Professional Development Guidelines

Professional Development Categories:

• ACU Mission (Student retention, Town Halls, Focus Groups, etc.)
• Communication
• Departmental (something specific to your department)
• Financial
• Human Resource Development
• Leadership
• Management / Supervisory
• Personal Professional Development (Mental or Physical Health)
• Spiritual
• Technology

Resources for PD Credit:

• Training classes and seminars offered at ACU
• Off-Campus training seminars, workshops, and conferences offered by professional companies
• Books, audio tapes, videos, CD-ROMs, manuals, and on-line training on topics relevant to the employee's development (Many resources are available through checkout in the Brown Library. When submitting books for PD credit, 50 pages = 1 PD credit)
• Courses and information delivered electronically via satellite, Internet, or other media  
• ACU for credit courses whose content parallels or exceeds that of a professional seminar (1 class = 10 PD credits)
  
• Teaching Professional Development Classes (The first time a class is taught = double the hours spent teaching. The following times = 1 hour credit for each hour of teaching) Many hours of preparation and learning go into one class. 

Reporting PD Credit:

Download a PD report template and record credits. PD reports should be submitted annually with appraisals to Human Resources.

ACU Professional Development Rating Scale:

A complete portfolio of Professional Development would include some training hours in each of the categories listed in the Guidelines. The recommended training hours per year are as follows: 

Non-exempt Staff  20 - 26 hours 

Exempt Staff  31 - 41 hours 

Executive Staff  48 - 61 hours

In keeping with the performance appraisal numerical ratings of 5 to 1, the following are professional development hour equivalents for the rating scale:

Non-exempt Staff Recommended PD Hours = 20 - 26 Hours 

Exempt Staff Recommended PD Hours = 31 - 41 Hours

Executive Staff Recommended PD Hours = 48 - 61 Hours