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Queen’s University Instructional Development Centre Queen’s is one of Canada’s oldest universities founded in 1842. Like all universities in Canada, it is a public institution and offers degrees up to the doctorate in arts and science, engineering, business, education, and medicine. Queen’s has 1,000 FTE faculty, 200 part-time faculty, over 13,500 undergraduates, and over 2,500 graduate students. The Instructional Development Centre was established in January 1992. It reports to the Vice-Principal Academic and is advised by a board with membership drawn from faculty, students and alumni. The Centre is staffed by a full-time academic director, a full-time adviser on teaching and learning, and an administrative secretary. The Centre’s budget also allows for part-time faculty secondments to the IDC, two teaching assistant associates, and short-term visiting appointments. Financing for the Centre comes mainly from university operating funds, but also from a generous endowment provided by Queen’s undergraduates. The Centre is unique in the world in having such a degree of financial support from students. The mandate of the IDC is to support, promote, and enhance the quality
of teaching at Queen’s through a broad range of services, programs, and
activities. We define high quality teaching as instruction that encourages
effective student learning. Services, programs and activities include: In collaboration with the Learning Technology Unit, the IDC also plans and supports initiatives which promote appropriate use of technology in university teaching. The IDCs approach is collaborative, responsive, and pragmatic. Consultation and assistance is available to any Queen’s instructor or teaching assistant. |