving its accessibility.
Graduate students working toward professorships will have access to the Apprenticeship in College Teaching Program to receive pedagogical training, and current professors will have a convenient resource for consultation. Finally, the Writing Fellows Program aims to assist professors with paper grading, so as to increase the amount of writing for which students can reasonably receive thoughtful feedback.
By establishing an institution that can, in one place, provide several resources to assist faculty members in the classroom, BC is rightly emphasizing the importance it places on quality teaching, particularly the centrality of teaching performance when professors are being considered for promotions or tenure. The hiring of an executive director with years of experience in similar teaching centers will only help the CTE progress beyond its initial offerings and ultimately continue to adapt to the changing nature of higher education.
Featured Image by Arthur Bailin / Heights Staff
