It is amazing that University Faculty are most often held to a lower standard than teachers in K through 12. If you want to teach first graders, you are required to have a degree in Education. If you want to teach college seniors, you need an advanced degree in math or physics or chemistry - but no "education in education" is required.
As a result, college faculty just do what they learned by observing their own college professors. Thus, there is now consistency in syllabi, no attention given to properly written learning objectives, no concept of alignment between LO's, content and assessment. And Active Learning? Who has time, when lectures deliver content so rapidly to large audiences - professors replicate the horrors of their professors who lectured for 60 minutes non-stop to audiences of 200 or more.
Students deserve more. They deserve syllabi that outline course content and delivery. They deserve learning goals and rubrics that accurately tell them what they are going to learn and how they can succeed. They deserve real-world, interactive learning experiences that they can someday apply in their ultimate goal of employment.
And faculty deserve more. They deserve the tools to deliver all those things listed above. Workshops, online courses, peer observations, and other skill development resources can provide the necessary skills. Certainly, the university wants to see consistent syllabi and course design throughout the school that reflects the goals and the mission of the university - but how can they expect that without providing the tools and the knowledge to their faculty?
An important part of the answer lies in the Faculty Certificate Programs that are starting to appear in universities around the globe. These typically consist of five to ten short courses or workshops that are complemented by peer assessments and research. The end result is a portfolio of accomplishments that become an important part of the faculty's resume. They are the essential tools needed to meet the standards required by both the university and its students.