Faculty Learning Communities

We offer Faculty Learning Communities and other forms of cohorted professional development each year in the Faculty Center.  These trainings provide a unique opportunity for faculty to engage in an important project, learn something new, and connect with colleagues. 

Fall 2025

Call for Applications 

GenAI College Representatives 

Fall 2025 

Applications due Monday, Sept 15,  2025 by 5:00 PM PST 

The Faculty Center invites applications for Generative AI (GenAI) College Representatives. This is a specialized training program that is part of the Faculty Center’s Innovative Teaching with GenAI: Designing Curriculum for the Future initiative, funded by the CSU-wide AI Educational Innovations Challenge (AIEIC) grant. This initiative is designed to support faculty in addressing the evolving challenges of teaching and learning in an era where Generative AI tools are both widely accessible to students and increasingly integrated into the workplace.  

GenAI College Representatives will receive training on key issues and topics about GenAI and its implications for teaching and learning in higher education as well as receive guidance on best practices for developing and delivering faculty-to-faculty professional development and support. Faculty training will include support for developing college and/or discipline-specific training sessions and workshops about the role of GenAI in higher education and beyond to support curricular innovation.  

We are seeking 2-3 representatives from each college/division (i.e. CoBA, CSTEM, CHABSS, CEHHS, Library) for a total of 12 faculty participants. As a representative of your college or division, you will adapt and expand the training you receive to meet the needs of your college and/or discipline by considering issues that distinguish the teaching and learning experience(s) in your fields. You will also share your experience and expertise to shape discussions with faculty peers across campus to develop a broader community of practice. 

Applicants for this training program should already have some familiarity with GenAI; the purpose of this training is not to support the individual faculty member’s curriculum development, but to provide guidance on how to facilitate training and support for your fellow faculty peers at CSUSM on an important and time sensitive topic in teaching and learning.   

Time Commitment and Details: 

In Fall 2025 GenAI Faculty College Representatives will receive advanced training through multiple modalities including access to subscription-based course modules on OneHE and through in-person and in-real time sessions delivered by the Faculty Center. 

 Training will cover topics such as but not limited to: 

• • GenAI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPTedu) 

• • GenAI’s impact on students’ critical thinking and learning of threshold concepts.   

• • Ethical considerations (collaboration, citation, plagiarism, fair use, bias, climate impact, etc.) 

• • Curriculum design strategies that center the learning process  

• • Key debates about AI in higher education nationwide 

• • Principles of professional development and how to design training sessions for faculty peers  

Faculty will develop materials for peer-to-peer trainings at CSUSM on topics may include but are not limited to: 

• • Key features, drawbacks, and misconceptions about GenAI tools in higher education 

• • Safe and ethical use of GenAI in the classroom and beyond 

• • Considerations for curriculum redesign in the age of GenAI 

• • Creating GenAI-integrated assignments and assessments 

• • Creating GenAI-resistant assignments and assessments 

The time commitment for Fall 2025 is 20 hours which includes attending trainings and completing assignments (such as developing training materials for use within the representatives' home college and/or discipline). At least 6 hours must be attendance at synchronous and/or in-person sessions offered by the Faculty Center.  

There is a mandatory onboarding session to kickstart this training that will be offered on Tuesday September 30, 2025 from 12:30-2:00 and Wednesday October 1, 2025 from 12:30-2:00—representatives must attend one of these kick-off sessions in-person in its entirety. 

Compensation for Fall 2025: $1000 training stipend for faculty who attend the mandatory on-boarding session and successfully complete and attend at least 6 sessions in real time and complete all assigned online modules and submit all required curriculum redesign activities and training development activities. 

Faculty who successfully complete this training program will be eligible to apply for Spring 2026 paid opportunities to deliver trainings at CSUSM via the Faculty Center. Completion of this training program is not a guarantee of hire for Spring 2026. 

Eligibility 

Open to tenure-line faculty and lecturer faculty with a 3-year contract who will be on contract with a Unit 3 appointment in Fall 2025.  

