Student Success
Starts With You
Every interaction between you and your students is a chance to drive student success—certification in ACUE’s trusted framework is proven to increase classroom engagement, improve outcomes, and boost faculty and student confidence.
Trusted by Leading Institutions Nationwide
ACUE Professional
Development courses
are Transformational
Learn proven teaching strategies from the best of the best. ACUE’s courses are the ONLY certification endorsed by ACE.
Learn Proven Practices That Yield Immediate Results
Don’t put off self-improvement—ACUE provides the tools you need to truly excel as an educator.
Boost Student Success and Satisfaction
Faculty who take ACUE courses improve student success and course satisfaction, creating a lasting impact on their futures.
Engage Students,

For Real
You will learn practices that immediately improve student engagement and get them excited about learning.
Revitalize Reading Habits 
and Spark Curiosity
ACUE’s courses help faculty restore students’ reading habits, sparking curiosity and a renewed interest in learning.
Explore Why 96% of Faculty Recommend
ACUE's Certifications
Effective Teaching Practices
Equip yourself with the resources needed to move beyond traditional lecturing and maximize your teaching impact. Course completers earn a certification in ACUE’s Framework.
Effective Online Teaching Practices
Lecturing ≠Teaching. Develop the skills and strategies necessary to engage online students and drive meaningful outcomes. Course completers earn a certification in ACUE’s Framework.
ACUE's Courses
Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment
Create an environment that supports learning, increases engagement, and helps students persist.
Promoting Active Learning
Discover active learning techniques to engage students, spark their curiosity, and renew their interest in learning.
Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners
Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses
Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Online Learning Environment
Promoting Active Learning Online
Inspiring Inquiry and Lifelong Learning in Your Online Course
Fostering a Culture of Belonging
Are You Using the Best Faculty Development?
ACUE is the only professional development provider with courses proven to boost student success. Don't trust your training to Google searches––level up with ACUE.
Hear From Educators Transforming Their Teaching With ACUE
Discover how our courses and certifications are making a real impact in classrooms nationwide.
“ACUE’s partnership gave us a 5% increased likelihood of students returning when they take 50% of their courses with ACUE-certified faculty.”


The University of Southern Mississippi
“In her class, I felt empowered.”
BREONNA, STUDENT,

DR. SANTIBA CAMPBELL

Bennett College,
North Carolina
“We have seen improved course completion, which is a critical leading indicator to student success and graduation.”


