Professional Development

Next is Now - Future Focused Literacies

As a higher education institution that promises a world of possibilities, it is imperative we harness our talent in order to deliver the best learning experience for our students and foster a conducive environment for research. The changing landscape of work and higher education offers a unique opportunity for us to capitalize on the fast pace of change and prepare administrators and staff of our university community to support the long-term vision of our FIU. To that end, we have committed to embrace three literacies—data literacy, technical literacy, and human literacy– as focus areas to ensure we build strength among our employees.

Literacies
Data literacy is the ability to read, understand, create and communicate data as information. Much like literacy as a general concept, data literacy focuses on the competencies involved in working with data. As data collection and data sharing become routine and data analysis and big data become common ideas in the news, business, government and society, it becomes more and more important for students, citizens, and readers to have some data literacy.
Technological literacy is the ability to effectively use technology to access, evaluate, integrate, create and communicate information to enhance the learning process through problem-solving and critical thinking.
Human literacy focuses on giving power to communicate, engage with others, and tap into human capacity in a way that includes elements of the arts, especially design, which is integral to much of digital communication.

Professional Development

Policy

Our existing policy currently requires 20 hours of professional development for admin and staff. The university has updated the requirement for professional development to include a minimum of 10 hours toward data literacy, technological literacy, or human literacy.

Opportunities for Professional Development

At FIU There are several paths through which these literacies can be achieved. Participation in online learning, conferences, readings, etc., are all viable resources to accomplish the professional development requirements. Opportunities, online or in-person can be found in the following locations:

  • Develop.fiu.edu – FIU’s new home for professional development offers training in a variety of modalities (fully online, webinar supporting, and in-person supporting courses) ranging from compliance, to safety, to managing a remote workforce.
  • linkedinlearning.fiu.edu – linkedinlearning.fiu.edu is a leading online learning platform that enables FIU faculty, staff, and students to discover and develop skills through an online library of high-quality expert-led videos.
  • calendar.fiu.edu – There are a variety of lecture series, internal conferences, and events offered to the FIU community.

Helpful Information

LinkedIn Learning

Using LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning (linkedinlearning.fiu.edu) is a leading online learning platform that enables FIU faculty, staff, and students to discover and develop skills through an online library of high-quality expert-led videos. It can help anyone learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals.

For a video tutorial click here.

Recommended Courses

*Note: Please log in before watching any of the videos so that they may count towards your progress. You may log in by visiting linkedinlearning.fiu.edu or by logging in from any of the videos and selecting “Sign in with your organization portal” and entering “fiu.edu” to continue.

Leadership Development Program - LEAP

Supervisors and managers are the key to a successful university and creating a great place to work. The Leadership Education Advancement Program (LEAP) is designed to help FIU’s supervisors learn and practice leadership skills which are crucial to managing and inspiring their teams.

The goal of the program is to enhance management skills that support institutional knowledge, workforce excellence, and service excellence. Throughout the program, participants gain greater insights to the responsibilities associated with leadership roles at FIU. LEAP challenges participants to build their skill set while incorporating new ideas and approaches to their daily operations. This program places our FIU team in the best position to lead effectively.

Who should attend?

This program is intended for FIU managers who seek to enhance their leadership skills. Participants must be nominated by their supervisors to attend in the program. After being nominated, participants are selected based on their position and department in the university. We encourage supervisors to nominate as early as possible since seats are limited.

Nominate NOW for Spring 2024

Program

The program’s curriculum is highly interactive and focused on key competencies needed to be successful in a leadership role at FIU. LEAP is facilitated in four sessions between 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and one-half day session. The program takes place every semester.

Program’s curriculum (all sessions must be attended to complete the program):

Session 1: Institutional Knowledge
Tuesday – February 6, 2024

Session 2: A Culture of Mindfulness and Belonging
Tuesday – February 20, 2024

Session 3: Workforce Excellence
Tuesday – March 5, 2024

Session 4: The FIU Experience
Tuesday – March 19, 2024

Session 5: Capstone Presentations
Tuesday – April 2, 2024

To learn more about the program please contact Talent Management and Development at TAM@fiu.edu

Service Excellence Program

At FIU, our students are at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to provide every student with the excellence in education and the positive college experience they deserve. As FIU continues to expand, we are committed now more than ever to enhance our culture of excellence and place special focus on customer service.

By developing service skills across the university, we can provide excellence in service to FIU’s students, parents, alumni, and colleagues. Elevating our service culture is the responsibility of individuals from every area of the university, in every job, and at every level of the organization.

FIU Service Excellence Standards

Service Excellence Professional Development

FIU Service Excellence Training

FIU’s Service Excellence Training teaches employees about FIU’s philosophy on service excellence, professionalism at work, effective service over the telephone, managing written correspondence, video conferencing etiquette and techniques for delivering excellent service even in difficult situations. By participating in FIU’s Service Excellence trainings, employees examine their role in the university’s service culture.

Service Excellence training is offered in a variety of formats to meet the diverse needs of our university community. Enroll in one of our trainings today!

Faculty and Staff Course – 10 hours PD credit

Student Employees Course – 3 hours PD credit

Workshop (In-person) – 3 hours PD credit (Department -specific workshops available by request. Send requests to TAM@fiu.edu)

Recommended LinkedIn Learning Resources

Become Customer Service Specialist (learning Path)

Become Customer Service Manager (learning Path)

Empower – Recognition and Worlds Ahead Ideas

At FIU our people are everything! Our faculty and staff go above and beyond to provide service excellence for our community – this is what makes us stand out as a Great College to Work For®.

As ambassadors of service excellence, we embrace “Empower” as our e-platform to exchange peer-to-peer recognition and appreciation for one another. This tool will provide our faculty and staff an opportunity to send FIU branded congratulatory messages to their co-workers for a job well done, personal and career milestones, and other custom messages. This is your chance to share gratitude and words of encouragement in real FIU style!

Log in to empower.fiu.edu and get started today.


Professional Development Leave

This program was developed to provide exempt, non-faculty employees the opportunity for professional development, education travel, study, field observations, research, and/or writing. The leave can be awarded at half pay for a full academic year or at full pay for one semester. Employees must receive support from their supervisor and meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Employed at the university for at least six years of full-time continuous service
  • Superior work performance
  • Provides a detailed description for the leave as well as a report upon return
  • Must guarantee one year of service upon return or shall reimburse the university for the earnings received during the leave

Employees must complete the Professional Development Leave form which will be reviewed by Employee & Labor Relations for approval. To access the form, please visit myhr.fiu.edu and select Self Service > Employee Resources > Employee Forms. The form is under the Employee & Labor Relations tab titled Professional Development.


Available Trainings

We invite you to register for opportunities that develop and enhance your knowledge, skills, and abilities. Various professional development opportunities are offered by the University. To review the courses offered and to register, visit: Develop.fiu.edu.

Online Training

In addition, FIU has partnered with LinkedIn Learning which provides an online training library with more than 100,000 video tutorials on topics such as: Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, Final Cut Pro, and WordPress.

External Professional Development

Employees are encouraged to join professional associations, attend professional conferences and seminars, and even pursue a degree or certificate program that will support their professional development.

To receive credit for external professional development, complete the Professional Development Hours Form found in PantherSoft HR.

Learning and Development > Professional Development Hours > Add Learning Event