Strategic best practices of flagship university professional development centers

The establishment and promotion of professional development centers at higher education institutions (HEIs) play a significant role in building and supporting faculty teaching and research capacity. Although not all universities and colleges assign teaching the same significance that they give to research, there are many best practices of professional development programs and centers in research and teaching at HEIs, especially at flagship universities. Flagship universities serve as leaders in the development of regional and global higher education with standards of excellence for research and teaching. This study examines several professional development best practices at 16 flagship universities, with a goal to improve student learning, classroom instruction, and research quality. Five recommendations derived from four identified strategic best practices are provided to HEI administrators in the conclusion section on how to develop and strengthen effective practices to promote optimal professional development at the institution-wide and department/unit levels.