Professional Development

Professional Development Requirements for All Employees

All employees will develop an annual professional development plan that provides for educational and personal improvement experiences. This annual professional development plan will be based upon consideration of:

• The employee’s targeted areas of growth;
• The department’s needs as affected by the employee;
• Dunwoody’s strategic plan

Development activities may include:

• Internal and/or external training sessions.
• Academic undergraduate or graduate level courses that directly relate to an employee’s current position and job function.
• Completion of approved technical industry and/or conference training sessions.
• Approved industry work experience.

Faculty Requirements

Technical faculty will have or attain a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant/related field of study from an accredited college or university and complete all Dunwoody professional development requirements. Technical faculty without a Bachelor’s degree must have a plan in place and be actively pursuing their degree.

Arts & Sciences faculty must currently possess a Master’s degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited college or university and complete all Dunwoody professional development requirements.

Staff Requirements

Staff members are expected to meet annual professional development/continuing education objectives. Staff must complete any necessary annual training programs required by State and Federal agencies. Such requirements may be met through seminars, conferences and programs covering work related subjects, such as:

• Academic undergraduate and/or graduate level courses that directly relate to an employee’s work assignment and are approved by department directors, CFO, and Human Resources. Approval for undergraduate or graduate level courses is done on an individual case-by-case basis.
• Courses leading to the renewal of a required license or competency card;
• Internal training provided by Dunwoody through conferences, course offerings or mandatory training sessions.

Process for Faculty and Staff

The documentation process for the approval and completion of professional development and/or continuing education hours will consist of one or more of the following:

• A Degree Planning Form completed and approved prior to attending any college or university courses under the tuition reimbursement program. The form can be found on SharePoint.
• A Tuition Reimbursement Form, receipts, and course grades submitted to Human Resources for reimbursement.  The form can be found on SharePoint.