DR. MCMENAMIN
UCNJ Union College of Union County, New Jersey
Certification FAQ’s
ACUE’s Certification Courses are tailored for faculty to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement. Whether you’re teaching in the classroom or leading fellow educators, our courses provide practical skills that create an immediate impact.
Explore topics like active learning, inclusive teaching, and online instruction to elevate your teaching practice. Our FAQs address everything you need to know about course enrollment, individual or group options, and how to get started on your certification journey.
Who can enroll in ACUE’s Certification courses?
All courses are subject to the ACUE Terms and Conditions. If you’re not sure these courses are for you, please email courses@acue.org to discuss your situation.
How do you enroll a group of educators from an institution?
Institutions may register a group of faculty in ACUE’s cohort-based Certification courses by contacting the program director at courses@acue.org. Depending on the group enrollment size, course-takers may be split between multiple cohorts of the same course.
Please note: Institutions that enroll course-takers in courses are subject to the cancellation, deferment, and forfeiture of fees listed on our enrollment policy page, and self-paced courses are not available for purchase by an institution.
Faculty groups should also consider ACUE’s Programs for Institutions. ACUE’s campus and system partnerships are formed through a collaborative process with a broad set of institutional stakeholders. ACUE’s Programs for Institutions include academic support, advanced reporting, impact research at both faculty and student levels, and campus culture and communications support.
What is the difference between cohort-based and self-paced Certification courses?
Cohort-based and self-paced Certification courses each offer distinct advantages tailored to different learning preferences. Both approaches meet the requirements for ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification. Both course formats include the same course content, downloadable resources, and access period.
Cohort-Based Courses
Self-Paced Courses
Be part of a community of learners from diverse disciplines and institutions.
Be an independent learner.
Start dates are available multiple times each year so the cohort progresses at the same pace through the course.
Course-takers may start and progress through the modules at their convenience within a set timeframe for maximum schedule flexibility.
Share resources and gain insights from collective experiences and student success stories.Â
Do I need to be actively teaching to enroll in a Certification course?
ACUE’s Certification courses are most impactful when actively teaching at least one college-level course, whether face-to-face, online, or hybrid.
What makes ACUE’s Certification courses unique?
One aspect that sets ACUE apart from traditional development courses is that course-takers select at least one new practice to implement in each module. The opportunity to apply your learning and reflect on the impact to students leads to transformation.
“The only way you’re going to learn something new is to do it. You have to apply what you’ve learned … then reflect on what worked well, what needs tweaking in the future, what [you’ve] missed….”
—Stephen Brookfield
One aspect that sets ACUE apart from traditional development courses is that course-takers select at least one new practice to implement in each module. The opportunity to apply your learning and reflect on the impact to students leads to transformation.
Which course should I take first?
There is no set order to take Certification courses. Each course description includes module titles and short descriptions that may help you determine which one is of most interest to you at this time.
Creating an Inclusive and Supportive (Online) Learning Environment, Promoting Active Learning (Online), and Inspiring Inquiry and Lifelong Learning (in Your Online Course) are structured such that you engage with the course content, identify a practice, implement this practice with your current students, and then reflect upon the student impact of the new or modified practice selected.
Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses is the exception. This course is focused on working with your course documents, applying the concepts learned in the modules to those documents, and reflecting on the process and the impact on student success in your course. You may find it beneficial to take this course after the others so that you can take the knowledge from the modules in the other courses and apply it as you work on developing outcomes and assessments.
How long will it take to complete a Certification course or Fostering a Culture of Belonging?
Course-takers report it takes approximately 2–3 hours to successfully complete each module. This typical time commitment includes time to review module content, engage in online discussions with colleagues (for cohort-based courses), plan and implement a practice, and complete a written reflection. Most Certification courses contain six or seven modules that will collectively require 12–18 hours to complete over a 6–8-week period. You will be given 8 weeks to complete the course.
The Fostering a Culture of Belonging course contains four modules and the estimated time to complete is 2–3 hours per week (4–6 hours per module) over an 8-week period. This course opens a new module every 2 weeks.
Are courses available to international course-takers?
Yes, courses are available to international course-takers. Please note: ACUE courses are taught, facilitated, administered, and supported in English.
Is there a language requirement?
ACUE courses are taught, facilitated, administered, and supported in English. To get the most out of your experience, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential.
Who do I contact with questions?
Please contact courses@acue.org with questions about cohort-based Certification Courses.
What happens if I need to change my enrollment?
Please review our enrollment policy page for details on managing your enrollment.Â
Are there deadlines to purchase?
The enrollment deadline for individual purchase of a cohort-based course is 3 days prior to the course start date. The enrollment deadline for institutional small groups is 10 business days prior to the course start date, subject to course availability.
Enrollments are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Early registration is recommended.
Self-paced courses may be purchased and started at any time.
How do I express interest in a specific course and start date if I’m not able to pay today?
You may express interest in a cohort-based Certification course with a future start date, even if you’re unable to pay today. Submit your application here. Confirmation of your application will include enrollment and payment details. Payment must be received before confirming your enrollment in the course. The deadline for payment submission for your chosen start date is the Friday preceding the Saturday course start date.Â
How do you earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification or Advanced Certification?
To earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification, you must complete four courses: Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment, Promoting Active Learning, Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners, and Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses. You may take these courses in either the Effective Teaching Practices (ETP) Pathway, the Effective Online Teaching Practices (EOTP) Pathway, or a combination of both modalities.
To earn the Advanced Certification in the Effective Teaching Practice Framework you must complete Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment, Promoting Active Learning, Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners in both ETP and EOTP.
What does each Certification course include?
Certification courses are comprised of six or seven online learning modules. Each module addresses a competency defined in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework. Successfully completing a Certification course earns a course badge which can stack with other ACUE courses to earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification.
The Fostering a Culture of Belonging course is a deeper dive into inclusive practices. This course contains four modules and does not apply toward the ACUE Certification or Advanced Certification in the Effective Teaching Practice Framework. This course is not available in a self-paced format.
Modules are content rich and include demonstration videos, interviews with leading experts, curated planning guides, and other resources.
Downloadable implementation guides and resources are provided to support learning and implementation of recommended practices.
Cohort-based courses also include:
A synchronous and facilitated 1.25-hour course launch on Zoom. Course facilitation is supplied by an expert in teaching and learning with whom you will share insights and ideas along with other educators in your cohort.
What are the policies regarding the purchase of multiple enrollments?
Discounts for purchasing multiple courses in the same order will be applied in the cart upon checkout.
When purchasing the four Certification courses, start dates for all courses must be selected prior to the start date of the first course. Course dates may be adjusted consistent with ACUE’s deferment policy. We suggest taking one course at a time when actively teaching at least one course. You have 18 months to complete the four Certification courses. Bundled courses are non-transferrable.
When purchasing multiple self-paced Certification courses in the same order, you will need to determine the order in which you want to access them. This ensures each course remains available for the appropriate duration. If you choose to take two courses concurrently, you will have 8 weeks to complete both.Â
Can I take more than one Certification course at a time?
We strongly recommend taking one Certification course at a time. Each week you will be asked to learn new research-based practices, implement them in your courses, and reflect on your practice. The one–module–a–week pacing allows you and your students to benefit from a deep focus on that module’s practices before moving on to additional topics and practices.
Cohort-based Certification course start dates are established so it is possible to start the next course within 2 weeks of completing the previous course, allowing you to earn the Effective Teaching Practice Framework Certification within 9 months.
What type of course support is provided?
In cohort-based courses, an ACUE instructor will provide support throughout your course, including facilitating virtual discussions in LMS discussion boards. In addition, instructors will respond to any support needs within 24 hours.
Technical assistance is also available by emailing support@acue.org. For additional information about course accessibility, please review our Statement of Accessibility.
How is the course assessed?
To satisfy module requirements and earn a badge, course-takers complete a written reflection that meets specified criteria outlined in a rubric made available to all course-takers.
