Academic Services

CCUT Requirements

The awarding of UCSB Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT) signifies that the applicant has demonstrated the following five competences:

• The ability to successfully plan and conduct discussion or laboratory sections, to use a variety of instructional strategies to promote student learning, and to evaluate student performance in section or on exams
• The ability to apply appropriate research, theory, models, and/or principles of student learning to their teaching
• The ability to appropriately use instructional technologies through an instructional design aimed to meet a specific learning goal, or to challenge the efficacy of instructional technology for a specific learning goal within an academic discipline
• The ability to effectively and independently instruct a class through the development of a new syllabus or the analysis of an existing one, to provide feedback to enhance student learning, and to appropriately evaluate student performance
• The ability to cogently discuss and demonstrate both the theory and practice of their own teaching

To earn the Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT) the applicant must complete the following five requirements.

• Requirement 1: Completion of campus-wide and departmental TA training activities designed to promote basic teaching skills and knowledge. All of the following activities must be completed to fulfill this requirement:
  • Appointment for at least two quarters as a Teaching Assistant or Associate
  • Completion of all TA training activities required by the applicant's academic department
  • Attendance at the day-long Campus-wide Teaching Assistant Orientation
  • Videotaping and consultation by the TA Development Program. To schedule a taping, email tavideo@id.ucsb.edu To schedule a consultation, email taconsult@id.ucsb.edu
• Requirement 2: Completion of a CCUT approved course or program in teaching and learning. One of the following activities must be completed to fulfill this requirement:
  • A CCUT approved course in pedagogy or student learning. The CCUT Advisory Committee will evaluate the syllabi of courses not on this list that may also meet this requirement; OR
  • A CCUT approved program in teaching:
    • SCWriP Summer Institute
    • Lead TA Institute
    • 2 quarters as a video consultant in the TA Consultation Program
    • Summer Teaching Institute for Associates (STIA)
    • Writing Program TAship
    • LEAPS Program in Teaching Science
    • INSCITES Program
• Requirement 3: Complete ONE of the following four options:
  • Option 3A: DISCUSSION: Discuss your own experiences using or implementing instructional technologies to enhance student learning. This 4-5 page discussion (5000 words) should focus on specific instructional media and strategies. It should include all of the following:
    • description of your implementation and use of instructional technology (examples include but are not limited to the use of Personal Response Systems; creative use of multi-media as a significant part of lecture; sophisticated assignments that draw crucially on e-resources; virtual labs; computerized simulations) in a course or courses;
    • evaluation of both the benefits and limitations of this use, including personal classroom observations and/or interviews with end-users; and consideration of how the experience will influence your implementation of such technology in the future ; and
    • research that has been published regarding the effective uses of the instructional technology and associated techniques that you have described in your paper.
  • Option 3B: RESEARCH REVIEW: Write a research paper of approximately 5 single-spaced pages reviewing existing research on effective instructional strategies using instructional technologies. The review can include research studies that promote a certain learning theory, ones that defend a particular use of certain technologies or ones that challenge various uses of e-learning technologies. The paper must include scholarly citations (print and online) and critical appraisals. Practical examples should also be included as appropriate from the candidate's own teaching experience and observations.
  • Option 3C: PROJECT: Submit a completed instructional technology project. The project must demonstrate creative and substantive development of instructional materials utilizing computer-based or multi-media to enhance student learning. The project must be a significant aspect of a course. Examples include the creation of an interactive database used throughout a course; the design and implementation of a course centered around an electronic simulation; a series of assignments that use sophisticated interactive websites pertinent to the discipline; assessment of an existing technologically enhanced course; and, in association with a faculty member, the development of a fully or predominately online course.
    • NOTE: If you choose one the above three options, you might want to consider the final product as a possible journal article for submission to one of the many print or online journals on instructional technology.)
  • Option 3D: COURSE: Complete the CCUT approved course Interdisciplinary Studies 223A (or 223B) Learning and Teaching with Digital Media. INT 223A can be used to satisfy either Requirement #2 or #3 and is a prerequisite to 223B. These two courses are offered in Winter and Spring Quarters, respectively , during even numbered years only . Note that a single course cannot be used to satisfy more than one CCUT requirement.

    INT 223A focuses on the theoretical frameworks underlying the instructional uses of technology and the design of a computer-based or Internet-based project. INT 223B focuses on implementing the project you designed 223A.

