2.F.2 Professional Development
The institution provides faculty, staff, and administrators with appropriate opportunities and support for professional growth and development.
UAF’s core theme of preparing Alaska’s workforce is also reflected in its support for professional development and recognition of faculty, staff, and administrators. Continuing to advance professional development at UAF is highly valued and an important benefit to UAF employees. For example, UAF encourages connecting with professional associations and conference participation. Funding for participation may come from individual units (e.g., departments or colleges/schools), the Offices of the Chancellor or Provost, United Academics (UNAC), or external funding sources. Further, and provide employees an education benefit which is funded from restricted and unrestricted funds via the employee staff benefit rate. Benefited employees and their families may use the university’s tuition waiver program to earn credit and work toward a degree or improve their job skills. Staff can also be reimbursed for noncredit courses that develop their professional skills. The UA System’s online provides information about , such as for , , and a specific to employees’ duties and responsibilities, as well as general skills and knowledge. In addition, the UA System provides LinkedIn training opportunities through the . UAF has also demonstrated flexibility in adapting its professional development resources to meet emerging needs. For example, the Office of the Provost initiated university-wide workshops and program-specific training to faculty, staff, and deans as well as other assessment-related resources in support of the academic program review process.
Faculty. Professional growth and development are essential to faculty success and are a key component of the faculty evaluation process, in accordance with . UAF is committed to supporting faculty development as a cornerstone of its educational mission. This commitment is reflected in the university’s sustained investment in local development opportunities, even during times of fiscal constraint. The Office of the Provost established a Faculty Development Accelerator Team in 2018 to provide a broad range of development opportunities to all faculty at UAF. The team was guided by the Faculty Senate’s Faculty Development, Assessment, and Improvement (FDAI) Committee and the Instructional Design Team at e¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ. Through this effort, UAF launched the Faculty Accelerator in fall 2020, a campuswide collaboration of faculty development providers to strengthen existing opportunities and expand the number and range of development events in instruction, research, and service. The Faculty Accelerator was moved to the UAF Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), which was established in the summer 2023. CTL served as a campus resource dedicated to supporting faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants in their instructional roles. This center provided services and resources to improve teaching effectiveness, enhance student learning, and promote professional development in areas such as course design and redesign, effective teaching strategies, use of educational technologies, online and hybrid teaching, workshops, seminars, and consultations, and peer observations and feedback. CTL played a central role in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation in teaching across UAF. For example, CTL shared pedagogical guidance and best practices that support instructors in implementing Regular and Substantive Interaction in online courses. In November 2025, the Office of the Provost restructured its faculty development functions, integrating CTL into the Office of Faculty Affairs and Services. This integration consolidates faculty affairs and faculty development within a single unit, strengthening coordination across teaching, research, and service and aligning UAF with centralized faculty-support models common among peer institutions. Together, the establishment of the CTL in 2023 and its 2025 integration into Faculty Affairs and Services demonstrate UAF's sustained commitment to fostering professional growth, development, and engagement in support of student success. The unit will undergo a name change in the fall 2026 or spring 2027.
Staff. Formal recognition is viewed as an important motivator for staff to engage in professional development. Nonrepresented staff are eligible to participate in the , which recognizes and rewards eligible employees who enhance their professional skills by completing approved certificate programs or qualified degrees. In accordance with , staff may also collaborate with their supervisors to develop a . This plan serves as a structured path for career growth and advancement within an administrative job family. In addition, when staff vacancies occur, supervisors have the option to recruit from within the current employee pool, creating valuable promotional opportunities for existing staff. UA Staff Alliance professional development funds support professional certifications, attendance or presentations at a conference, professional society memberships, online or in-person training, and participation in webinars. The , which launched in spring 2025, celebrates staff who go above and beyond to make a meaningful impact at UA. This program provides monetary recognition for exceptional work that advances the UA mission and empowers our communities. In addition, the UAF chancellor’s outlines the procedure through which supervisors can reward staff who develop their professional skills beyond their ordinary position description. Finally, UAF annually hosts Staff Recognition and Development Day in April, which is sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor and Staff Council. Most staff members take advantage of this day-long event that consists of professional development workshops and a longevity awards ceremony that provides an opportunity to highlight the exceptional talents and dedication of the staff.
Administrators. UAF encourages faculty and staff to explore administrative roles by providing opportunities such as the faculty fellow program. These fellows involve leading initiatives that are important to the college, campus, or institution. Through this work, faculty engage regularly with administrators, develop their leadership skills, and consider whether an administrative career path aligns with their interests and goals. For example, the Office of the Provost annually supports two to three faculty fellows in academic program review and one faculty fellow in the assessment of general education requirement student learning outcomes. An additional faculty fellow is being supported through the Office of URSA (Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity) to develop a faculty mentoring program in support of undergraduate research and creative scholarship. Leadership development opportunities also include the annual Academic Leadership Institute, that hosts up to 20 faculty, staff, and administrators and includes readings and discussions on university leadership issues. The institute, which is led by the provost, involves meeting with university and community leaders over eight half-day sessions over the academic year. A variety of other faculty and executive development opportunities are funded by the UAF chancellor, provost, or individual units on an ad hoc basis. Examples include providing funding support to faculty, staff, and college-level leadership to attend national conferences such as the and funding support and referrals for upper-level leaders to attend and participate in the and the . The also regularly hosts leadership workshops and summits for administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders across the system. UAF also leads large statewide programs such as the , , and NIH BLaST that provide workshops on leadership, mentoring, proposal writing, and other professional skills. In January of 2026 UAF launched the , which includes the . The Supervisor Development Program builds essential supervisory skills by providing broad, foundational leadership and management training.