In today's climate of career college performance outcomes and compliance, one question comes to mind - What effect does our instructors' planning abilities, teaching methods, classroom management techniques and student assessment tools have on the institutional effectiveness of our institutions?  

Some of the major areas of institutional effectiveness include student retention, graduate placement, student and graduate satisfaction, employer satisfaction and, of course, student performance outcomes. What our instructors do in the classroom or lab - the way they teach, the professional teaching/learning relationships they build with students, the motivational techniques they use, and the support they provide - all influence each of the institutional areas mentioned above. And if we are successfully teaching the skills that employers want, the overall end result is successful performance for our students, graduates and schools.

We all know what "the bottom line" means in business, but here is a different bottom line for us as Faculty Coaches and educators. Our faculty and their classrooms/labs are the number one link, the bottom line, to the daily success of our students. Successful students = successful programs = successful learning institutions = positive institutional effectiveness. And our roles as faculty Coaches help to ensure that our instructors are engaged in ongoing faculty development, training, and continuing education to maximize the link between our colleges' institutional effectiveness and the power of what our instructors create in their individual learning environments. 

Thanks to all of the Faculty Coaches in the CEE Faculty Development Program for all that you do, and have a safe and wonderful holiday!