Growth Opportunities
The Office of Academic Affairs offers a variety of programs and trainings to support faculty and staff in their professional development and scholarly and creative engagement. Whether you are a new faculty member looking to build lasting relationships with colleagues or whether you are an experienced professor looking to expand your instructional design strategies, there is an opportunity for you to grow while at TCC.
Tidewater Community College recognizes that adjunct faculty are a valuable part of our academic community. The purpose of the plan is to create an environment for adjunct teaching faculty that promotes professional growth and high instructional performance resulting in student success. The plan covers three domains: Teaching Effectiveness, Growth and Development, and Institutional Responsibility and outlines the evaluation process of adjunct faculty members while engaging with the college in a professional capacity.
The TCC Faculty Development and Evaluation Plan provides a mechanism for evaluating the professional growth, development, and performance of each full-time teaching faculty member. The plan includes three components; Annual Performance and Professional Development Plans, Evaluation, and Reward and Recognition, each of which focuses on four domains of full-time teaching faculty activity: Teaching, Scholarly and Creative Engagement, Institutional Responsibility, and Service.
Annual Performance and Professional Development Plan: Within the annual plan, each full-time teaching faculty member creates annual objectives for continuous professional improvement that are aligned with one or more of the four domains.
Evaluation: The TCC Faculty Development and Evaluation Plan focuses on high performance and continuous improvement in each of the four domains of faculty activity. Full-time teaching faculty members at Tidewater Community College will receive a summative evaluation rating of either “Meet Expectations” or “Does Not Meet Expectations” at the conclusion of the evaluation period.
Reward and Recognition: The College provides reward and recognition of outstanding service for faculty members whose performance exemplifies the highest standards of educational excellence in one or more of the four domains of faculty activity.
TCC understands that professional development is critical to our students’ success and we encourage Full-Time and Adjunct faculty to apply for funding in order to grow content knowledge, expand skill sets, and focus on improving our institution. The College Professional Development Fund (CPDF) provides faculty will funding to support tuition reimbursement for a college or university course, conferences or workshops, and professional association memberships.
Complete the professional development fund application here.
The TCC Reward and Recognition Program is intended to honor full-time teaching faculty whose exceptional professional accomplishments, contributions, and activities support the mission of the college, promote a vigorous learning environment, and demonstrate extraordinary talent and potential in one or more of the performance domains: Teaching, Scholarly and Creative Engagement, Institutional Responsibility, and Service. The Reward and Recognition Program is designed to celebrate faculty accomplishments, contributions, and activities that support the mission of the college. Moreover, it is designed to acknowledge that professional excellence among faculty may be observed by students, adjunct faculty, fellow full-time teaching faculty, staff, or administrators. Nominations for Recognition may come from the faculty member or his/her dean/director or any other stakeholder.
The digital badging platform Badgr supports faculty in pursuit of professional development opportunities and the development of relevant skills by awarding digital badges. These badges are a visual indicator of accomplishment or skill that can be displayed, accessed, and verified online.
The INNOVATE 2026 five-year strategic plan includes a commitment to providing quality teaching and learning through high impact practices, technology integration, and continuous development for faculty and students. To support this strategic direction, the college identified the innovative practice of implementing a badging system to award and track progress in the completion of professional development and the development of relevant skills.