AAC&U Annual Meeting
January 25-28, 2012
Washington, DC / Grand Hyatt Hotel

SHARED FUTURES / DIFFICULT CHOICES
Reclaiming a Democratic Vision for College Learning,
Global Engagement, and Success

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Recognizing the importance of liberal arts and sciences education for success in a complex global society, the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) champions the cause of liberal arts education of superior quality in the public sector. COPLAC institutions provide students of high ability and from all backgrounds access to an outstanding liberal arts education.

AAC&U is pleased to welcome COPLAC members to the 2012 Annual Meeting.  The following session, sponsored by COPLAC, is open to everyone.

Expanding Undergraduate Research Opportunities at the Consortium Level:
Opportunities and Challenges in the Public Liberal Arts Sector
Since 2009 the 26-member institutions of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges have worked intentionally to create new opportunities for students to publish and present their scholarly and creative work. So far the consortium has developed a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary electronic journal of undergraduate research and a series of regional undergraduate research conferences.  Currently, COPLAC received support from the Teagle Foundation to design a project to test the viability of distanced-mentored undergraduate research, allowing students in the consortium to work under the direction of a faculty member at another COPLAC institution using computer mediated technology.  This distance model has the potential to dramatically increase the range of disciplinary expertise available to students. This session will discuss the potential for expanding democratic access to a recognized “high-impact” practice at the consortium level through publication, presentation, and distance mentoring.
Bill Spellman, Director, Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges; Steven Greenlaw, Professor of Economics, Mary Washington University; Carol Long, Provost, State University of New York at Geneseo