February 3. 2016
Winter storm Jonas didn't prevent
colleagues from private and public institutions from throughout the country in
gathering in Washington, D.C. in January for the annual meeting of the
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). I
participated in the Presidents' Agenda Day while Dr. Sally Shedd, Associate Dean of the College, and Debbie Hicks, Associate
Dean for Academic Support, attended the main sessions of the meeting.
AAC&U is the leading national
association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of
undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the
advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic
specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more
than 1,300 member institutions—including accredited public and private
colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive
universities of every type and size.
The meeting focused on higher education’s most pressing educational challenges—those centered on the intersections of equity and quality with topics such as:
*How can higher education provide equitable access to high-quality liberal education to all students?
*How do we as a community advance equity-minded practices that provide a liberating educational experience for New Majority students who have been previously underserved and less engaged with high-impact practices and clear learning pathways?
*How do we ensure that all students are prepared for work and life in a turbulent and globally connected environment?
*What is higher education’s role in reversing the deepening divides and disparities in our society?
The meeting also highlighted innovative ways to provide students with clear guided pathways (dual credit, advanced scholars, accelerated study, on line) and meaningful learning opportunities to prepare them to tackle complex global problems in the workplace and society.
I’m including a link to one of the more interesting media accounts from the meeting:
The President's and Foundation Leaders agenda included discussions on:
*Acting with a sense of urgency to provide equitable access to quality education for all students
*Developing guided pathways to support students educationally and socio-culturally from first to final year and across transfers
*Implementing evidence-based educational practices that support student success at all levels
*Preparing students with a sound liberal education to address the workplace and global challenges identified by employers
*Integrating global learning and civic engagement into the general education curriculum in a meaningful way to prepare students to address unscripted questions prior to entering the globalized workforce
*Scaling practices “that work” to increase student persistence and achievement in STEM fields
*Building effective integrative and interdisciplinary curricular pathways for the humanities and social sciences
*Using digital and connected learning in meaningful ways to ensure inclusive excellence and expand student participation in high impact educational practices
*Creating successful institutional models where students from all backgrounds are finding academic and professional success
*Building educationally generative alliances with employers and policy leaders.
We also had the opportunity to recognize and thank Dr. Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities since 1998. She will be retiring in June and will be replaced by Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, president of Mount Holyoke since 2010.
