ACUE Partner Marketing Toolkit

A collection of resources, materials, and guidelines designed to help you promote the great teaching happening at your institution.

In this toolkit

Webpage Guide

Examples and best practices for the partnership webpage, blogs, and testimonials.

Your Commitment to Great Teaching webpage provides information about the partnership and steps interested faculty/staff can take to sign up for a course. Over time, it can be supplemented with testimonials, celebration/pinning ceremony photos, and impact metrics. Here are two great examples:

Social Guide

Use our guide, templates, and sample posts to help craft social media announcements that will make a splash.

Posting tips and tricks plus templates and ACUE social media accounts.

Partnership Announcement Sample Posts

Post Option #1

Faculty are [Institution’s] greatest asset. We invest in our instructors to promote student success, and that’s why we’re partnering with the Association of College and University Educators. ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practices Framework equips faculty with evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student engagement, increase persistence, and close equity gaps.

Learn more about this partnership at [link to partnership webpage]

Post Option #2

When taught well, graduates are 1.9 times more likely to be engaged at work and lead fulfilling lives. As part of a strategic initiative to improve student outcomes, [Institution] is partnering with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), creators of Effective Teaching Practice Framework. Through this partnership, faculty are learning about and implementing evidence-based teaching practices that keep students engaged, enrolled, and learning.

Learn more about this partnership at [link to partnership webpage]

Post Option #3

We believe every student deserves an excellent education. That’s why we’re partnering with Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), which teaches faculty evidence-based practices proven to improve student engagement, increase persistence, and enhance student success.

Learn more about this partnership at [link to partnership webpage]

Partnership Renewal Sample Posts

1 Year

Faculty are [Institution’s] greatest asset. We invest in our instructors to promote student success, and that’s why we’re partnering with the Association of College and University Educators.

ACUE’s programs equip faculty with evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student engagement, increase persistence, and close equity gaps.

Learn more about this partnership here: [link to partnership webpage]

2 - 3 Years

Through our partnership with ACUE, faculty are learning about and implementing the evidence-based teaching practices that keep students engaged, enrolled, and learning.

Learn more about this partnership here: [link to partnership webpage]

Celebrations and ACUE Pinning Ceremonies

Post Option #1

On [Date], [# of faculty] received their ACUE credential after completing a rigorous program in evidence-based teaching practices. Join us in congratulating these dedicated instructors, who are already bringing their knowledge to the classroom!

“[Faculty quote],” said [course-taker name].

Learn more about this partnership here: [link to partnership webpage]

Post Option #2

We’re so proud of the [# of faculty] [Institution Name] educators who have earned their certification in the ACUE framework! This is a testimony to hard work, dedication, and a commitment to student success. Congratulations!

“[Faculty quote],” said [course-taker name].

Partnership Announcement Email Guides

Promotional (not implementation/recruiting) email templates for different sender, audience, topics

Use these email templates to facilitate messaging to your institution(s) about your partnership with ACUE.

Partnership Announcement (Senior Leadership to Faculty and Staff)

Subject Line: [INSERT INSTITUTION NAME]’s Ongoing Commitment to Student Success

Dear Colleagues,

[INSERT INSTITUTION NAME] is proud to announce that we have partnered with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to further our commitment to student success and invest in our most vital asset: our people.

ACUE’s mission is to ensure student success through quality instruction by providing courses, pathways, and certifications. This [INSERT TERM(S)], we will be offering our [INSERT ALL THAT APPLY – FACULTY/STAFF] the opportunity to apply for an ACUE course, which is fully online, asynchronous, and professionally facilitated with a cohort of your peers. [INSERT ALL THAT APPLY – FACULTY/STAFF] will learn evidence-based practices proven to boost student persistence and completion, along with a sense of belonging on campus—all which align with our institutional initiatives of [INSERT INITIATIVES HERE]. Participants will spend approximately 2–3 hours of activity per week on a course.

Of the tens of thousands of individuals who have completed ACUE’s courses:

96% found the course content relevant to their work.

96% found the course helpful in refining their teaching practice.

92% would recommend the course to a colleague.

I strongly urge [INSERT ALL THAT APPLY – FACULTY/STAFF] to take advantage of this opportunity to advance your professional skillset. Please keep an eye out for forthcoming communications that will provide additional details on how you can participate.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact [INSERT NAME, TITLE, AND EMAIL ADDRESS].

Thanks,

[INSERT NAME AND SIGNATURE]

Alumni Newsletter Email Feature

[Institution’s] Commitment to Teaching Excellence

Our institution fundamentally exists to provide a high-quality education to its students in every classroom, and our recent partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) highlights our most recent investment into that mission.

Learn more [button link to partnership webpage]

Cohort Recruiting Emails

Access email templates in the ACUE Recruitment Hub.

