Still Time to Register for Austin Meeting on Effective Educational Practices

Is your campus developing educational practices such as first-year seminars, learning communities, or undergraduate research programs? AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal spring meeting, Discovering, Integrating and Applying Knowledge: Effective Educational Practices for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Innovation, will focus on “engaged learning practices” like these and the latest research about their impact on student learning.  The conference will be held April 10-12, 2008, in Austin, Texas. More information and registration forms can be found online. Participants may also register onsite at the meeting.

Proposals Sought for Fall Network Meeting on Undergraduate Science

AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal invites proposals for its fall meeting, Engaging Science, Advancing Learning: General Education, Majors, and the New Global Century. Proposals are sought for sessions that feature practices that engage students with the power and centrality of science in today’s world and that accelerate hands-on learning in science, both in general education and in majors.  The meeting will especially focus on reforms that put critical inquiry, undergraduate research, and social responsibility at the center of undergraduate science learning. Proposals are due April 16, 2008. More information can be found on the call for proposals Web page.

Annual Meeting and General Education Conference Resources Now Available Online

Did you attend AAC&U’s Annual Meeting in January or conference on general education and assessment in February? Were you unable to attend and wondering what you missed? More than 150 resources from the conferences—including PowerPoint presentations, workshop handouts, and podcasts of key speakers, are now available online. Visit the Annual Meeting resources page and the General Education meeting resources page to download these materials or share them with colleagues.

VALUE Initiative Seeks Campus Rubrics to Assess Key Outcomes

AAC&U's VALUE initiative (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) is gathering and reviewing rubrics that can be used to evaluate achievement of the Essential Learning Outcomes. We welcome rubric submissions from your campus! For more information about VALUE and how your campus can get involved, please visit the VALUE Web page or e-mail VALUE Initiative Research Associate Wende Morgaine at morgaine@aacu.org.

Videos Featuring LEAP Innovations Now Available as Podcasts, and on iTunes and YouTube

AAC&U now offers video podcasts featuring innovations at LEAP Campus Action Network member schools. These videos are part of AAC&U’s LEAP effort to shine a spotlight on effective educational programs and practices that help students achieve essential outcomes and apply what they are learning in real-world settings. LEAP videos are available at www.aacu.org/aacutv or on the new LEAP YouTube page.  The video podcasts may be downloaded from the AAC&U podcast page, or you can also subscribe to the podcast feed using any podcasting software, including iTunes. 

AAC&U Appoints Susan Albertine First Senior Director for LEAP State Initiatives

AAC&U is pleased to announce the appointment of Susan Albertine as senior director of LEAP State Initiatives in AAC&U’s Office of Curriculum, Quality, and Assessment. Albertine currently holds the position of dean of the School of Culture and Society and professor of English at The College of New Jersey and will begin her work at AAC&U in July 2008. Albertine will provide proactive intellectual and practical leadership for the overall program of LEAP partner state initiatives. See the press release about her appointment.  For more information about the LEAP initiative and how your institution can get involved, please visit our LEAP Web page.

ACAD “By Deans, for Deans” Handbook’s Second Edition Available

The American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD) announces the availability of the second edition of our bestselling publication, The Resource Handbook for Academic Deans. Written “by deans and for deans,” this is an excellent resource for academic administrators of any level. More information and order forms can be found at the ACAD Web site.

New Membership Benefit: Postings of Member News, Appointments, and New Programs or Research

The Member Postings section of AAC&U News has now been expanded to include a wider array of member announcements. Members may submit postings to announce appointments of new administrators; new programs; important research findings, and other news relevant to liberal education. These postings can be submitted through the AAC&U News Web page and will be posted online and highlighted in the AAC&U News, which reaches 20,000 faculty members, administrators, and other champions of liberal education each month.

Liberal Education The Future of Interdisciplinary Studies

Peer Review
Faculty Development: Finding Balance in Changing Roles

Diversity and Democracy
Religious Diversity

Network for Academic Renewal Conferences:

Discovering, Integrating and Applying Knowledge: Effective Educational Practices for Today's Students and Tomorrow's Innovation
April 10-12, 2008
Austin, Texas

Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Excellence: Accelerating and Assessing Progress
Long Beach, California
October 16-18, 2008

Engaging Science, Advancing Learning : General Education, Majors, and the New Global Century
Providence, Rhode Island
November 6-8, 2008

For more information on meetings, visit www.aacu.org/meetings/index.cfm