Strengthening Faculty Development Through Cross‐Institutional Partnerships: Assessing Faculty Development Opportunities and Outcomes

ABSTRACT How can in‐house experts at 2‐year colleges leverage partnerships with colleagues at 4‐year colleges to design, assess, and research faculty development initiatives? This article showcases two examples of Maricopa Community Colleges’ partnership with 4‐year universities: (1) implementation and assessment of the community college district's Literacy Partners Program (LPP) and (2) research on district faculty members’ perceptions of professional development. Drawing on a survey, focus groups, interviews, and critical reflective inquiry, findings suggest that the partnerships led to positive outcomes (e.g., increased use of teaching practices for access and equity, greater understanding of faculty's professional development participation and needs). We conclude this extended example of the community college district's 2‐year/4‐year partnerships in support of faculty development with recommendations for readers pursuing similar partnerships.