Getting the Centre up and Running
The TEC announced its decision on the successful tender for the contract in August 2006. An Interim Management Group comprising representatives of the 6 consortium institutes met intensively from that date, assisted by a Centre Establishment Group comprising representatives of a wider group of tertiary institutions and organisations. Professor Tom Prebble was appointed Interim Director from the beginning of September 2006. The funding and service contract with the Tertiary Education Commission was signed on 27 October 2006.
Building the organisation
The TEC announced its decision on the successful tender for the contract in August 2006. An Interim Management Group comprising representatives of the 6 consortium institutes met intensively from that date, assisted by a Centre Establishment Group comprising representatives of a wider group of tertiary institutions and organisations. Professor Tom Prebble was appointed Interim Director from the beginning of September 2006. The funding and service contract with the Tertiary Education Commission was signed on 27 October 2006.
Early tasks included:
- Negotiating and confirming the terms of the funding and service contract Completed);
- Negotiating a set of governance and management structures for the Centre
- Initiating processes for making appointments to governance and advisory groups;
- Appointing interim staff for the three regional hubs;
- Advertising the key role of National Director;
- Developing a communications plan;
- Commissioning a visual identity and incorporating it in all communications;
- Developing and launching the first phase of the Centre website;
A work programme
In the early months of 2007, the work plan for the Centre included the following:
- A mapping exercise to determine the current provision of teaching development services in New Zealand and the gaps in that provision
- Support for the 5 Teaching Matters Forum projects currently underway throughout New Zealand
- Development of a dynamic website that will provide a single point of contact for teachers, researchers and policy makers on the subject of tertiary teaching and learning
- Establishing effective links with other national and international agencies in this field
- Collaborating with a number of related TEC and MOE initiatives such as the SPEEKS Project (Strategies and Practices for Embedding eCDF Knowledge and Systems) and the Adult and Continuing Education Professional Development Project
- Hosting and promoting conferences and other forums on teaching and learning
- Assuming responsibility for the Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards scheme and establishing an 'academy' of awardees
- Initiating and supporting research and development work in teaching and learning