Faculty Professional Development Imperatives in Collegiate Aviation Education

If the health and well-being of collegiate aviation is to remain intact, it is imperative that faculty professional development is highly prioritized at the programmatic level. Keeping faculty current in their field and knowledgeable about the latest pedagogical techniques and technological changes/innovations in addition to maintaining their interest and enthusiasm for instruction is vital for high-quality education and educational excellence (Hirshberg, 1992). Unfortunately, published literature on faculty professional development, particularly at the collegiate aviation level, is anything but prevalent. To make matters even more difficult, no universally accepted instrument is available to measure the needs of faculty in their ongoing professional development pursuits. The intent of this article is twofold: (a) to define needs assessment/needs analysis in the context of faculty professional development and (b) to provide an overview of traditional and nontraditional methodologies of faculty professional development renewal