Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

What Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence does

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence (SITE) is the centralized teaching and learning center of The Pennsylvania State University, operating from University Park, Pennsylvania, with a stated founding year of 2000 and a headcount of approximately 9 employees. SITE delivers a comprehensive suite of academic development services to Penn State's faculty, graduate students, teaching assistants, and postdoctoral scholars across all University campuses (including 20+ Commonwealth campuses and World Campus). Core services include one-on-one and group consulting on course design and assessment, scheduled workshops and short courses, the Course in College Teaching for graduate students, teaching communities of practice, the SEEQ and MSEEQ student feedback instruments, exam scanning services, and a portfolio of teaching grants and awards (including the Atherton and Eisenhower awards).

SITE's technology stack is purpose-built for university-scale academic development rather than commercial product deployment. The proprietary SEEQ (Student Educational Experience Questionnaire) instrument replaced the legacy SRTE in Fall 2023 and consists of seven standardized feedback items, with four items shared with unit heads and three items restricted to instructors. The mid-semester MSEEQ supports formative feedback during a course. Distribution is delivered through a campus liaison network that assigns named SITE consultants to specific academic units (e.g., Engineering, Nursing, IST, Liberal Arts) and regional campuses, supplemented by a self-service repository of rubrics, templates, and external curated resources (AAC&U VALUE rubrics, Western Washington ABCD Cards, UC Berkeley inclusive teaching resources, UT Austin assessment resources, and Temple accessibility frameworks).

The business model is institutional funding: SITE is a non-revenue-generating internal center, with all consulting, workshops, courses, grants, and resources provided free of charge to the Penn State community. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on voluntary engagement, campus-based outreach via liaisons, internal email and social channels, and events. Angela Linse serves as Associate Dean and Executive Director. The institute has no external customers, no fundraising rounds, no acquisitions, no published revenue, and no subsidiaries; it operates as a cost center within Penn State's administrative structure.

Name

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

Legal name

The Pennsylvania State University (Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence)

Website

https://schreyerinstitute.psu.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is Penn State's centralized teaching and learning center, providing free consulting, workshops, student feedback instruments (SEEQ, MSEEQ), grants, and awards to faculty, graduate students, and TAs across all Penn State campuses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Faculty Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Teacher Professional Development & In-Service Training Institutes (EDAHAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

Keywords

• Faculty development services
• Teaching and learning center
• Course design consulting
• Instructional design support
• Teaching effectiveness assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

University Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: The institute is funded by Penn State University as a teaching and learning center. Services are free to all Penn State faculty, instructors, and graduate students. The institute also administers grants and awards funded through institutional and potentially external sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is Penn State's centralized teaching and learning center, providing free, voluntary, and confidential consulting, workshops, short courses, teaching communities, assessment instruments (SEEQ, MSEEQ), scanning services, grants, and awards to Penn State faculty, instructors, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. Services are delivered across all Penn State campuses including University Park, 20-plus Commonwealth campuses, and World Campus through a network of campus liaisons and direct consultations.

