IUP's 2020 Summer Academy for Staff, a professional development program designed for staff to gain new perspective and skills when using technology, organizing and planning events, and communicating and connecting with students, will begin on Monday, June 15.

The Academy will be presented by instructional design specialists and faculty and staff across divisions and offices on campus, including the Center for Teaching Excellence, College of Education and Communications, Division of Enrollment Management, Graduate School and Research, Office of Human Resources, Division of Student Affairs, and IT Services.

While the emphasis is to provide additional training for staff, these tools and sessions are available to all employees at IUP. Sessions are offered in a hybrid fashion (both synchronous and asynchronous formats) to meet varying schedules. All stakeholders of IUP are invited to attend any or all sessions.

Topics include:

  • Connecting/Working Remotely and Cybersecurity
    (VCL, VPN, remote desktop, mapping drives, best practices for cybersecurity)
  • Zoom Overview, Features, and Security
  • Office 365 Overview using OneDrive
  • Microsoft Forms
  • Microsoft Calendar Features/FindTime
  • Microsoft Teams Overview
  • Communicating and Connecting with Students
  • Online Crimson Connect

All topics, with the exception of Crimson Connect, will be offered once a week for eight weeks at varying times. Asynchronous modules of each topic will also be available by July 1. Attendees may self-select synchronous or asynchronous work. Each session does require registration so that presenters may appropriately prepare. Any session with under five attendees will be canceled, so early signup is advised. Quality Matters and the Online Learning Consortium are being used to guide all asynchronous and synchronous offerings.

The first cohort of the Summer Academy for Faculty completed studies on June 12; a second cohort will begin another session of the Summer Academy for Faculty on June 15.

"The Summer Academy for Faculty was very well receivedwe have a waiting listand the networking and collaboration has made the program even better than we would have imagined," College of Education and Communications Assistant Dean for Educational Effectiveness and Innovations Holly Rougeaux said. Rougeaux led the teams developing the program. "Many IUP faculty and staff have contributed to the Academy as leaders, educators, moderators, curators, designers, and so much more. I am confident that those who participate in the staff program will find it helpful as we work together to provide the best possible learning experiences and support systems for our students."

The Summer Academy was announced by IUP President Michael Driscoll during the May 14 town hall meeting and in messaging sent May 21 about fall planning.