What is a faculty meeting?

What is a faculty meeting?

If you work in a university or higher education institution then a faculty meeting is a regular occurrence. 

It’s a time for staff to come together to discuss academic matters, such as curriculum, instruction and assessment. Faculty meetings can also be a time to collaborate on research projects, develop professional development plans and share best practices.

Benefits of faculty meetings

Faculty meetings can be a valuable tool for improving teaching and learning. They can:

Promote collaboration and communication among faculty members.

Provide a forum for sharing best practices and ideas.

Help to ensure that all faculty members are on the same page regarding a variety of things from student matters to office administration.

Provide an opportunity to provide feedback on school policies and procedures.

Help to build a sense of community among faculty members.

Tips for planning a successful faculty meeting

Here are some tips for planning a successful faculty meeting:

Set a clear purpose for the meeting. What do you hope to accomplish? Once you know the purpose, you can start to develop an agenda.

Invite the right people. Only invite those who are essential to the discussion. This will help to keep the meeting focused and efficient.

Create an agenda and distribute it in advance. This will give everyone a chance to prepare for the meeting and come up with questions or ideas.

Start and end on time. Respect the fact that everyone has their own schedules to manage. This will show that you’re serious about the meeting and that you value everyone's time.

Encourage participation. Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute to the discussion. People may have ideas you’ve not thought of and this will also help ensure that everyone feels heard and the meeting is productive.

Summarize the key points and next steps at the end of the meeting. This will help to ensure everyone is on the same page and that follow-up is taken care of.

How to schedule a faculty meeting with Doodle

Doodle is a great tool for scheduling faculty meetings. With it, you can create a poll and send it to the people you need to meet. They select the times that work best for them and you can have a meeting in your diary within minutes. This is a great way to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Here are some additional tips for scheduling faculty meetings with Doodle:

Use a descriptive title for your poll. This will help your faculty members to quickly understand what the meeting is about.

Include all of the relevant details in your poll description. This includes the date, time, location and purpose of the meeting.

Make sure that your poll is open for long enough. Everyone needs a chance to see the poll and respond. Though setting a deadline can help you get a response faster.

Send a reminder before the meeting. You can automate this with Doodle and it helps to ensure everyone remembers the meeting and they’re prepared.