Product overview

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is Penn State's central teaching and learning center that offers a comprehensive suite of educational support services rather than a traditional software product. The Institute provides faculty consultation, teaching assessment instruments (SEEQ), exam scanning services, professional development programs (Course Design Academy, Instructional Design Academy), teaching communities, grants, and teaching awards. These services are integrated within Penn State's educational ecosystem and are delivered through direct consultation, workshops, events, and online resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting Services One-on-one and group consultations with SITE consultants on teaching, course design, and assessment topics, available free to Penn State faculty.
• Events and Workshops Scheduled educational events including short courses, custom workshops, and teaching communities for faculty development, covering topics such as AI literacy, inclusive teaching, assessment, and active learning.
• SEEQ (Student Educational Experience Questionnaire) Student feedback instrument that replaced the SRTE starting Fall 2023, assessing teaching effectiveness across seven standard items. Responses to items 1-4 are available to instructors and unit heads; items 5-7 are provided only to instructors.
• Scanning Services Exam scanning and analysis services including item analysis reports, answer key management, and response weighting for multiple-choice bubble sheet assessments.
• Teaching Communities Cohort-based faculty development program connecting instructors across disciplines for ongoing collaboration and pedagogical improvement.
• Course Design Academy Intensive program for designing or redesigning courses using evidence-based practices and backward design principles.
• Instructional Design Academy Professional development program focused on instructional design principles and educational technology integration.
• TA/Grad Services Support services specifically for teaching assistants and graduate students, including the Course in College Teaching (CCT), TA Development, and CIRTL endorsements for evidence-based teaching.
• Schreyer Institute Grants Funding opportunities for faculty to support teaching and learning scholarship and course improvement initiatives.
• Teaching Awards Recognition programs including the George W. Atherton Award, Milton S. Eisenhower Award, and Teaching Fellow Award.
• Teaching and Learning Scholarship (TLS) Grants Grants supporting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research initiatives.
• Teaching Transformation and Innovation Grants Grants focused on innovative teaching approaches and transformative educational practices.
• Teaching and Learning Scholarship Academy Academy focused on developing faculty expertise in teaching and learning research and scholarship.
• External Grants Collaborations Support for faculty seeking external funding for teaching and learning projects and initiatives.
• MSEEQ (Midsemester Student Educational Experience Questionnaire) Mid-semester feedback tool enabling instructors to gather student input during the course for timely improvements to teaching and learning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free services for all Penn State faculty and graduate students
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)minorOthersThe institute references AAC&U's VALUE rubrics as open educational resources that enable educators to assess student learning outcomes. These rubrics are used as reference materials within the institute's resources.
• Western Washington UniversityminorOthersReferenced as the creator of the ABCD Cards app, a low-tech alternative to clickers for formative assessments and active learning activities, made available as a resource through the institute.
• Temple University Center for TeachingminorOthersInstitute references Temple University's Accessibility Resources as a model for making learning experiences inclusive and barrier-free using the POUR framework.
• CIRTL NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationPenn State is a member of the CIRTL (Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning) Network, which provides learning objectives, courses, and endorsement programs for graduate students and postdocs in evidence-based teaching.
• UC Berkeley Center for Teaching and LearningminorOthersReferenced for resources on inclusive teaching, anti-racist course design, and strategies for teaching large classes.
• University of Texas at AustinminorOthersInstitute references UT Austin's assessment resources as accessible information on university-level course assessment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• EDUCAUSE: Large higher-ed technology and learning association serving universities with research, training, and resources; adjacent peer addressing similar faculty/learning topics at a broader industry scale.

Direct peers

• Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning: Columbia's teaching center offering individual consultations, course design support, and inclusive teaching programs; a structurally similar faculty-development unit at a large private research university.
• Ohio State University Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning: OSU's teaching improvement institute providing faculty development programs, course design support, teaching awards, and educational research; closely mirrors SITE's bundled service model.
• University of Michigan CRLT (Center for Research on Learning and Teaching): Michigan's long-established teaching center offering faculty consulting, course design, TA training, and teaching evaluation instruments; comparable scope and service mix to SITE.
• Harvard Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: Harvard's faculty teaching support center providing consulting, teaching communities, fellowships, and course design services; structurally and functionally parallel to SITE.
• Brown University Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning: Brown's teaching center providing course design consulting, TA training, teaching communities, and teaching awards; parallels SITE's faculty-development service portfolio.
• UC Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning: Berkeley's teaching center providing faculty development, instructional design, teaching assessments, and TA preparation; one of the reference resources SITE itself cites.
• Vanderbilt Center for Teaching and Learning: University-based teaching and learning center offering faculty consulting, course design support, and teaching assessments; directly comparable to SITE as a centralized higher-ed faculty development unit.
• Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning: Stanford's teaching and learning hub delivering teaching consultations, course design support, TA training, and teaching awards; a close functional peer to SITE within a large R1 university.

Emerging players

• Association of College and University Educators (ACUE): National provider of faculty development courses and certifications to higher-ed institutions; comparable in target audience (university faculty) and service type (teaching professional development), though externally delivered rather than internal.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/site_psu
• YouTubepsu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/channel/The+Schreyer+Institute+for+Teaching+Excellence/159329361
• Facebookfacebook.com/SITE.PSU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schreyer-institute-for-teaching-excellence
• Instagraminstagram.com/site_psu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence