2011 AAC&U Engaging Departments Institute
July 13-17, 2011
The Hotel at Turf Valley
Ellicott City, Maryland
Institute Goals
The Engaging Departments Institute is designed for institutions interested in advancing effective leadership to develop and assess robust departmental, programmatic, and institutional-level learning outcomes for all students. Its format and curriculum is built on the understanding that faculty members typically identify most strongly with their discipline, department, or program, and that students typically engage in their most complex and sophisticated academic work in their majors. The Institute helps campus teams move beyond academic “homes” toward a more intentional collaboration within and among departments. The Institute's goals are:
- leadership development for faculty and administrators to help advance engaged, intentional, and integrative learning within and across departments;
- essential learning in the major that builds on general education and includes outcomes such as civic engagement, ethical reasoning, academic integrity, global citizenship, and integrative learning;
- assessments for achieving and improving essential learning outcomes, concentrating on authentic assessments based on the work faculty and students are already doing in the classroom; and
- improving educational effectiveness and student achievement, by identifying barriers to student achievement and aligning new practices with departmental and institutional goals.
Campuses applying to attend the Institute should have a generally shared acceptance across departments of the need to improve student learning through engagement and assessment. Building on the principles of excellence described in AAC&U’s 2007 report, College Learning for the New Global Century, this Institute will focus on building and sustaining departmental practice and culture to foster and improve student learning.
Campus Action Plans
Campus teams will leave the Institute having developed action plans for achieving their desired goals. Expert faculty and other campus teams will provide initial feedback on the action plans at the end of the Institute.
We have found that having teams prepare a brief written action plan—detailing who will engage in specific actions to advance the Institute goals; what will be addressed first, second, and third; and when each step will be undertaken—significantly helps them to make progress in addressing the issues that initially prompted the campus to attend the Institute.
Questions may be directed to Kathryn Angeles at angeles@aacu.org or 202-884-7413.
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