Professional Development
Continuous Growth in Teaching and Discipline
Professional development that keeps both my online teaching practice and my Information Technology expertise current — pursued every year since joining Broward College as full-time faculty in August 2018.
Overview
A Sustained Commitment
When I entered a continuing-contract-eligible position in August 2022, I developed a three-year professional development plan (PD1), which was reviewed with and supported by my associate dean, to pursue Harvard Extension School’s 16-credit Graduate Certificate in Learning Design and Technology, directly strengthening my work as an online faculty member and course developer.
The 2023-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement subsequently introduced an annual professional development format for continuing-contract-eligible faculty on annual contracts, under which my three-year cycle was deemed complete as of July 31, 2024. I was then required to complete 12 professional development clock hours each year until continuing contract is awarded. I have met that requirement each year through graduate coursework toward the Harvard certificate: DGMD E-60, Designing Online Courses (Spring 2025), and EDUC E-103, Introduction to Instructional Design (Fall 2025) — each a four-credit graduate course well beyond the annual requirement. The coursework ultimately spanned the transition to the College’s annual professional development format, with the final courses completed in Fall 2025.
Beyond these formal milestones, I treat professional development as an ongoing responsibility rather than a periodic obligation — engaging continually with professional reading, discipline newsletters, and practitioner communities to keep both my teaching practice and my Information Technology expertise current.
My professional development over this period substantially exceeded the College’s minimum requirement.
Ricardo S. Vargas, MS
Featured Credential
Harvard Graduate Certificate
Graduate Certificate in Learning Design and Technology — Harvard Extension School
To strengthen my practice as an online faculty member and course developer, I completed Harvard Extension School’s 16-credit graduate certificate in Learning Design and Technology — a program directly aligned with the work of designing effective online courses.
I completed the coursework for the 16-credit certificate in December 2025 and it was officially conferred in January 2026.
- Instructional design foundations → theories and frameworks for building learning experiences on digital platforms.
- Designing online courses → applied coursework directly transferable to my Broward online sections.
- Educational media and technology → interactive media, video, and digital design for instruction.
Transcript (PD4)
Pedagogical Development
ACUE Certificate in Effective College Instruction
Through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), in partnership with the American Council on Education, I earned the Certificate in Effective College Instruction with a focus on effective online teaching practices. The ACUE Effective Practice Framework maps directly to Broward’s Teaching and Learning Excellence core values: Fostering a Supportive Learning Environment, Evidence-Based Best Practices, and Assessment and Reflection.
The framework spans designing effective courses, establishing a productive learning environment, active learning techniques, promoting higher-order thinking, and assessment to inform instruction — competencies I apply directly in my online sections. Click below to view the certificate.
2022 Certificate in Effective College Instruction — ACUE / American Council on Education (PD5)
Discipline Currency
Technical Coursework Training
To maintain currency in the Information Technology field I teach, I have completed a series of industry-aligned certification courses spanning cloud, security, systems, and enterprise administration. Click any course below, or its image, to view the certificate of completion.
- 2024 CompTIA Security+ Certification (SY0-701) coursework, 18 hours, LinkedIn Learning (PD6)
- 2022 CompTIA Cloud+ Certification (CV0-003) coursework, 40 hours, New Horizons (PD7)
- 2021 Microsoft Azure Administration (AZ-104) coursework, 40 hours, New Horizons (PD8)
- 2020 CompTIA Linux+ Certification (XK0-004) coursework, 40 hours, New Horizons (PD9)
- 2019 CompTIA Security+ Certification (SY0-501) coursework, 40 hours, New Horizons (PD10)
- 2018 Deploying Windows Desktops & Enterprise Applications (20695) coursework, 40 hours, New Horizons (PD11)
Keeping Courses Current with Certification Objectives
I have held CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications since 2001. Because they were earned before 2011, they are lifetime certifications that do not require renewal. Rather than rely on them, I keep my discipline knowledge current through the courses I teach. Industry certification exams in my field are revised roughly every three years to reflect changes in technology and practice, and each revision requires me to master the updated content before my students can. When CompTIA released new versions of the A+, Network+, and Security+ exams, I studied the revised exam objectives and rebuilt my courses around them. For example, I completed Security+ SY0-701 coursework (PD6) and redesigned CTS 2120C to align with the exam’s restructured domains. This continuing cycle of learning new objectives and translating them into course content keeps my knowledge as current as the credentials my students are pursuing. The course redesign agreements for these updates are listed below and are also documented on my Effective Teaching Practices page.
- 2001 CompTIA A+ Certification (lifetime) (PD12)
- 2001 CompTIA Network+ Certification (lifetime) (PD13)
- Course Redesign Agreement, CTS 1133C (CompTIA A+), Online (ETP6)
- Course Redesign Agreement, CTS 1133C (CompTIA A+), Blended (ETP7)
- Course Redesign Agreement, CTS 1134C (CompTIA Network+), Online (ETP8)
- Course Redesign Agreement, CTS 2120C (CompTIA Security+), Online (ETP9)
- Course Redesign Agreement, CTS 2120C (CompTIA Security+), Blended (ETP10)
Ongoing Practice
Continuous, Self-Directed Development
Beyond formal programs, I engage in professional development daily — following discipline newsletters, practitioner blogs, professional e-mail lists, and current articles in both pedagogy and Information Technology. This ongoing habit keeps my teaching and technical knowledge current between formal milestones and informs how I continually revise my online courses.
My official Broward College My Learning Transcript records the professional learning hours credited through the College’s system, including annual Professional Development Day sessions, College workshops, and my Harvard graduate coursework. It reflects only activities recorded by the College; external training such as the coursework listed above is documented separately on this page.
Broward College My Learning Transcript — official record of College-credited professional learning hours (PD14)