Achieving learning outcomes during a semester- or quarter-long course is no guarantee that students "got it"--that students have learned how to learn or that they have successfully bridged the gap between theory and practice. Higher education has developed diverse pedagogical approaches to expand the notion of teaching. Over the past…

Faculty development programs in higher education frequently focus on educational practices advancing diversity, inclusion, and student success. They also usually address how to handle tense class disruptions arising over controversial topics. What faculty development programs usually fail to tackle, however, are fundamental questions of belonging.…

At their best, common reading (CR) programs are a high-impact educational practice. By bringing the campus community together to read and discuss the same book as a common intellectual experience, CR programs create the sense of belonging and thirst for learning that position students for success at their new university. Discussions and…

Farah Pandith is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. She served as the first-ever special representative to Muslim communities for the US Department of State. She is the author of "How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the…

You can acquire knowledge, understanding, and habits of mind by studying James Joyce that are invaluable in a variety of ways and that many employers would like to see in their employees. What multinational organization, for instance, does not want professionals who, blending accepted wisdom with forward thinking, can critically assess business…

The blows of the financial recession of 2007-09 and now the COVID-19 crisis have emboldened populist political leaders across the globe. Their platforms typically involve a mixture of nativist or nationalist tropes, often infused with hostility to refugees and immigrants and built upon foundations of racism and intolerance. The internet provides…

At a time when language programs around the United States are in crisis--the University of Rhode Island's Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures is realigning its curriculum to emphasize proficiency and intercultural competence within a strong liberal arts context. The result of the department's recent initiatives? More than…

Like most professors, the author has spent years mastering the content and skills of his discipline; as a veteran instructor, he has also spent years contemplating how best to share what he's learned with his students. He has come to realize that, in working to expand what his students know and can do, he has also--for better or worse--affected…

For the past twenty-five years, around 70 percent of college students have been holding down a job while enrolled. But high tuition fees and other expenses have made it impossible for today's students to work their way through college to earn enough to avoid debt from paying for their education. Students from low-income families suffer the most:…

In the midst of the worst public health crisis to hit the nation in a hundred years, and in a moment of racial reckoning, widespread economic uncertainty, and geopolitical instability, it may seem strange to be thinking about a Second American Century. But many times in the past, when faced with great threats and challenges, the nation has created…

G. Rumay Alexander is a leader working to transform nursing education and address systemic racism within the nursing profession and the health care system more broadly. At the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Alexander serves as clinical professor at the School of Nursing and assistant dean for relational excellence at the Adams…

As the severity of the global health crisis presented by the emergence of COVID-19 became apparent, colleges and universities across the United States began bringing students home from study abroad programs and canceling international travel for faculty and students. Wishing to honor its commitment to global learning for all, the State University…

In an era where educational "success" has been too connected to standardized tests and the development of narrowly focused skills in preparation for particular jobs, college graduates need to be prepared to respond creatively to the complexities of the modern world. America's colleges and universities must be redesigned to enhance…

It is notoriously difficult to change a core curriculum. As credit hours and course requirements are revised, politics quickly come into play and turf battles arise to create obstacles. The author writes that, in her experience, there are two default approaches to curricular change. The first is simply to "tweak" an existing…

Founded in the American colonies and later on the frontier, the nation's liberal arts colleges were charged with providing a broad-based education that would prepare students for a wide variety of professions. These early institutions looked to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who, keenly aware that a successful republic required creative free…