The Digital Faculty Handbook: Quick On-Line Resource

The unparalleled growth of the online education demands quick faculty training. Faculty may want to transition from classroom to online teaching; however, many faculty members are recruited directly from practice settings and may lack the breadth of experience their colleagues gain in classroom teaching. Adjunct faculty members with full-time practice employment may have a limited time for orientation and mentoring. Despite being successful and well-versed clinicians with demonstrated willingness to support students’ education, adjunct faculty may experience unique challenges in academic environment, which may be further aggravated by the fast-paced demands of online education. Furthermore, seasoned faculty also benefit from quick tools to support smooth transition to online teaching. Leadership in higher academic institutions and faculty development officers examine different options and digital tools that support the educational needs of the faculty community. The literature concludes that to cultivate a cadre of academic faculty, an innovative strategy beyond simple orientation is needed. The Digital Faculty Handbook may serve as a quick faculty resource to define roles and expectations, standardization in grading formative or summative assignments and clinical evaluations. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the usefulness of a Digital Faculty Handbook that served as a quick resource to new adjunct as well as seasoned faculty members in a graduate clinical course at a college for health sciences.

Method: Exploratory study of perceived benefit of Digital Faculty Handbook. A sample of 5 adjunct faculty members and 3 full-time faculty members reflected on the development and usefulness of Digital Faculty Handbook in a graduate clinical course.

Results: A Digital Faculty Handbook was created and integrated into a Learning System Platform in graduate clinical course. Four sections were identified to support the faculty needs. Those sections ranged from job description and syllabus to letters to preceptors, and action plan to improved performance in expected academic outcomes

Conclusion: The Digital Faculty Handbook was not only useful but also a critical tool to support the needs of adjunct or seasoned faculty members in online teaching environment.

Key Words: Online mentoring, digital faculty handbook, adjunct and seasoned faculty.