Welcome to the Center for Faculty Advancement & Success in Teaching (CFAST)

The Office of the Provost and the Chief Information Officer at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) are pleased to announce the launch of the Center for Faculty Advancement & Success in Teaching (CFAST) with the aim of assisting HBKU faculty in their pursuit of teaching excellence.

Teaching Resources

Explore our self-enroll Canvas shell: Teaching and Learning Toolkit. This resource is developed to help faculty plan, build, and deliver effective courses. The toolkit is divided in several sections with templates, practical tips, best practices, strategies, and resources.

Our Mission

The Center’s mission is to promote exemplary teaching and effective learning at HBKU. To this end, CFAST will focus on empowering faculty to explore innovative pedagogical and technological approaches to enhance their teaching effectiveness and enrich student learning with the goal to:

  • Support faculty in delivering high-quality, innovative teaching and learning experiences that meet the needs of our diverse student population.
  • Provide supportive environment where faculty are empowered to experiment with different tools and modalities, engage, learn through reflective teaching practice.
  • Promote evidence-based practices that help faculty enhance student learning, engagement, and success.
  • Encourage best practices that ensure quality course design through the effective integration of technology and innovative teaching strategies.

Services

Interactive Workshops

Every semester the Center offers a series of workshops around teaching and learning best practices, and innovative use of instructional technology.

On-demand training

The Center offers custom, on-demand workshops that can be facilitated in-person, in a hybrid format, or fully online. This service allows you to request training on an individual basis, or a tailored workshop to suit your department's needs.

Instructional Consultations

The Center welcomes all faculty who wish to discuss specific teaching concerns. We will be happy to consult with you about selecting the best combination of tools, resources, and teaching practices to develop course components for face-to-face, blended, and flipped courses.

In-Classroom Observations

This service is offered to faculty members who request an observation for their class. These are collegial consultations that will highlight your opportunities to improve student engagement and success.

Quality Matters

HBKU is committed to implementing the Quality Matters standards for the design of online and blended courses.Visit the Quality Matters website for more information about the organization. The QM rubric is based on best practices that promote student learning and instructional design principles for quality course design.

The eight General Standards of this Rubric are:

  • Course Overview and Introduction
  • Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
  • Learning Objectives (Competencies)
  • Course Technology
  • Assessment and Measurement
  • Learner Support
  • Instructional Materials
  • Accessibility and Usability

Initiatives and Projects

HBKUx Courses

HBKUx is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) initiative at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. courses can be audited free or students can choose to receive a verified certificate for a small fee.

Explore HBKUx