Candidates from any college are welcome to apply; balance across colleges will be considered to ensure broad campus impact. The Dean’s office of each applicant’s home college will participate in the review of applicant’s materials. 

Strong applicants will already have a working knowledge of GenAI and have experience utilizing GenAI tools in their teaching and curriculum development. 

To Apply 

Complete the application form by 5:00 PM on September 15, 2025. 

Questions? 

Contact: 

• Dr. Rebecca Lush, Faculty Center Director – rlush@csusm.edu 

• Dr. Ruoxi Li, Associate Director for Teaching & Learning – rli@csusm.edu 

Additional Information  

Only Unit 3 faculty members who will be on contract with an existing Unit 3 appointment during the entire time frame of the training or professional development opportunity are eligible to be considered for a stipend. Faculty may not request or accept professional development and/or training under this program unless they are on active pay status as a faculty bargaining unit employee. Summer stipends can only be offered to faculty who will be employed the preceding spring and subsequent fall semesters. 

Faculty are limited to a maximum of $10,000 in stipends for faculty training and professional development per fiscal year. Faculty cannot accept an offer for a stipend that will cause them to exceed this $10,000 annual limit. 

Quality Online Learning and Teaching Faculty Learning Community (QLT FLC)

Application due by Sept 29, 2025

Leader: Dr. Meegan Feori-Payne

Quality online and hybrid courses are vital to student success. They increase student engagement and lower course DFW rates and can close student achievement equity gaps. The Quality Learning and Teaching rubric is an evaluation tool developed by the CSU Chancellor’s office to ensure the quality of online and hybrid courses. This FLC offers the opportunity for faculty to conduct self or peer reviews of online or hybrid courses with the QLT rubric. The goal of these reviews is to provide best practices and support towards designing and delivering courses that result in quality learning experiences for students.

This FLC is committed to preparing faculty who are interested in completing the informal campus review process while offering a holistic approach to teaching online and hybrid courses. Not only will you complete the locally-administered QLT certification process, by the end of this FLC you will be able to:

• set up your online or hybrid course in a way that provides support to students,
• develop assessments that effectively measure your course objectives and,
• effectively provide feedback to

Specifically, the FLC will focus on:

• Applying best practices for designing and delivering online and hybrid courses using the QLT
• Developing online and hybrid-specific strategies to increase student engagement and get the most out of your online or hybrid course
• Fostering a community of faculty who will share ideas and current examples of what they are doing in their online and hybrid courses to increase student success.

Schedule Overview

There are two tracks for the QLT FLC. Faculty members who have completed the 3-week Introduction to Teaching Online Using QLT course and earned the certificate will be on Track 2. Those who have not completed the course and earned the certificate will be on Track 1.

Meetings and Tasks Overview at a Glance:

• Open to faculty of all ranks and colleges with Unit 3 appointments in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026; if you hold concurrent campus employment in a category other than Unit 3 (faculty) please contact the Faculty Center to confirm eligibility for this paid training
• Earn a Faculty Center Certificate suitable for WPAF

Deadline to apply: Sept 29, 2025

Expectations and Compensation

All faculty who complete this FLC will also receive a Faculty Center Certificate confirming completion of this program, suitable for inclusion in a WPAF, and in addition to their local QLT Certificate.

Who should apply?

Faculty of all ranks from all colleges with Unit 3 appointments in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 are welcome to apply! If you hold concurrent campus employment in a category other than Unit 3 (faculty) please contact the Faculty Center to confirm eligibility for this paid training opportunity. 

For questions about the Faculty Learning Community or application, please contact Dr. Meegan Feori-Payne, Faculty Fellow for QLT at mfeoripayne@csusm.edu

How will faculty be selected?

