Faculty Development at The University of Texas at Arlington

Blue UTA banners hang from decorative light poles in the foreground, representing higher education, academic excellence, faculty development, and campus learning environments.

Advancing Teaching Excellence at a Carnegie R1 Institution

As a Carnegie R1 research university, The University of Texas at Arlington is committed to excellence in both research and teaching. Through the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE), faculty have access to a comprehensive ecosystem of professional learning opportunities designed to support instructional excellence, student success, innovation, and continuous improvement. CRTLE scales faculty development across a large, research-intensive institution by leveraging faculty expertise, Faculty Fellows, PLCs, ACUE facilitators, faculty presenters, communities of practice, and cross-college collaboration.

Because faculty development must be scalable across a large and diverse institution, CRTLE utilizes a peer-supported model that leverages the expertise of faculty leaders, Faculty Fellows, facilitators, and communities of practice across disciplines.

Faculty Development at Scale

As one of Texas' leading public research universities, UTA supports hundreds of full-time faculty, lecturers, instructors, graduate teaching assistants, and academic teaching staff across multiple colleges and disciplines.

CRTLE's faculty-development ecosystem combines:

  • Faculty-led programming
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Faculty Fellows
  • ACUE pathways
  • Self-paced learning
  • Workshops and institutes
  • Individual consultations

This distributed and flexible model allows teaching innovation to scale across the institution while remaining locally relevant to individual disciplines.

Why Faculty Development Matters at an R1 University

At UTA, faculty balance multiple responsibilities:

  • Teaching undergraduate and graduate students
  • Conducting research and creative activity
  • Mentoring students
  • Securing external funding
  • Supporting workforce and community engagement
  • Advancing innovation and discovery

CRTLE supports faculty in strengthening teaching practices while recognizing the realities of a research-intensive environment.

Our goal is not only to provide professional development opportunities but also to create sustainable structures through which faculty learn from faculty.

Evidence of Faculty Development

Our Faculty-to-Faculty Model

One of CRTLE's core beliefs is that some of the most effective professional learning occurs when faculty engage with colleagues facing similar teaching opportunities and challenges.

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CRTLE Faculty Fellows

Faculty Fellows serve as instructional leaders who help disseminate innovative teaching practices, mentor colleagues, facilitate programs, and contribute their expertise to strategic initiatives.
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Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

PLCs create structured opportunities for faculty to explore emerging topics together, share experiences, examine evidence-based practices, and develop new approaches to teaching. Faculty build networks around common interests such as AI, online learning, student success, active learning, assessment, accessibility, and inclusive teaching. 
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Faculty Voices Series and Faculty Playbook Events

Faculty share practical teaching strategies from award winning faculty that colleagues can implement immediately. These sessions highlight innovations already occurring across UTA and amplify local expertise.

Participants seated at round tables attend a professional development workshop in a conference setting while a presenter speaks at a podium near a projected presentation screen.

Faculty Facilitators and Campus Partners

Many CRTLE programs are co-facilitated by faculty members who bring disciplinary expertise, instructional innovation, and real-world classroom experience to professional learning opportunities.

Online and Digital Learning

As a major metropolitan R1 university, UTA serves learners across multiple instructional modalities.

CRTLE supports faculty in designing high-quality, engaging, and accessible learning experiences through:

  • Online teaching resources
  • Canvas support
  • Self-paced learning modules
  • Course redesign opportunities
  • Accessibility resources
  • Educational technology workshops

Scaling Online Teaching Through Peer Leadership

Faculty share effective online teaching practices through showcases, workshops, consultations, and faculty-led presentations.

This approach allows successful innovations to scale rapidly across departments and colleges.

AI and Emerging Technologies

UTA faculty are actively exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching, learning, creativity, assessment, research, and workforce preparation.

CRTLE supports faculty learning in areas such as:

  • AI literacy
  • Ethical AI use
  • Authentic assessment
  • Academic integrity
  • Course redesign
  • Career readiness

Faculty-Led Exploration of AI and Emerging Technologies

Faculty who are experimenting with AI in their own teaching share successes, challenges, examples, and lessons learned with colleagues through roundtables, institutes, cohorts, and Faculty Playbook sessions.

This peer-to-peer structure accelerates institutional learning while encouraging responsible experimentation.

Professional Learning Communities and Collaborative Learning

Professional learning at UTA extends beyond individual workshops.

Faculty engage in:

  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Reading groups
  • Cohorts
  • Institutes
  • Roundtables
  • Faculty learning networks
  • Cross-disciplinary collaborations

Communities of Practice for Continuous Improvement

Faculty participate as both learners and contributors.

These communities create opportunities to exchange ideas, discuss teaching challenges, share evidence of practice, and develop long-term professional relationships that extend beyond a single event.

Faculty Leadership and Scholarly Teaching

As an R1 institution, UTA values the integration of teaching, scholarship, and innovation.

CRTLE supports faculty who wish to:

  • Investigate student learning
  • Engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
  • Share effective practices
  • Present at conferences
  • Lead institutional initiatives
  • Mentor peers

Faculty Mentorship and Leadership Development

Faculty leadership pathways allow instructors to contribute their expertise back to the university community through facilitation, mentoring, showcases, institutes, and strategic initiatives.

This creates a sustainable model in which professional learning is continuously generated by the institution itself.

Measuring and Improving Impact

Consistent with UTA's commitment to continuous improvement, CRTLE regularly evaluates and refines its programming through:

  • Faculty feedback
  • Participation data
  • Needs assessments
  • Event evaluations
  • Strategic planning processes
  • Collaborations with campus partners

The peer-supported structure also strengthens institutional capacity by increasing the number of faculty leaders who contribute to professional learning efforts across the university.

Supporting Teaching Excellence Across UTA

For a large and rapidly growing R1 institution, faculty development must be both high-quality and scalable. CRTLE accomplishes this through a faculty-centered, peer-supported model that leverages the expertise already present across the university.

By combining evidence-based teaching practices, faculty leadership, communities of practice, professional learning communities, consultations, institutes, self-paced learning, and strategic partnerships, CRTLE supports continuous professional development and advances teaching excellence across The University of Texas at Arlington.

What Makes CRTLE's Model Distinctive

Unlike models that rely primarily on external speakers or one-time training events, CRTLE intentionally develops faculty expertise from within the institution.

UTA faculty participate as:

  • Learners
  • Mentors
  • Facilitators
  • Faculty Fellows
  • Presenters
  • Community builders

This creates a sustainable model of professional learning in which knowledge is continually generated, shared, refined, and expanded across the university.

As a Carnegie R1 institution, this approach allows UTA to leverage the expertise of its own faculty scholars, teachers, innovators, and disciplinary experts while fostering a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning.

Alignment with Accreditation

SACSCOC Standard 6.5: Faculty Development

"The institution provides ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty members as teachers, scholars, and practitioners, consistent with the institutional mission." (SACSCOC Standard 6.5: Faculty Development)

View SACSCOC Standards

How CRTLE supports this standard at UTA:

  • Faculty Fellows
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Faculty Playbook
  • ACUE programs
  • Faculty-led workshops
  • Teaching institutes
  • Self-paced learning
  • Consultations
  • Communities of practice
  • AI and innovation programs
  • Online teaching support

Faculty development at UTA is amplified through a scalable, peer-supported model in which faculty learn with and from one another while advancing excellence in teaching at an R1 university.