Save the Dates for Fall Conferences on Diversity and Undergraduate Science

It’s not too early to start planning to attend AAC&U’s fall Network for Academic Renewal meetings. Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Excellence: Accelerating and Assessing Progress, is scheduled for October 16-18, 2008, in Long Beach, California, and Engaging Science, Advancing Learning: General Education, Majors, and the New Global Century, will be held November 6-8, 2008, in Providence, Rhode Island. Join the AAC&U contact list to be notified when early registration opens.

Plan Now to Attend AAC&U’s 2009 Annual Meeting

AAC&U is pleased to announce that its 2009 Annual Meeting will be held January 21-24, 2009, at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel in Seattle, Washington. A preconference symposium will focus on issues of sustainability. More details about the meeting will be available in June.

Share Your Opinions in the AAC&U News Perspectives Section

As a new feature of AAC&U News, readers may post public comments on Perspectives pieces. We welcome your thoughts on the opinion pieces in our Perspectives section. Tell us—and your fellow readers—what you think!

New Civic Engagement Publication Now Available

Based on work of the Bonner Foundation and authored by Ariane Hoy and Wayne Meisel, Civic Engagement at the Center highlights how campuses across the country are developing curricular and cocurricular models for students’ civic learning and socially responsible leadership. See other AAC&U resources on civic engagement and order your copy of Civic Engagement at the Center.

New Survey Emphasizes Personal and Social Responsibility

On April 17, AAC&U's Core Commitments initiative released a new report titled, "Should Colleges Focus More on Personal and Social Responsibility?" The report, drawing preliminary findings from the Personal and Social Responsibility Institutional Inventory, reveals that students, faculty, academic administrators, and student affairs personnel all believe these issues should be a major focus of campus attention. However, it also suggests a gap between aspirations and the climate actually experienced on campus. Learn more about Core Commitments, and read the press release or the entire initial report.

Ninety-nine Campuses Selected To Participate in AAC&U Summer Institutes

AAC&U has selected schools to participate in its three 2008 summer institutes: The Greater Expectations Institute; The Institute on General Education; and The Educated Citizen and Public Health, a curriculum development institute cosponsored by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. Schools were selected based on proposals outlining institutional goals and ongoing work in the topic area. Faculty teams from each school selected for an institute will attend intensive multiday programs where they will work with education experts and with each other on topics of student engagement, assessment, and public health programs at the undergraduate level. See the entire list of participant campuses in the institute press release.

AAC&U’s Public Health Initiative Launches New Research Effort with Grant from Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation

AAC&U received a grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation to support the work of the Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative. The grant will support research on approaches to incorporating public health into the undergraduate curriculum and the dissemination of findings through a special issue of Peer Review. The Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative aims to fulfill the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that “all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.” Initially developed in partnership with the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research, the initiative offers publications, presentations, and resources to assist faculty in developing public health curricula in all our nation’s colleges and universities.

AAC&U Urges Caution in Development of International Assessment Efforts

AAC&U recently joined the American Council on Education and other organizations to express concerns about a new international higher education assessment effort sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). AAC&U signed on to a letter (PDF) to the OECD education director written by the American Council on Education that calls attention to problems with OECD’s proposal to develop a test of collegiate learning outcomes. The letter expressed concern that results from the test could potentially be used to rank institutions and would encourage ineffective comparisons between dissimilar schools and programs. The letter instead affirmed a set of recommendations AAC&U and CHEA recently made in its joint leadership statement, New Leadership for Student Learning and Accountability. This statement and the letter from ACE, for instance, encourage individualized learning-outcome assessments, including portfolios, performance-based assessments, and capstone projects. The joint AAC&U/CHEA Statement is available online.

Beloit President Cites LEAP Survey in College Magazine

President Burris writes in his Spring 2008 Beloit College Magazine column that the “hallmarks of a Beloit College education” were the very practices that employers endorsed in the 2008 LEAP survey. He notes their approval of “community-based projects, supervised internships, advanced senior projects, and essay tests” and their rejection of “multiple choice tests.” See President Burris’ message and the 2008 LEAP Survey Report for more information, and learn more about the LEAP Initiative.

AAC&U Invites Nominations for Board of Directors

Nominations for the AAC&U Board of Directors for terms beginning in 2009 are now being accepted. Any individual from an AAC&U member campus is eligible to serve on the AAC&U Board of Directors. The current board members are listed online. To nominate an individual, please send a letter to Bethany Zecher Sutton, Secretary to the Board, 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, or send an e-mail to sutton@aacu.org.

Civic Engagement at the Center: Building Democracy through Integrated Cocurricular and Curricular Experiencesr
By Ariane Hoy and Wayne Meisel

Peer Review
Academic Advising

Diversity and Democracy
Civic Identity

Network for Academic Renewal Conferences:

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