Lack of training and not feeling supported are common complaints that I have heard as a faculty member over the years. Utilizing a formal process for training is essential to reduce faculty turnover.

The RJP will help to rebalance the interview process and allow the interviewers to do less talking and more listening. It will be worth the time invested to create a good RJP.

I had not thought about the effort and planning that is necessary for recruiting. Being purposeful in how you recruit can make the process more effective. 

Comment on Zhanna Martirosyan's post: 

That point about combining synchronous tools with asynchronous repositories really captured the balance well. Synchronous formats build the immediate connection and live problem-solving, but the asynchronous sandbox is what gives faculty the ability to revisit, reference, and stay aligned over time. Pairing the two intentionally is what keeps quality consistent rather than dependent on whoever was in the room that day.

With Benevolence, Shannon

The most useful framing this module gave me was the recognition that ongoing faculty management requires a scalable team structure — on-boarder, trainer, supervisor, evaluator, and mentors — even if those roles are initially shared among one or two people in smaller settings.

What stood out most was the distinction between professional development (focused on subject matter expertise) and in-service activities (focused on instructional practices). Both are fundamental to continuous improvement, and both must be documented within an annual individual development plan.

I also valued the practical reminder about technology platform readiness before any synchronous meeting, and the recognition of… >>>

Comment on Edgardo Eugenio Enamorado's post: 

Your point about qualitative data fostering empathy with students stood out to me — that human dimension is easy to overlook when so much of the conversation centers on metrics and dashboards. The quantitative side gives us the ground floor, but it's the qualitative attention to each student that builds the trust needed for real learning to happen online.

With Benevolence, Shannon

Comment on Zhanna Martirosyan's post: 

That summary captures it well — especially the move from generalized metrics to predictive, course-specific indicators. That shift seems small on paper but reframes how we think about both faculty development and curriculum refinement. Behavior-based feedback tied to actual course context gives instructors something they can act on, rather than abstract benchmarks that don't always reflect what the classroom is asking of them.

With Benevolence, Shannon

The most useful takeaway from this module was the shift from lagging, negative indicators (attrition, failing grades, post counts) to predictive, positive indicators built through regression analysis on specific instructor behaviors tied to specific curricular components. Generic averages and "best practice" thresholds often miss the mark — the 2009 US Department of Education meta-analysis confirmed that none of the general best practices showed significant evidence of contribution to student success.

What stood out most was the principle that each class has its own roadmap. Behavioral profiles built from course-specific statistics are far more useful than generalized expectations applied uniformly across… >>>

Comment on Aimee Russell's post: 

Agreed — that point hit me too. Even the same LMS can behave very differently from one institution to the next, and assuming prior experience transfers cleanly is where a lot of early-term frustration comes from. Guided practice in the specific implementation closes that gap fast.

With Benevolence, Shannon

Comment on Tracey Murray's post: 

That point about reviewing both general employment regulations and specific faculty requirements is one I want to hold onto. It's easy to default to one or the other, but compliance really does live at the intersection of both — and orientation is the right window to set that foundation before it becomes a problem later.

With Benevolence, Shannon