Cengage Learning and NISOD Make Online Professional Development Materials Available to Adjunct Faculty

BOSTON, Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the growing need for adjunct support, Cengage Learning, a global education company, is expanding its partnership with the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), a membership organization committed to promoting and celebrating excellence in teaching, learning, and leadership at community and technical colleges, to co-host a series of webinars, podcasts, and blog posts covering professional development topics for adjunct faculty and administrators.

"Adjunct faculty face unique pressures that make it difficult to access the professional development support we know they want," said Sandi Kirshner, Chief Marketing Officer, Cengage Learning. "This is an important need for adjuncts and Cengage Learning is committed to supporting them in their careers. We're mobilizing our network of digital educators to provide these resources, but we're also helping establish the connection to other colleagues that adjuncts so desire."

According to the 2015 Cengage Learning Engagement Insights Survey, adjuncts said online tools and resources were the top resources that would help them conduct their classes more effectively. They also highly valued materials from other instructors at their institutions, but noted that establishing and developing relationships with colleagues can be a challenge.

"Our goal is to help adjunct faculty at our member colleges improve their teaching practice and student learning," said Edward Leach, Executive Director, NISOD. "To these ends, collaborating with Cengage Learning is a great way for NISOD to provide these increasingly important faculty members with a variety of high-quality resources they can use to enhance their professional skills at their own pace and according to their personal needs and goals."

The theme for the fall program is "Be Connected: Using Digital Tools to Create Meaningful Connections," and Cengage Learning Digital Educators and faculty partners will create blog posts, podcasts and webinars related to that theme. NISOD will host the content on their website for member institutions. The series will continue through the spring and the program will culminate with a live session at the 2016 NISOD Conference.

Cengage Learning will also partner with NISOD to offer three scholarships to the NISOD conference, which will cover conference registration as well as travel and accommodations to adjunct instructors who submit winning proposals to create content as part of the professional development series in the spring.

The first webinar, "Creating Connections Among Dispersed Faculty," is scheduled for November 5, and interested instructors or administrators can register online here.

For more information on these resources and the scholarship program, please visit www.nisod.org/cengage. To speak with a Cengage Learning spokesperson about this program, please contact Kristina Massari at [email protected].

About Cengage Learning
Cengage Learning is a leading educational content, technology, and services company for the higher education and K-12, professional and library markets worldwide. The company provides superior content, personalized services and course-driven digital solutions that accelerate student engagement and transform the learning experience. Cengage Learning is headquartered in Boston, MA with an office hub located in San Francisco, CA. Cengage Learning employees reside in nearly 40 different countries with company sales in more than 125 countries around the world. For more information, go to: www.cengage.com.

About NISOD
NISOD is a membership organization committed to promoting and celebrating excellence in teaching, learning, and leadership at community and technical colleges. For community and technical colleges that want to make the most of their professional development dollars, NISOD provides budget-friendly, high-quality, and faculty-focused programs and resources. For nearly 40 years, NISOD's customer-focused approach has helped align our wide array of benefits with the needs of our members. For more information about NISOD, visit www.nisod.org.

Media Contact:
Kristina Massari
Cengage Learning
(203) 965-8694
[email protected]

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SOURCE Cengage Learning

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