International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 3; February 2012 229 Faculty Training and Development in the Public Sector Universities of Punjab Dr. Abida Nasreen Assistant Professor Institute of Education & Research University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan Munawar S. Mirza Abstract The study was conducted to examine current practices of faculty training and development in the old and new public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan. The sample of study included teachers, heads of departments (HoDs), and human resource management (HRM) experts. The data from teachers and HoDs were collected through questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with HRM experts. The main objective was to analyze the current practices of faculty development (FD) and training in old and new universities of Punjab. The results showed that training programs were more instrumental in improving teachers’ skills and attitudes in old universities as compared with that in new universities. Universities do not have HRM offices. Therefore, specialized advice on HRD practices was also non existent. HRM experts were concerned on sporadic conduct of training programs and they suggested regularizing and evaluating such programs appropriately. Introduction High quality performance demanded by the consumers of higher education and confronted by rapid changes in knowledge, technology, and even by the way academic work is being conducted (i.e., in teams, electronically over great distances, etc.) higher educational institutions must redefine themselves and , in essence, that means the faculty must either face obsolescence or continuously be participating in developmental activities. Therefore, institutions of higher education must develop a sustained long term faculty development strategy to enable their valuable human resources to work effectively and accomplish the organizational goals that are necessary to survive in the rapidly changing environment of higher education. Training and development People need competencies e.g. knowledge, attitudes, values and skills to perform tasks efficiently. Higher degree of quality of performance by the staff requires higher level of skills. According to Ivancevich (2003) employee orientation programs orient, direct and guide them to understand the work, organization, colleagues and mission. Training helps them to do t heir current work better. Apps (1988) cited Hoyle and Johnson (1987); argue “Twenty first century professors will need a larger repertoire of instructional strategies. They should have more knowledge about technology- the use of microcomputer programs, organized audiotape and color-slide presentations- and they should use games, simulations, and other modes of instruction that are in line with the objectives for the courses they will teach”. Brawner, et al. (2002) reported that the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education (SUCCEED) conducted a faculty survey in 1999 of teaching practices, involvement in faculty development programs, and perceptions of the importance of teaching in the faculty reward system. The results showed the frequencies of use of instructional objectives, active learning, and team assignments were positively associated with attendance at teaching seminars by the faculty members; however, this observation does not prove that attending the seminars led to adoption of those methods. To determine whether the association was causal rather than merely correlational, the survey asked the respondents which methods they had adopted as a consequence of attending teaching workshops, seminars, or conferences. Of roughly 500 respondents, 59% reported that they either began or increased their use of active learning, 43% wrote instructional objectives, and 43% used team-based learning. When asked how the changes they made affected their students‟ learning, 69% of the respondents reported improvements, 6% said that they could see no improvement, and 25% indicated that they had not made any changes.