liberal education and america’s promise: changing the conversation about student success and...
TRANSCRIPT
Liberal Education and America’s Promise: Changing the Conversation
about Student Success and Institutional Accountability
SHEEO—Denver, COAugust 2009
What is LEAP?
(LEAP) is an initiative that champions the value of a liberal education and focuses campus practice on fostering essential learning outcomes for all students. LEAP seeks to engage the public with core questions about what really matters in college, to give students a compass to guide their learning, and to make a set of essential learning outcomes the preferred framework for educational excellence and accountability, assessment of learning, and new alignments between school and college.
LEAP Goals
Change national and state conversations about higher education—focus on learning students need to contribute to economic success and civic vitality
Focus campus change efforts on broad learning outcomes important for all students and teaching practices that lead to outcomes
Build capacity to speak more clearly about learning outcomes to the public
Deepen public understanding of what really matters in college—a new vision for 21st century learning
www.aacu.org
Association of American Colleges and Universities
Narrow Learning is Not Enough—The Essential Learning Outcomes
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
Focused by engagement with enduring and contemporary big questions
Intellectual and Practical SkillsPracticed extensively across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more
challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance
Personal and Social ResponsibilityAnchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges
Integrative and Applied LearningDemonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems
Emerging Consensus on Essential Outcomes
EducatorsAccreditorsCivic and Philanthropic LeadersBusiness Leaders
Note—students and their parents don’t know about this consensus—we need to communicate this clearly to them.
Key Capabilities Open the Doorto Career Success
“Irrespective of college major or institutional selectivity, what matters to career success is students’ development of a broad set of cross-cutting capacities…”
Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown University,
Center on Education and the Workforce7
The Salary Premium for Essential Learning Outcomes
From a federal database analyzing qualifications for 1,100 different jobs, there is consistent evidence that the highest salaries apply to positions that call for intensive use of liberal education capabilities, including (random order):
Writing Inductive and Deductive ReasoningJudgment and Decision MakingProblem SolvingSocial/Interpersonal SkillsMathematicsOriginality
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce8
How Should Colleges How Should Colleges Prepare Students To Succeed In Prepare Students To Succeed In
Today’s Global Economy?Today’s Global Economy?
Key findings from survey among 305 business leaders and 510 recent college graduates conducted
November 2 – December 5, 2006for
The Association of American Colleges and UniversitiesAA SS SS OO TT EE SSCC II AA
Employers’ Views:Percentage of Employers Who Want
Colleges to “Place more Emphasis” on Essential Learning Outcomes
• Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World– Science and Technology 82%– Global Issues 72%– The role of the US in the world 60%– Cultural values and traditions (U.S./global) 53%
• Intellectual and Practical Skills– Teamwork skills in diverse groups 76%– Critical thinking and analytic reasoning 73%– Written and oral communication 73%– Information literacy 70%– Creativity and innovation 70%– Complex problem solving 64%– Quantitative reasoning 60%
Employers’ Views:Percentage of Employers Who Want Colleges to “Place more Emphasis”
on Essential Learning Outcomes
• Personal and Social Responsibility– Intercultural competence (teamwork in diverse groups) 76%
– Intercultural knowledge 72%
– Ethics and values 56%
– Cultural values and traditions (U.S./global) 53%
• Integrative and Applied Learning– Applied knowledge in real-world settings 73%
Note: These findings are taken from a survey of employers commissioned by AAC&U and conducted by Peter D. Hart Associates in November and December 2006. For a full report on the survey and its complete findings, see www.aacu.org/leap
How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning?
Key findings from survey among 305 business leaders and 510 recent college graduates conducted
November 8 – December 12, 2007 for
The Association of American Colleges and Universities
Employers Evaluate College Graduates’ Preparedness
13
TeamworkEthical judgmentIntercultural skillsSocial responsibilityQuantitative reasoningOral communicationSelf-knowledgeAdaptabilityCritical thinkingWritingSelf-directionGlobal knowledge
Meanrating*7.06.96.96.76.76.66.56.36.36.15.95.7
*ratings on 10-point scale: 10 = recent college graduates are extremely well prepared on each quality (How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning? AAC&U/Peter D. Hart, 2008)
Very well prepared(8-10 ratings)*39%38%38%35%32%30%28%24%22%26%23%18%
Not well prepared(1-5 ratings)* 17% 19% 19% 21% 23% 23% 26% 30% 31% 37% 42% 46%
LEAP WI
Launched in March 2005; Linked to Growth Agenda for WI
Shared Learning Goals (passed 2008)Statewide mtgs/campus-community
forums/faculty retreats; WingspreadStatewide student essay contestSyllabus projectMedia Outreach—op-eds, radio programs
LEAP OR
Launched in 2007Focus on learning outcomes, curricular change,
assessment, K-16 articulationProvost’s CouncilGive Students a CompassRegional MeetingsInterinstitutional Learning Outcome and
Assessment Task Force (2008 Progress Report)
