Teaching Professional Course Release

Updated 9/12/24

Teaching professionals embody excellence in teaching and learning at Wake Forest University. The College seeks a new way to enhance the teacher-scholar model by investing in the professional development of Teaching Professionals. We are pleased to announce that the College will provide Associate and Full Teaching Professionals with dedicated time to enhance teaching and learning methods in their areas of expertise. Release time can be spent focusing on pedagogical improvements or pedagogical scholarship.

Find out more about:

• Terms, including Examples of Proposed Projects and Timing of the Application
• Application Process, including Criteria for Selection, Review Committee and Notification, and End of Project Report.

---

Terms

Course releases will be awarded on a competitive basis. The release program pays for the faculty member to be released from 2 of their 3 courses during one semester.

Course releases may occur once every five years. To get the full benefit of the course release, course overloads cannot be taken in the same academic year as a course release. Faculty may not teach at other institutions during the course release semester or take on other compensated duties.

The committee will first consider proposals submitted by faculty who have provided five or more years of uninterrupted teaching and service. Medical and parental leaves are not considered interruptions in teaching and service when considering applications for teaching course release.

Faculty members are contractually obligated to return to campus for the academic year after completion of any paid course release.

Examples of Proposed Projects

• A project for professional development that enhances pedagogy at Wake Forest
• A project intended to enhance pedagogy and curriculum in the individual’s department or program
• A project focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning
• Course or curriculum development that could include a laboratory or teaching center-based focus
• Scholarship that clearly bears a connection to teaching and learning
• An assessment project intended to benefit the College curriculum

Timing of the Application

The timing of the course release must be approved by the department chair and the Office of the Dean of the College. Faculty must apply for the course release in the fall prior to the academic year in which the release is taken.

---

Application Process:

• October 1: Faculty member submits the proposal form of no more than 3 pages (exclusive of CV) for one of the two semesters in the next academic year to their chair, requesting a 1-page letter of support.
• November 1: Department chair submits the faculty member’s proposal, along with their letter of recommendation to Anna Henley in the Office of the Dean of the College.

Criteria for Selection

In awarding the course release, consideration will be given to the:

• significance of the project
• the adequacy of the plan
• the clarity and cogency of the proposal
• the likelihood that the project would be substantially advanced by the release
• the applicant’s record and promise in teaching excellence.  
• The focus of the project must be on development of enhanced pedagogical skills, methodologies, and/or additional subject matter expertise and their impact on the faculty member’s continued growth.

Materials to be provided by the Chair to the Dean’s Office in a single PDF document:

• Faculty member’s application form and CV as outlined above.
• Signed recommendation letter (1 page maximum) from the department chairperson describing the value of the proposed project to the department and the University, the quality of the faculty member’s teaching, as well as the likelihood of the faculty member’s successful engagement with the proposed project. We ask that chairs provide a detailed recommendation to assist the committee in making its decisions. In the event a department has multiple applicants for course release during the same year, we ask chairs to carefully consider prioritizing requests in a strategic manner, keeping in mind the operational needs of the department.

Should the department need resources to cover the teaching load of the applicant if the course release is granted, the Request for Faculty Position Form should be included with the application packet.

Review Committee and Notification

All applications will be reviewed by a committee composed of 3-4 appointed Teaching Professors in the college and chaired by the Associate Dean of Faculty. The committee will make recommendations to the Dean of the College. All applicants will be informed before the spring term about the outcome of their application.

End of Project Report

Faculty receiving paid course releases under this program will be expected to submit a short, 1-2 page report summarizing accomplishments achieved during the course release semester, with respect to each of the goals outlined in your proposal, and convey in what way the release has advanced the faculty member’s professional development.