Who is ACUE?

ACUE offers the highest-quality courses, pathways, and certifications with quick-to-implement practices that make a huge impact on student success.
Instructors who earn a certification in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework are proven to boost persistence and completion for students, improve faculty confidence and engagement, and ACUE’s focus on implementation and results helps institutions meet their strategic goals.

Messaging Style Guide

Taglines, messaging elements, and words to use and not use.

Words and phrases to use

Evidence-based
Transformative
Instructor, Faculty
Course-taker
Efficacy
Persistence
Certification in the ACUE Framework
Confidence
Engaging
Effective
Teaching
Empowering

Foundational
Worth it
Courses, Pathways, Certifications
Natural, intuitive, quick-to-implement
Teaching excellence
Student success
Impact
Proven
Outcomes
Campus professionals
Strategic goals

Words to avoid

Training
Teacher (instead, use “instructor”, “educator”, “faculty”)
Easy
Micros, microcredential

Course Descriptions

Titles and descriptions of courses.

Effective Teaching Practices

Reinvigorate educators and ensure students experience dynamic and inspired teaching that propels their success with a comprehensive course that, upon completion, earns course-takers a certification in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. Faculty who complete this comprehensive course are proven to boost persistence and completion for students and improve their own confidence in teaching and engagement. This comprehensive course offers a complete set of evidence-based teaching practices that build on existing knowledge and expand instructional skill sets. This comprehensive course contains four smaller courses that together take approximately 25 weeks to complete.

Effective Online Teaching Practices

Reinvigorate educators and ensure students experience dynamic and inspired online teaching that propels their success with a comprehensive course that, upon completion, earns course-takers a certification in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. Designed for faculty teaching in asynchronous, synchronous, hybrid, or HyFlex formats, course-takers who complete this comprehensive course are proven to boost persistence and completion for students, increase their own confidence in teaching, and expand their skill sets to meet students’ academic needs. This comprehensive course equips faculty with the core set of knowledge and skills needed to be a successful online educator. This comprehensive course contains four smaller courses that together take approximately 25 weeks to complete.

Promoting Active Learning

Discover active learning techniques to engage students. ACUE’s Promoting Active Learning course provides instructors with evidence-based teaching practices to facilitate group work and actively involve students in quality discussions during lectures and class sessions. Completing this course is one step toward becoming certified in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. This course contains six modules that take approximately 8 weeks to complete.

Modules:

Developing Effective Class Sessions and Lectures
Teaching Powerful Note-Taking Skills
Using Groups to Ensure Active Learning
Using the Active Learning Cycle
Planning Effective Class Discussions
Facilitating Engaging Class Discussions

Creating a Productive Learning Environment

Create an optimal environment that supports learning, increases engagement, embraces diversity, and helps students persist in meeting academic challenges. ACUE’s Creating a Productive Learning Environment course equips instructors with evidence-based teaching practices that help them start the term strong, ensure equitable access to learning, and provide feedback necessary for students to improve their performance. Completing this course is one step toward becoming certified in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. This course contains seven modules that take approximately 8 weeks to complete.

Modules:

Leading the First Day of Class
Promoting a Civil Learning Environment
Ensuring Access to Learning for All
Helping Students Persist In Their Studies
Checking for Student Understanding
Providing Useful Feedback

Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners

Motivate students, deepen their understanding, and help them take greater ownership of their learning in ACUE’s Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners course. Completing this course is one step toward becoming certified in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. This course contains six modules that take approximately 8 weeks to complete.

Modules:

Motivating Your Students
Providing Clear Directions and Explanations
Using Concept Maps and Other Visualization Tools
Using Student Achievement and Feedback to Improve Your Teaching
Using Advanced Questioning Techniques
Developing Self-Directed Learners

Designing Learner-Centered Courses

Design more learner-centered courses with aligned assessments, assignments, and learning experiences that offer students clarity around what they are learning and how they will be assessed. ACUE’s course, Designing Learner-Centered Courses, supports instructors who are building a course from the ground up as well as those teaching predesigned courses. Completing this course is one step toward becoming certified in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. This course contains six modules that take approximately 8 weeks to complete.

Modules:

Ensuring Learner-Centered Course Outcomes
Designing Aligned Assessments and Assignments
Aligning Learning Experiences with Course Outcomes
Creating Clarity with Checklists and Rubrics
Developing Fair, Consistent, and Transparent Grading Practices
Preparing an Effective Syllabus

Effective Teaching 101

Give your faculty—new, veteran, and even graduate assistants—the evidence-based teaching practices they need to hit the ground running. Equipped with a set of powerful, proven teaching practices they can use right away, your faculty can set themselves and their students up for success from the very first day of the semester, every semester.