• Taught an online or hybrid course at least once in the semester before Fall 2025. The course you QLT certify must have been fully taught by you in a previous semester at CSUSM in an online or hybrid format.
• Faculty members must be the primary instructor who designs the course content for the courses they are seeking QLT certificate
• Stated interest in gaining knowledge in effective evaluation and implementation of online and hybrid best practices and getting their online courses to be QLT certified.
• Diverse representation of ranks, disciplines, and colleges
• Space will be limited to 12-15 faculty

Only Unit 3 faculty members who will be on contract with an existing Unit 3 appointment during the entire time frame of the training or professional development opportunity are eligible to be considered for a training stipend. Faculty may not request or accept professional development and/or training under this program unless they are on active pay status as a faculty bargaining unit employee. Summer stipends can only be offered to faculty who will be employed the preceding spring and subsequent fall semesters.

If you hold concurrent campus employment in a category other than Unit 3 (faculty) please contact the Faculty Center to confirm eligibility for this paid training opportunity.

Faculty are limited to a maximum of $10,000 in stipends for faculty training and professional development per fiscal year. Faculty cannot accept an offer for a stipend that will cause them to exceed this $10,000 annual limit.

All faculty members accepting a stipend must fulfill all of the stated terms and expectations that constitute completion of the training or development activity to receive the stipend.

Getting Started with GenAI in Teaching and Learning: A Foundational Workshop 

Format: Asynchronous Online 

Time frame: Nov 3, 2025-Dec 5, 2025 

Deadline to apply: by 5:00 PM on Monday, October 27, 2025.

 The Faculty Center invites applications for Getting Started with GenAI in Teaching and Learning: A Foundational Workshop. It is part of the Faculty Center’s Innovative Teaching with GenAI: Designing Curriculum for the Future initiative, funded by the CSU-wide AI Educational Innovations Challenge (AIEIC) grant. The workshop is designed for faculty who are newer to generative AI (GenAI) and want to better understand its implications for university teaching and learning. Participants will receive guided training to: 

• Build foundational knowledge of GenAI tools and their relevance to higher education 

• Explore the pedagogical implications of GenAI for student learning and curriculum design 

• Begin rethinking and redesigning teaching practices in light of GenAI’s capabilities and limitations 

Participants will engage with curated asynchronous modules via OneHE (a professional development platform for higher education), complete reflective assignments, and begin developing ideas for adapting their own teaching practices. Participants should anticipate to engage in about 6 hours of work (2 hours of OneHE trainings and 4 hours to complete reflective assignments). 

Those who complete the training modules and the homework assignments by December 5, 2025 will receive a training stipend of $250.  

Learning Outcomes 
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Describe the core features of GenAI and its relevance to college-level teaching and learning 

• Critically evaluate the potential impacts of GenAI on current pedagogical practices 

• Begin modifying or designing new instructional strategies that promote authentic student learning in the GenAI era 

Eligibility  

Open to tenure-line faculty and lecturer faculty with a 3-year contract who will be on contract with a Unit 3 appointment in Fall 2025.  Candidates from all colleges are welcome to apply.  

Note: Faculty selected as GenAI College Representatives are not eligible for this workshop, Additionally, faculty who have already participated in a Faculty Center paid training event on GenAI and/or enrolled in the Chancellor’s Office ACUE AI course are not eligible.   

To Apply 
Complete the application form by 5:00 PM on Monday, October 27th, 2025. 

Questions? 
Contact: 
Dr. Rebecca Lush, Faculty Center Director – rlush@csusm.edu 
Dr. Ruoxi Li, Associate Director for Teaching & Learning – rli@csusm.edu 

Only Unit 3 faculty members who will be on contract with an existing Unit 3 appointment during the entire time frame of the training or professional development opportunity are eligible to be considered for a stipend. Faculty may not request or accept professional development and/or training under this program unless they are on active pay status as a faculty bargaining unit employee. Summer stipends can only be offered to faculty who will be employed the preceding spring and subsequent fall semesters.  

Faculty are limited to a maximum of $10,000 in stipends for faculty training and professional development per fiscal year. Faculty cannot accept an offer for a stipend that will cause them to exceed this $10,000 annual limit.