• Economic Development/Workforce Demand
  

  The Workforce and Program Development (WPD) degree serves a variety of students who wish to pursue a career in the development of training and educational programs to support employers, employees and individuals who are underemployed or unemployed. Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared to be business/government trainers, secondary and post-secondary career and technical education (CTE) instructors, and career counselors within their community. By building strong relationships with schools and community, this faculty line will play an essential role to the program through facilitation and creation of flexible, quality online courses which align with the objectives of degree completion, workforce preparedness, support for CTE initiatives, and Florida Department of Education certification requirements.

• Florida Board of Governors Areas of Strategic Emphasis      
  

  The WPD program is identified as Florida Board of Governors current and future area of Programmatic Strategic Emphasis under Education (13.132 Trade and Industrial Teacher Education) and is listed as part of future critical workforce-Education as of fall 2014.

• Accreditation Requirements
  

  The faculty line should require a terminal degree and a full time instructor who is program specific in both content and work experience in order to meet the SACS standard for accreditation.

• Community/Visibility
  

  The WPD program offers a niche with growth potential for the university. The program can serve the needs of the area’s large military population by offering opportunities to attain government/business training development skills and degree completion for career enhancement. The program is a good fit for military personnel as it offers a smooth transition into a program where personnel already have the necessary skills and experience to apply. A similar workforce education program is offered at NAS Pensacola to military students but this particular program is limited in its online offerings.
  The WPD program is one of three UWF degree programs offered through the Complete Florida UWF Innovation Institute. There is potential for growth and advancement in this area.
  There is potential for continuous growth in the Education sector. FLDOE requires all new CTE hires to take courses for certification purposes. The UWF WPD program is known throughout the state as one of only three which offer CTE teacher certification courses required by FLDOE. Workforce Education directors in various school districts recommend UWF to their instructors because of the flexibility of online course offerings and reputation of helpful customer service and advising experience.

The WPD program currently has only one OPS full-time visiting instructor and one adjunct instructor.
There are several opportunities to increase undergraduate enrollment as well as to enhance the current master’s program in curriculum and instruction, CTE.

The program is one of 7 fully online degree programs offered at UWF and serves the needs of both traditional students and working adults throughout the state of Florida.

The faculty line position would assist in expanding the department’s efforts to engage in business, school, and community activities which include workforce development, professional and continuing education, certification offerings, and degree completion opportunities.

Evidence of quality can be found in recent Student Assessment of Instruction evaluations, continued interest in the program and continuous enrollment.
The WPD program course offerings are one of only three available in the state for FLDOE CTE teacher certification requirements and endorsements.
Both federal and state legislation initiatives support continued efforts in career and technical education at both the secondary and post-secondary level with the newly reauthorized Perkins Act. State goals include offering more comprehensive professional development opportunities to CTE teachers and collaboration between the Division of Workforce Education and CTE teacher prep programs in colleges and universities to 1) promote CTE teaching careers and 2) to meet certification requirements.

The request is for a non-tenure earning position; however, the program is open for any recommendation of position level to meet current needs. A dedicated, full-time instructor who is experienced in the subject matter is required for this position as he/she will be responsible for teaching the courses and modifying the program as deemed necessary to meet current trends. The faculty position will be involved in program promotion and marketing efforts along with community involvement to enhance the program and department.

Teach Workforce and Program Development courses in undergraduate and graduate program.
Develop courses and curriculum based on current research and trends.
Continuously improve instructional design of current courses.
Advise students on degree plan from course registration to degree completion.
Engage in marketing efforts for enrollment and retention efforts.
Participate in community and business activities to stay current with workforce demands
Participate in tasks as deemed necessary to meet departmental goals.

An OPS visiting instructor is currently teaching all the graduate level courses along with 6 out of the 8 undergraduate courses. An adjunct instructor currently teaches 2 out of the 8 undergraduate courses. A full-time permanent instructor position is necessary to maintain the quality and integrity of the program and to continuously improve the program’s potential.

Two programs in Career and Technical Education have been dropped and combined into one program for the CTE content area - Workforce and Program Development.

This program has been dropped as of fall 2012:
09843G: ENGINEERING TECH/ELE 4 7 2 4 4

* Does not include non-degree specializations (indicated with a † above)