University of Phoenix receives Showcase in Excellence Award
By nature, innovation is continuous. It moves forward, always looking toward the next improvement. At least that’s how the administration and curriculum experts at University of Phoenix understand it.
That’s why for the second straight year, University of Phoenix is a recipient of Arizona’s Baldrige-based award from the Arizona Quality Alliance (AQA), an organization that supports organizational excellence. Baldrige criteria are a nationally-recognized method to identify tools and systems that support performance excellence.
The University was awarded the 2010 Showcase in Excellence Award in recognition of its Online Faculty Certification Process, which introduces faculty applicants to the University of Phoenix standards of teaching. The program, a three-to-five month process, prepares new instructors to be classroom ready and thoroughly familiar with the University’s curriculum.
Prospective faculty members are required to go through a training program that demonstrates what it’s like to be a University of Phoenix student. In addition to helping prospective instructors gain a full understanding of the student experience, the program introduces them to the University’s online tools and assets that are essential for academic success.
During this process, prospective instructors also learn about University of Phoenix teaching models, shadow an experienced faculty member and are mentored by that instructor as they teach their first class. The Showcase in Excellence Award will be presented in February 2011.
In 2009, the AQA recognized the University for its program development process, which engages key stakeholder groups in curriculum development to ensure programs are of the highest quality with up-to-date knowledge that is relevant to University of Phoenix students.
As the University receives another honor, the process of preparing a meaningful education for working learners no doubt continues. Dr. Bill Pepicello, President of University of Phoenix, states, “These prestigious awards highlight the many dimensions of quality inherent within University of Phoenix and serves to further the University’s Baldrige Performance Excellence journey, the nation’s highest recognition for organizational excellence.”
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