The Texas A&M University System announced a continuation of the partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), initiated through the National Association of System Heads (NASH)-ACUE partnership grant in 2020-2021: Scaling Instructional Excellence for Student Success.
Due to the success of this initiative, The Texas A&M University System has committed funding to expand the strategic initiative aimed to promote quality instruction and student success. Institutional Research will work closely with the ACUE research team to track student impact and program evaluation. You can learn more about this initiative on the Texas A&M University System web page, ACUE Scaling Instructional Excellence.
Dr. Shonda Gibson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, provides an overview of the Texas A&M University System's Scaling Instructional Excellence for Equity and Student Success initiative in partnership with NASH and ACUE. (Aug 22, 2021)
The ACUE certificate programs equip educators with evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student engagement, increase persistence, and close equity gaps.
Dr. Peg Gray-Vickrey, our former Provost shared her brief story and kicked off our first year participating in 2021-22. She also participated in the stand-alone course, now titled Fostering a Culture of Belonging, to help foster a culture of belonging on our campus.
The ACUE certificate programs equip educators with evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student engagement, increase persistence, and close equity gaps. The programs support our goals of evidence-based teaching practices, focused on student success.
The ACUE Effective Teaching Practices comprehensive course is two semesters long, consists of four courses, and upon completion leads to the certification. The ACUE certification is endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). The four courses can be taken in a series focusing on in-person teaching or the online modality: Effective Teaching Practices (ETP) and Effective Online Teaching Practices (EOTP). The four courses can be taken individually and stacked (even mixed in modality) to earn the certification.
In the academic year 2022, our first cohort of 25 faculty members earned the ACUE certification, by completing the full Effective Teaching Practices EOTP certification. Five other faculty completed individual (micro-credential) courses, and are working toward certification. In addition, ACUE offers a stand-alone course. The current title of the course is Fostering a Culture of Belonging. In 2022, 16 faculty members completed the course.
In 2023, 14 faculty members earned the ACUE certification by completing the ETP course. Three of these faculty members earned Advanced certification (meaning they completed both versions of the comprehensive course).
In 2024, we offered "Promoting Active Learning Online" from the ETP comprehensive course (with 21 faculty participants) and Fostering a Culture of Belonging (with 33 faculty and staff participants).
In 2025, we are offering three 8-week courses from the EOTP comprehensive, and Fostering a Culture of Belonging.
In addition, several of our faculty members participate in ACUE courses offered through the A&M System each year.