• Requirement 4: Teach a course as the Instructor of Record with the support of a faculty mentor (more...). As part of planning and teaching a course as Instructor of Record, must assess the course syllabus (even if applicant did not design the syllabus) and develop a comprehensive plan for evaluating and providing performance feedback on student learning. One of the following activities must be completed to fulfill this requirement:
  • Teach a UCSB class as an instructor of record (UCSB Title Code 1506) during regular, extension, or summer sessions with the mentorship of a UCSB faculty member; OR
  • Teach a course as an independent instructor at a college or university, other than UCSB, with the mentorship of a UCSB faculty member. Santa Barbara City College is often looking for UCSB grad student to teach courses on a once-time basis. See SBCC Jobs
  Documentation must include: (1) a letter from the mentor describing the nature and frequency of the mentoring (a Summer Teaching Institute for Associates (STIA) certificate may be offered in lieu of a mentor's letter); (2) ESCI or other course ratings; (3) open-ended student evaluations; and (4) a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses illustrated in the open-ended comments.
• Requirement 5: Prepare and submit a concise teaching portfolio that demonstrates completion of the CCUT requirements and of the CCUT competencies via documentation, illustration, and reflection.

  The CCUT Teaching Portfolio is a narrated, factual description of an applicant's teaching strengths, accomplishments, and learnings as a result of applying the training received by completing each CCUT requirement. It includes specific materials referred to in the narration that illustrate these strengths, accomplishments, and learnings.

  The portfolio should have an organizing principle or theme to integrate the learnings, relevance, or impact of the various requirements. For example, an organizing principle might be the Teaching Philosophy statement, a historical or developmental progression in one's teaching, or a focus on a particular aspect of student learning (e.g., learning styles, active learning, critical thinking, cognitive development etc.). The Portfolio is meant as a way for the applicant to document his or her professional growth as an instructor. In so doing, the applicant will be better prepared to articulate his or her approaches to and accomplishments in teaching.

Help in Constructing the Portfolio

• Seldin, P. (1997) The Teaching Portfolio: A practical guide to improved performance and promotion/tenure decisions. Anker Publishing.
• Quarterly CCUT Portfolio Workshops: Each quarter an e-mail announcement is sent out to all departments, and the workshop dates are listed under Important Dates.
• Instructional Development has a website providing information about teaching portfolios.
• If you still have questions after investigating these three resources, contact Dr. Diane Mackie or Dr. Shirley Ronkowski.

Overview of How to Prepare a CCUT Portfolio

Prepare an organized, theme-oriented teaching portfolio that provides evidence of completion of all CCUT requirements. Present the information in your portfolio in a professional, reader-friendly format. Use organizational tools (e.g., dividers, section headings) as needed. The Committee will evaluate the portfolio prior to the approval of the awarding of the CCUT certificate. Your portfolio must include:

• A completed CCUT Signature Page.
• A Table of Contents and numbered pages.
• A Philosophy of Teaching Statement.
• Documentation of Requirements 1 through 4 (see Portfolio Documentation Suggestions under each Requirement above).
• For each requirement, a short reflective statement on how your experience in fulfilling the requirement added to the formation and/or modification of your teaching philosophy and your knowledge of student learning.
• For each requirement, a discussion of the requirement's impact on and relevance to your teaching and/or student learning in your classes, including documentation to exemplify and support the stated impact and relevance (evidence of impact on and relevance to student learning can be anecdotal, but the meaning and significance of relevant student ratings should be discussed).
• Summative discussion about student ratings of your teaching over the course of your UCSB teaching experience and how those rating have affected changes in your teaching and in how you design instruction.
• For detailed guidelines on preparing a CCUT portfolio see http://www.oic.id.ucsb.edu/ccut/ccut_portfolio.html

Mail or bring three copies of the portfolio to Shirley Ronkowski, Instructional Development, 1120-Q Kerr Hall; Mail Code 3200. Other copies will be made for review so please do not include notebooks or dividers. If submitting electronically, turn in three copies of the CD or the web URL and two copies on CD. Electronic submissions are encouraged. It is best to complete the portfolio as soon as you complete the requirements, but the final deadline is the last day of the quarter immediately preceding the one in which you intend to complete your doctoral degree. Students completing degrees in summer must submit portfolios by the fifth (5th) week of Spring Quarter. Remember, you must also add the certificate to your degree list during the quarter before the one in which you complete the doctorate. See the Application Process for details. To see how the CCUT Faculty Advisory Board evaluates portfolios, see the Portfolio Evaluation Criteria.

NOTICE and DISCLAIMER: Every academic discipline is unique. The CCUT portfolio needs to be revised for use in job searches, and you should seek advice on format and content from faculty in your academic discipline. Many colleges and universities will not ask for a portfolio but will request copies of syllabi you have created, a teaching philosophy, or student ratings. Your CCUT portfolio will be useful in providing these materials and will also have prepared you to better discuss teaching and learning and your job interviews.

EXCEPTIONS

The CCUT Faculty Advisory Board will accept a written petition to modify or make a substitution for a requirement, as long as the substitution remains within the intended learning experience of the requirement. Petitions must be specific in describing the activities that are sought to replace a CCUT requirement, and must be reviewed and accepted by the Advisory Board before submission of your portfolio.