Survey of Administrators on Learning Outcomes Assessment

A little over a year ago, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) came out with the results of a survey of college and university administrators on the subject of learning outcomes assessment.  This was a follow-up to the AAC&U’s 2009 survey on the same topic.  Among the more important findings of the most … Read more

Continuing Higher Education and Older Adults: A Growing Challenge and Golden Opportunity

“Educating older adults has been important to adult and continuing education for years, but the reality of a skyrocketing aging population is now upon us. This reality evokes a sense of urgency for adult and continuing educators in higher education to respond.”   There is a body of research that shows that higher education has … Read more

Catholic identity and the university

What is the intent of the core curriculum and mission? Are we as an institution trying to create community, retain current Catholics, evangelize, or inform the pedagogy of our instruction? Scholars and other Catholic institutions have written and spoken about the different choices for religious institutions in the face of a changing attitude towards religion … Read more

The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges

The Transfer Playbook, a product of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s teacher’s College, is a practical guide to designing and implementing practices that will “help community college and four-year college partners realize the promise of the transfer process. The playbook is based on the practices of six sets of community colleges and … Read more

Western Civilization: Part III (Some examples of other curricula and programs)

This is a three-part blog post; Part I covers the opponents, Part II the proponents, and Part III some examples of programs at peer institutions. Using a list of peer institutions and searching for other Core Curriculum programs, I discovered that many places have a one year interdisciplinary program that uses a liberal arts/humanitites approach. … Read more

Western Civilization: Part II (Proponents)

This is a three-part blog post; Part I covers the opponents, Part II the proponents, and Part III some examples of programs at peer institutions. Part II: Proponents There are many articles readily found about the benefits of a more defined curriculum to prepare students better for advanced coursework no matter what their declared major. … Read more