Project ACC
What is Project ACC?
Project Active and Collaborative Communities (Project ACC) is designed to increase faculty awareness and implementation of engaged learning practices (for example active and collaborative activities, group projects, class discussions, impromptu reflective writing, internships, project based learning, and service learning). We will achieve this over a several year period as successive cadres of Faculty Fellows take on leadership roles at the college and support their colleagues in future cadres.
Each group of Faculty Fellows will serve and be compensated for three semesters (including summer) to research best practices, apply them in their classrooms, then lead other faculty members at a week-long Project ACC Institute. Throughout their tenure, Fellows will be sharing what they have learned about engaged teaching techniques that are effective for their specific Area of Study (AoS).
The goal is to promote faculty leadership focused on improving student learning and student success. In addition, materials created for Project ACC Institutes will be added to a repository to allow for a comprehensive faculty orientation program and ongoing faculty development opportunities.
Learn about the Summer Institute
Faculty Fellows Job Description
Project ACC Details
In the summer of 2016, the FCTL sent a team of ACC faculty members (Jill Bosche, Wayne Butler, and Gale Spear) to the Teaching and Learning National Institute (TLNI). The team was joined by ACC Provost, Dr. Charles Cook.
In attending this conference we had two goals. The first was to give faculty members the chance to learn about current trends in teaching and faculty development. The second was to use that information to guide the future directions of the FCTL. It was our hope to leave the conference with a plan for how the FCTL could increase opportunities for faculty leadership at ACC and to support new initiatives in faculty-led, learning focused development.
As a result of the TLNI, Project Active and Collaborative Communities was developed. It is anticipated to run through at least 2018.
You can see a report that was sent to the organizers of the TLNI about the success of the first year and a half of PACC here.
Each cohort of fifteen Faculty Fellows will guide Project ACC efforts for three semesters. They will participate in a Faculty Learning Community to get support from other Fellows as they work on this effort. All Faculty Fellows will receive stipends for their work in support of Project ACC. Any employee of ACC who has faculty status and is currently teaching is eligible to apply to become a Faculty Fellow. During the open application period, we welcome adjunct and full-time faculty applications.
The Faculty Fellows are selected from across all ten Areas of Study, and are encouraged to find practices that work well for their own areas. In this way, we’ll be able to provide faculty across the college with guaranteed exposure to methods that are designed to work in their area. You can learn more about the current cohort of Faculty Fellows here: Cohort 3 – 2018-19, or check out the work from the first cohort here: Cohort 1 – 2016-17 and the second cohort here: Cohort 2 – 2017-18.
A Project ACC Fellowship lasts three semesters.
- In the first Fall semester of the fellowship, Fellows do research on engaged teaching strategies and are given a $1,000 stipend for their efforts.
- In the following Spring semester, Fellows pilot a new teaching technique in at least one class, test the outcome of their intervention, and share their results with other faculty. They are given a stipend of $2,000 for their Spring efforts.
- In Summer, Fellows organize, develop, and run a Faculty Institute to share their newly acquired knowledge with other teaching colleagues earning another $1,000 stipend.
One way to participate is to become a Faculty Fellow. During the open application period, you can apply to join this group of faculty leaders. You can learn more about this role and view the job description by clicking the “Learn More” button on this page. We’ll update this each year when applications open for the next cohort of Fellows.
Another way to participate is to attend one of the Project ACC Faculty Institutes. These will offer Faculty Attendees several days of collaborative work with their colleagues. Faculty who attend the Faculty Institutes will receive a stipend for their participation. Institute Participants will receive preferential consideration if they apply to be a part of the next cohort of Faculty Fellows.
Be sure to check back regularly, as we’ll update this page with information about the progress of Project ACC and with news about upcoming Faculty Institutes. You can also click on the calendar below to learn about events that the Fellows will be hosting that might be of interest to you.