Call for Chapters on General Education in Higher Education

Objectives and Topics

Approximately 3,400 colleges and universities in the United States currently require their students to participate in some form of general education, and general education continues to have an increasing presence throughout global higher education as well. Though general education prepares students for myriad aspects of life beyond college, employers specifically are placing increasing emphasis on the learning outcomes produced by effective general education programs. As a result, higher education institutions are refining and reforming general education to meet the postgraduation needs of their students; however, changes to general education are indeed changes to the institution itself and require broad institutional engagement as well as committed leaders at all levels who possess keen political acumen and inventive ideas.

This edited book seeks to collect campus narratives from a wide array of institutional types and topic domains to facilitate, guide, and support those seeking to improve general education and align it with the evolving needs of their students. Authors will be asked to produce a chapter that is built upon a foundation within the relevant literature and chronicles the practices, strategies, and/or approaches that have been successfully implemented on their campus(es). Chapters will be between 15 to 25 pages in length, adhere to APA (7th edition) guidelines, and contain sufficient detail to enable readers to replicate the described practices within their own context.

Those interested in authoring a chapter for this book are first invited to submit a brief description of their chapter idea (200 words or less) by December 1, 2023. By February 16, 2024, accepted authors will be invited to submit a full proposal. Authors will then have one month to produce a full, three-page proposal. Full proposals will be due on March 18, 2024. Full details regarding the proposal process and broader timelines can be found below.

General education reform touches on a broad array of units, topics, and issues, and this book invites chapter proposals on the entirety of the landscape that is general education reform, administration, participation, and assessment. Invited topic areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

Current and future purpose of general education
Why reform general education
Key challenges (political, structural, etc.) encountered during general education reform and how can a campus overcome them
General education reform and accreditation, including challenges
Assessment approaches to general education, including course and campus-level outcomes
Authentic assessment
AAC&U’s VALUE Approach to Assessment
Innovative general education models
Signature work and capstone experiences
Integration and synthesis learning designs for general education
Incorporating high impact practices into general education
ePortfolios and general education
Comprehensive learner records (CLRs) and general education
Open educational resources and general education
Artificial Intelligence and its impact on general education
Narratives chronicling successful reform practice
How to facilitate general education reform efforts
Successful general education committee structures and strategies
Course review practices and policies
Implementing curricular / co-curricular change
Course redesign strategies for general education
Engaging students and faculty in general education reform
Advancing equity and student success efforts in general education
Developing and applying general education policies
Teaching specific learning outcomes, such as critical thinking, written communication, etc., within discipline-specific general education courses
Pedagogy in general education courses, including large class and inclusive pedagogy
Faculty development supporting excellence in general education reform and practice
General education advising
Improving student perceptions of general education
Involving students in general education reform
Student affairs role in general education
Recommendations for general education directors and leaders
Other

Submission Process

Step One

Those interested in writing a chapter for this forthcoming book first submitted a brief description of their chapter idea (200 words or less) by December 1, 2023. By February 16, 2024, invited authors received a formal invitation to submit a full proposal.

Step Two

If invited to submit a full proposal, chapter proposals should be no more than three pages in length and will be due on March 18, 2024, and must provide the following information:

Proposed Chapter Title;
Author names, titles, and institutions;
Chapter abstract;
Outline of chapter content;
A narrative description of the content that will comprise the chapter;
Brief author bios; and
Two publication citations in APA format for each author. These can be from any publication or discipline.

A template will be provided to assist authors in crafting their proposals, and authors will be asked to save their completed template as a PDF file using the lead author’s last name (ex., watson.pdf) prior to submission.

Step Three

Accepted authors will receive an invitation to write a chapter for the book by April 8, 2024. This invitation may include feedback from the editors and information regarding an optional consulting conference call. Authors will have three months to complete their draft of their chapter. Accepted authors will be expected to adhere to the APA Publication Manual (7th edition) as their style guide. The full timeline for the submission and publication process can be found below.

December 1, 2023: Brief expression of interest due
February 16, 2024: By this date, selected authors will receive an invitation to submit a full proposal
March 18, 2024: Full proposals are due
April 30, 2024: Accepted authors will receive an invitation to write a chapter for the book along with feedback on their proposal
April 30 – June 14, 2024: Consulting conference calls with editors, as needed
July 31, 2024: Full chapter submission deadline
September 30, 2024: Results of peer reviews e-mailed to Author(s) with recommendations for revision
November 1, 2024: Final chapter submission deadline
Spring 2025: Publication is expected

Publication

This book will be co-published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Routledge in association with the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis.