ACUE Application: Frequently Asked Questions

The ACUE course is open to all U of T continuing appointment faculty in both the Tenure Stream and the Teaching Stream. Priority will be given to pre-tenure/pre-continuing status and pre-promotion faculty. Anecdotal evidence suggests that instructors with at least two years’ experience teaching at U of T find significant benefit from taking the course. 

Yes. To be nominated, faculty must be teaching in the Fall 2023 and/or Winter 2024 term. The ACUE course is designed so that participants learn, implement, reflect upon, and refine their use of evidence-based teaching techniques and approaches as they are teaching, working through the modules in a timed sequence. 

To allow sufficient space in an instructor’s schedule for this course, it is highly recommended that faculty be able to commit 3 hours per week for module work. There are week-long breaks embedded in the course. Bi-monthly 90-minute webinars/workshops are also part of the course.

The structure of the program was developed such that Units show their support for their participating faculty by contributing the $1200/person course fee which partially covers the cost of the course.

You are not eligible to reapply if you have already taken the course.

Instructors should request that both unit heads submit a separate nomination, which will be combined during the adjudication process.

The ACUE curriculum is appropriate for faculty who teach in any discipline.

Faculty will complete mandatory modules and have numerous opportunities to receive support from U of T facilitators and build community with colleagues in their cohort. Here are some key tasks and activities: 

• complete all 25 required asynchronous modules in the ACUE course that are comprised of weekly readings, videos that provide examples of instructional practices in action, implementation resources, and reflections. 
• implement teaching practices during the time of the course; in some cases, faculty may choose to ‘Plan to Implement’ in a future course. 
• participate in bi-monthly webinars/workshops with course facilitators and cohort members focusing on courses modules (in-person and online). 

For more information see ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practices Framework. The ACUE course will focus on in-person teaching however each module integrates parallel online teaching resources.  

Course takers will have access to all ACUE modules and resources for at least 1 year past the end of the course (as long as the participant completes all 25 modules).  

The University of Toronto’s partnership with ACUE includes a plan to continue to be able to offer opportunities for instructors to earn the Certificate in Effective University Instruction, and we are confident that instructors will have the opportunity to participate in another cohort in 2024-25.