About the CTRE

The Center for Teaching & Research Excellence advances CSU's mission of providing a transformative educational experience for our students. With innovative programming, resources, and support, the CTRE works to ensure that every faculty member has the tools to thrive in their classrooms and career.

At the CTRE, we believe that...

student success and faculty success go hand in hand;
people learn best when they learn in community;
faculty development should be faculty driven.

Guided by these principles, our Center serves as a though-partner, advocate, consultant, and coach for individual faculty, as well as department and college leadership across CSU's campus.

Our history

The Center of Teaching and Research Excellence was created by Interim Provost Dr. Sandra Westbrook in 2009, to better support faculty as teacher-scholars. Since then, it has provided wrap-around professional development services to help faculty hone their craft and advance their careers. These services have included workshops, online resources, and grants, as well as support for external programs and opportunities like the Faculty Resource Network at New York University and teaching certificate programs through the Online Learning Consortium, ION Professional Learning Programs, and the Association of College and University Educators.

The Technology We Support

The CTRE/OOIT oversees the administration of all university-wide educational technology software licenses. We also oversee a few other technologies relevant to faculty and faculty affairs.

Teaching & Learning

Moodle, the campuswide learning management system.
StudyMate, a learning aide for students within Moodle.

Assessment & Academic Integrity

Respondus 4.0, which helps instructors create exams within Moodle.
Respondus Lockdown Browser, to limit internet use during exams.
Packback which assists students with formulating responses to discussion questions and provides instant feedback when writing papers.

Faculty Career Advancement

Faculty Success & RPT for faculty porfolio management and review.
Course Evaluation System which collects student course evaluations from within Moodle.

Learning Data Analytics

Intelliboard Learning Data Analytics Platform to help measure student learning in Moodle.

The CTRE Faculty Advisory Board

The CTRE's Faculty Advisory Board ensures that the CSU faculty's voice is heard when setting strategic priorities for faculty development, learning technology, and internal grantmaking. They also serve as strategic partners, helping spread the word about programs and events and engaging new faculty as campus leaders.

2024-2025 Members

Dr. Soo Kang, Art & Design

Dr. George Smith Jr., Health Sciences

Dr. Joni Jackson, Marketing

Dr. Olanipekun Laosebikan, Advanced Studies in Education

Dr. Jan Jo Chen, Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics

Prof. Joanna Kolendo, Library