Rising to the LEAP Challenge provides a series of case studies that reflect the "real-world" application of students' cumulative learning through signature work projects, as put forth in AAC&U's LEAP Challenge. Such projects focus on complex questions that are meaningful to individual students and to society; require students to integrate, apply, demonstrate, reflect on, and communicate their cumulative learning; and require input from multiple disciplines and perspectives. Colleges and universities can best prepare students to accomplish signature work through guided-pathway curricula and cocurricular experiences in which students can develop and connect their knowledge and skills across broad and specialized study, over time. The thirteen case studies included in Rising to the LEAP Challenge demonstrate the variety of forms signature work can take, as well as the variety of institutional contexts and curricular pathways that can effectively support it. The...

The newest release from Bringing Theory to Practice, Well-Being and Higher Education explores the multiple connections of well-being to higher education—and why those connections matter for the individual lives of students and those who teach; for the institution; and for whether or not the unique promise of higher education to a democratic society can be advanced . . . and realized.

The volume provides 35 accessible essays including but not limited to the following topics: a conceptual analysis of well-being; its significance for institutional policies, structures, and priorities; its practiced connections to higher education’s unique role in a democracy; campus violence; educational opportunities for non-traditional students; curricula and pedagogical practices in both the sciences and humanities; the connection between well-being and meaningful work; instituting campus well-being through lessons in the medical field; and more....

Preparing Critical Faculty for the Future describes actions that every type of higher education institution can take to recognize and support inclusive excellence among faculty and build the capacity of women faculty of color to advance in their careers and contribute to higher education reform efforts. The report turns a spotlight on the work of HBCUs as leaders in the education and graduation of STEM students, focusing in particular on the underexplored role of STEM women faculty of color, both in supporting student success in STEM fields and, over time, in driving campus changes that can make any college more effective in educating all students.

The national conversation asking "Are students college-ready?" concentrates on numerous factors that are beyond higher education's control. Becoming a Student-Ready College flips the college readiness conversation to provide a new perspective on creating institutional value and facilitating student success. Instead of focusing on student preparedness for college (or lack thereof), this book asks the more pragmatic question of what are colleges and universities doing to prepare for the students who are entering their institutions? What must change in an institution's policies, practices, and culture in order to be student-ready?

Clear and concise, this book is packed with insightful discussion and practical strategies for achieving your ambitious student success goals. These ideas for redesigning practices and policies provide more than food for thought—they offer a real-world framework for real institutional change.