Professional Development on a Shoestring
Helpful Hints to Get Started with Limited Resources

• Share the responsibility with the Faculty Association.
• Ask for a volunteer faculty member.
• Ask for a volunteer faculty committee.
• Assign the responsibility to senior administrators on a rotating basis.
• Provide release time (one course or more) to a faculty or staff member.
• Provide a stipend to a faculty or staff member.
• Hold a fundraiser (examples: collegewide garage sale, bake sales, faculty vs. students ballgame) or write a grant to pay for the position.
  

• Inventory faculty, staff and community for expertise that they would be willing to share with your faculty members.
• Share or trade experts from other colleges. 
• Start with two workshops where you have identified existing expertise. 
• Motivate trainers by providing stipends or free lunch on a regular basis. 
• Create a formal means of recognition for the trainers. 
• Encourage your faculty members to complete the Professional Development Planning Tools and use this input to assess gaps in your college's offerings.
• Identify potential topics and have faculty vote on a priority list.
• Use the Texas Collaborative's free professional development resources, including self-paced electronic modules and moderated 6-week Academy courses.
• Use STARLINK programs and videos.
• Use the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education's Internet webcasts. 
• Provide a small number of workshops the first year and expand each subsequent year.

• Develop a website or listserv for professional development activities.
• Participate in the Texas Collaborative for Teaching Excellence.
• Create an e-newsletter or add a column to the existing college newsletter.
• Inform faculty at the Annual convocation or president’s address to the faculty and staff.
• Place reminder notes or flyers in faculty mailboxes.
• Talk it up at meetings—have deans and chairs do the same.