Felician University gave its faculty members, and by extension its students a head start on the upcoming academic year at an online Faculty Development Day held Tuesday, June 16. The virtual workshops gave Professors the opportunity to expand their previous teaching experiences while also integrating elements discussed throughout previous curriculum strategies sessions.

Dr. Jeffrey Blanchard, Director of the Honors Program & Associate Professor of English gave the keynote address focusing on the importance of equity and access to technology now that learning has moved online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Blanchard offered some strategies for overcoming access and device issues. “We try to improve equity by including recordings and transcripts to videos so students can view them later.”

The keynote was followed by about 2 hours of breakaway sessions where faculty had the chance to delve into such topics as how to work critical thinking skills into assignments through active learning, and the importance of rubrics, as tools to help students stay engaged and understand what is expected of them.

Faculty Development Day focused on how Felician Professors can continue to offer the highest quality education through the virtual medium, while at the same time taking into consideration the various challenges students may be facing.

Faculty Responses to the Faculty Development Day workshops were collected in a post Faculty Development Day survey.

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About Felician University

Felician University engages over 2,300 undergraduate, graduate, and adult students through programs in Arts & Sciences, Business, Nursing, and Education. Universal Franciscan values of social justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity serve as an inclusive foundation for transforming the lives of tomorrow’s leaders. Felician University’s education is ranked 3rd best return on investment for private colleges in New Jersey 2018 by the PayScale.com College ROI Report and is ranked #1 safest college campus in the state by niche.com.