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Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

» Supporting Student Success Through Faculty Excellence

Mission

Chapman University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) promotes a culture that inspires faculty to create high-quality learning environments that cultivate inclusivity, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in all modalities. Through the exploration and implementation of innovative, evidence-based teaching practices, the Chapman faculty advances a personalized educational experience that ensures the holistic development and success of lifelong learners and global citizens.

Vision

Chapman University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is recognized as a hub for critical reflection, meaningful dialog, and pedagogical resources to support faculty development, as well as being a leader for advancing academic excellence on campus. At Chapman, all decisions related to curriculum and instruction are driven by consideration of student attributes, real-time institutional data, DEI, and educational research. Innovation, authenticity, and flexibility in classrooms will result in higher rates of student satisfaction, autonomy, sense of belonging, persistence, achievement, retention, and graduation.   

At the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, we strive to:

1. Foster and support a culture of teaching excellence that leads to student engagement, innovation, curiosity, and meaningful learning.

2. Create a safe and collaborative space for faculty to explore new methodologies and strategies to enhance the student learning experience.

3. Support program-specific needs for faculty development, course design and ongoing improvement efforts, and the assessment of student learning.

4. Support the development and delivery of high-quality distance education courses that align with Quality Matters standards for higher education.

5. Promote and support the scholarly works of faculty; Advance the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and Discipline-Based Educational Research (DBER).

Jean-Louis Bru, Assistant Professor
Schmid College of Science and Technology
"CETL taught me incredible teaching techniques to engage my students on a much deeper level, making my classes more interactive and impactful. The resources and expertise they provided truly made a difference in my teaching effectiveness. That's how my course evaluation overall average increased by 0.5 pts From Fall to Spring 2024!"
Chapman Faculty Member
"CETL workshops always provide a forum for me to think about and improve my approach in the classroom. The interaction with colleagues promotes the feeling of community and helps me see that I am not alone in my struggles. Every CETL workshop has helped me improve my teaching."
Zed Sehyr, Assistant Professor
Crean College of Health & Behavioral Sciences
"CETL’s Productive Pathways to Promotion program offers a professionally curated learning experience. The organizers provided rich and informative materials that helped me rebuild and rethink my teaching content and style. The organizers were efficient, supportive, and responsive, making the experience enriching and impressively well-organized."
Chapman Faculty Member
"The workshop was very useful for my teaching plans. The focus on "student-centered" learning outcomes helped me rethink and improve my course learning objectives. This approach has already made a positive impact on my current course, and I look forward to applying these principles to other courses in the future."

Resources for Faculty


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The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Team


Cathy Pohan, Executive Director

Melissa Samaniego, Assistant Director & Instructional Designer

Visit us in Memorial Hall 212L

Fall 2024 CETL Faculty Fellows and Associates:

  • Jeremy Hsu, Faculty Fellow, Schmid College of Science and Technology
  • Teresa Sweet, Faculty Fellow, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  • Sara Mattavelli, Faculty Fellow, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  • Ron Steiner, Faculty Associate, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

If you're interested in working with us as a fellow or associate, click here to learn more.