Raising the Bar: Preparing Utah College Students for Life, Work, and Responsible Citizenship

A Public Forum Co-Sponsored By
The Association of American Colleges and Universities
The Salt Lake Chamber
The Utah System of Higher Education

8:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown
75 South West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT

Business-Education Forum and Luncheon • 7:30 am to 1:30pm
K-16 Dialogue on Purposeful and Effective Pathways to Student Achievement • 1:30 to 4:00pm

About the Program

Raising the Bar: College Learning and Working Together fro Utah's Future is a one-day public forum sponsored by AAC&U’s national initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP). The interactive program will bring together key Utah stakeholders to discuss the learning Utah students will need to meet 21st-century challenges for life, work, and responsible citizenship. The conversation will feature perspectives from k-12, college campuses, employers, and the community, highlighting how improved educational outcomes from k-16 will determine the future of Utah.

Participants

Business, civic, school, and community leaders from across Utah, as well as policymakers, are encouraged to participate in this dialogue. Faculty, deans, presidents, and chief academic officers from all of AAC&U’s member institutions in Utah, as well as campus representatives from other institutions in Utah will also participate. For more information, please contact Bethany Zecher Sutton (sutton@aacu.org).

Schedule

BUSINESS-EDUCATION FORUM

7:30 - 8:00am          Continental Breakfast

8:00 - 8:30am          Forum Opening

Lane Beattie, President, Salt Lake Chamber
The Honorable Gary R. Herbert, Governor, State of Utah

8:30 - 9:30am         Keynote Address

The Quality Imperative: New Vision, New Markers, New Accountability (PowerPoint)
Introduction: William Sederburg, Commissioner, Utah System of Higher Education
Keynote: Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges & Universities
Response: Mark Bouchard, Senior Managing Director, CB Richard Ellis-Utah New Mexico Region

9:30 - 9:50am         Engagement with Participants’ Views (PowerPoint)

Moderator: Natalie Gochnour, Chief Economist, Salt Lake Chamber

9:50-10:00am        Break

10:00 - 10:30am         Plenary Presentation and Discussion

Are We At a Tipping Point? The Status and Direction of Education In Utah (PowerPoint)
Introduction: Phyllis Safman, Assistant Commissioner for Academic Affairs, USHE
Richard Kendell, former Commissioner of Higher Education and Superintendent, Davis School District

10:30 - 11:15am   Panel Discussion

The Challenges From Where We Sit
Moderator: Vicki Varela, Vicki Varela Strategic Communications, Salt Lake Chamber Executive Committee
David Doty, Superintendent, Canyons School District
Randy Shumway, President, Cicero Group
Cynthia Bioteau, President, Salt Lake Community College

11:15 - 11:45am  Engagement with Participants’ Views

Moderator: Natalie Gochnour, Chief Economist, Salt Lake Chamber

11:45am - 1:15pm   Luncheon and Panel Discussion

Creating Purposeful Pathways: Teaching and Assessing  What Really Matters
Moderator: Debra Humphreys, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, AAC&U
Holly McKiernan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Lumina Foundation for Education
Norm Jones, Chair, Regents’ Task Force on General Education; and Professor of History, Utah State University
Michael Nemelka, Associate Executive Director, Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority

• • • • •

K-16 DIALOGUE ON PURPOSEFUL AND EFFECTIVE PATHWAYS
TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

1:30 - 2:30         Panel Presentation and Discussion

Promising Educational Innovations K-16
Moderator: Norm Jones, Chair, Regents’ Task Force on General Education; and Professor of History, Utah State University
Mary Jane Chase, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Westminster College
David Hubert, Dean of General and Developmental Education, Salt Lake Community College
Al Church, Principal and CEO, Academy for Math, Engineering, and Science
Janice Gygi, Professor of Marketing and Chair, General Education Committee, Utah Valley University

2:30 - 3:30        Roundtable Discussions

Creating Purposeful Educational Pathways

K-16 Alignment
How can we better align K-12 standards and college readiness standards to ensure higher levels of student achievement of essential outcomes?

New Curricula/New Teaching Methods
What new curricular and pedagogical models are working to raise student achievement levels in K-12 and higher education?

Getting the Message Out to Students and Their Parents
How can we communicate the importance of these outcomes and standards to high school and college students, and their parents?

New Approaches to Assessment of Learning
What new approaches to assessment will help us know if we are succeeding in providing these outcomes?

Teaching for Ethical and Informed Citizenship
How can we better prepare students to be responsible citizens capable of informed debate and civic engagement?

3:30-4:00        Concluding Remarks

Where Do We Go From Here?
William Sederburg, Commissioner of Higher Education, Utah System of Higher Education
Larry Shumway, Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction

About the Hosts

The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education.  AAC&U represents the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities—large and small, public and private, two-year and four-year. AAC&U comprises 1,200 accredited colleges and universities that collectively educate more than five million students every year. Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) is an initiative of AAC&U that champions the value of a liberal education—for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality. The initiative focuses campus practice on helping all students achieve a set of essential learning outcomes for all students, whatever their chosen field of study.

The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest statewide business association and Utah’s business leader. With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber has been standing as the voice of business, supporting its members’ success and championing community prosperity for over 100 years. The Chamber represents 5,300 businesses statewide and one in every three jobs in the Utah economy. Chamber strategic partners include the Downtown Alliance and World Trade Center Utah.

The Utah System of Higher Education consists of nine public colleges and universities governed by the Utah State Board of Regents, assisted by institutional Boards of Trustees. The system includes two major research/teaching universities, three metropolitan/regional universities, one state college, and three community colleges. The regents’ three strategic goals for Utah higher education are participation, completion, and economic development.