About CTLE

Vision

National Louis University’s Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) partners with faculty (full-time and adjunct) and staff to create a thriving culture of teaching and learning excellence that makes a lasting impact on students’ lives.

Mission

National Louis University’s Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) develops a culture of teaching and learning excellence through flexible, consistent, and customized professional development programming and facilitates the scholarship and adoption of evidence-based, transformative, and innovative teaching and learning practices and role-specific development resulting in professional growth and successful student outcomes.

Guiding Principles

Collaboration: The CTLE forges supportive relationships with full-time and adjunct faculty and staff, as well as University units, to produce positive student outcomes.

Social Learning: Learning is a social activity, and the CTLE coordinates learning situations across the University to foster peer to peer learning to establish a University-wide community of practice that facilitates professional growth.

Personalization: Each full-time and adjunct faculty and staff member, as well as each University unit, has different needs, and to support them in their pursuit to engage students, the CTLE listens and tailors an approach to meet them where they are - with regard to development, geography, and availability.

Innovation and Experimentation: CTLE cultivates innovation resulting from scholarship, advancement in educational technology, and practice experimentation to advance the culture of teaching and learning excellence for the benefit of students.

Evidence-based: CTLE values research-based action, data-informed decision-making, and the adoption of evidence-based teaching and learning practices to foster successful student outcomes.

Campus Role

The CTLE is the University-level hub – a space for collaboration and coordination - of the University’s culture of teaching and learning excellence and coordinates professional development and training programming for full-time and adjunct faculty and staff across NLU’s various locations, including online. Although the CTLE offers professional development programming, it is not the only campus entity offering professional development for faculty (full-time and adjunct) and staff. CTLE programming and activity supplements, extends, and enhances professional development offered by colleges, academic programs, and other University entities. The CTLE programming features:

• peer-to-peer development opportunities promoting effective practices employed by full-time and adjunct faculty and staff, as well as external teaching and learning practitioners and scholars;
• training for new-hire full-time and adjunct faculty and staff to prepare them to make an immediate impact on our students and contribute to the University’s thriving culture of teaching and learning excellence;
• support the adoption and use of education technology tools and systems;
• curation and creation of resources to develop and deepen teaching and learning practice;
• research, experimentation, and scholarship to advance the University’s culture of teaching and learning excellence;
• coordination of symposia to convene and support internal dialogue on teaching and learning and research and scholarship topics;
• support faculty members’ research and scholarship;
• development and training opportunities for role-specific academic responsibilities to support individuals as their career advances.