Pursuing Excellence in College Teaching Credential

The Pursuing Excellence in College Teaching Credential (CTC) is designed for those students whose programs do not offer opportunities for classroom teaching, or for those who are not able to complete the Certificate in College Teaching (CCT). This credential requires no coursework, and is free to obtain. 

Please note: unlike the CCT or FFD, this credential does not appear on your official CU transcripts.

Requirements

  • 10 CTL workshops
  • 5 discipline-specific hours
  • 1 guest lecture with a faculty or a CTL Lead observation
  • A two-page reflection
  • Complete an online exit survey

Requirement Details

Students must complete 10 Center for Teaching & Learning workshops. Workshops address the needs of beginning and experienced graduate teaching assistants and instructors. Participants should choose activities that are appropriate for their personal level of experience. Workshops cover topics from the following areas:

  • General pedagogy (beginning and advanced)
  • Inclusive practices
  • Personal and professional development
  • Issues in teaching and course design
  • Academic policies (discrimination and harassment, academic ethics)
  • Assessment and evaluation (self, course, and student)
  • Preparation of teaching portfolios
  • Technology and teaching
  • Scholarship of teaching and learning and teaching as research

All CTL workshops as well as co-listed and co-sponsored workshops are eligible for workshop credit. Sign-in sheets and/or online attendance recording document your attendance for credit.

All instructors pursuing this credential are required to complete a minimum of 5 real-time hours of teacher training in their discipline.

Departmental activities include: 

  • courses on teaching
  • departmental workshops or regular meetings with the faculty supervisor, faculty mentor, or with the lead graduate teacher 

Additionally, participants may attend additional CTL workshops to fulfill this requirement. However, departmental hours may not replace CTL workshop credit.

To be completed after participants have attended five CTL workshops.

Guest lectures can provide a valuable source of teaching experience by bringing what you have learned through workshops and your own experience. The CTC requires that you give one guest lecture in order to practice giving a larger lecture and to continue to hone your skills. Faculty members may be willing to allow you to step in for a guest lecture if they know you are interested. 

You must reach out to your departmental CTL Lead Graduate Fellow or the CTL directly to have someone come and observe your teaching and have a follow up discussion. 

Reflection is essential to one's developmen