Instructors Finish Intensive ACUE Course, Pinned During Virtual Ceremony

A group of 30 Utah State University instructors recently finished a 25-week Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) course. Each instructor was pinned during a virtual graduation ceremony for the course.

“Ninety eight percent of the faculty in this cohort find the content engaging and relevant to their work,” said Charity Peak, ACUE regional director for academic programs. “On average they learned two new teaching practices in each module and implemented 25 new teaching practices in their course this year.”

The ACUE course is designed to prepare instructors in evidence-based teaching practices proven through independently validated research to improve student achievement and close equity gaps. Faculty who complete the course earn a nationally recognized Certificate in Effective College Instruction.

“The work in this class demands intent... it puts you in a vulnerable situation,” said ASTE Assistant Professor Rose Judd-Murray, who participated in the course. “And the level of vulnerability was 100 percent embraced by the instructors in this cohort.”

The cohort was led by ETE Coordinator Shelley Arnold and was facilitated by ETE Assistant Director Travis Thurston and was completely online. The course is broken into five categories: designing an effective course, establishing a productive learning environment, using active learning strategies, promoting higher order thinking, and assessing to inform instruction and promote learning.

“At Utah State University there is a culture of valuing teaching and educators and I know the entire cohort was given the opportunity to be a part of this amazing team,” said Wildlife Resources Associate Professor Sunshine Brosi.

Through a collaboration between the Office of Empowering Teaching Excellence and Academic & Instructional Services, the course was fully funded to the cohort of 30 instructors. The course began in August and was completed in 25 modules over the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters.

“Shelley really went the extra mile to make sure everyone crossed the finish line,” Peak said. “And I would be remiss to not mention Travis Thurston, who brought this program to campus and identified Shelley as the right person to lead this journey.”

For more information on the ACUE course, visit www.usu.edu/empowerteaching/implement/acue.