In 2008, Macquarie University instituted the Participation and Community Engagement (PACE) initiative. This initiative embeds units in the curriculum that involve learning through participation (LTP) that is mutually beneficial to the student, the University and the organisation or community in which student participation activities take place.…

Writing is complex, and assessment of writing is equally complex, particularly when considering the need to measure outcomes at the institutional level while providing meaningful data that informs curriculum reform and supports learning at the discipline-level. Using a multi-layered assessment that incorporates standardized measures of writing…

A number of universities in the United Kingdom (UK) have launched institution-wide initiatives recently to embed inquiry and research more firmly into the student experience. Among these, the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) led a five-year development program at The University of Sheffield (TUOS) between…

Inquiry-guided learning (IGL) has widespread appeal in higher education as a suite of teaching strategies that promotes learning through students' increasingly independent investigation of questions, problems, and issues using the methods of inquiry of the disciplines. Framed as especially appropriate for research universities, IGL has been…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

This article argues for and models an approach to writing program assessment that relies on study of the writing practices of program graduates as a way to inform revisions in curriculum and teaching practices. The article also examines how conducting such assessments can help nondisciplinary publics understand the nature of composition …

hapTEL, an interdisciplinary project funded by two UK research councils from 2007 to 2011, involves a large interdisciplinary team (with undergraduate and post-graduate student participants) which has been developing and evaluating a virtual learning system within an HE healthcare education setting, working on three overlapping strands. Strand 1…

This chapter considers ways in which college or university instructional development centers can enhance their effectiveness in order to insure their "survival" in the face of budgetary restraints and administrative scrutiny. It is suggested that in order to do so, a center must become an integral part of the institution, must be productive, and…

Designed to inform and guide the work of the Professional Support Committee at Reading Area Community College (RACC) in Pennsylvania as it attempts to refine current instructional support procedures and create new growth initiatives, this evaluative report focuses on the activities and accomplishments of RACC during the third year of its…

Most institutions teach ethics in some academic disciplines, but such efforts are usually experiential and are typically designed to reach student leaders and judicial offenders. This packet summarizes six model ethics programs which were identified as being comprehensive--they reached all or most of their students. The sample programs here were…

Racism, the ways in which it is manifested in higher education, and the effectiveness of its manifestations are discussed. The following proposals suggesting how English departments can contribute to the diminution of racism were made: (1) that single academic standards be required for black and white students in freshman English classes, (2) that…

An ethnic heritage studies project of the Cleveland Public Schools is evaluated. The prupose of the project is to create a program for research and curriculum development in ethnicity which will serve as a model to educational institutions throughout the country. Program efforts focused on five major activity areas including curriculum…

Faculty development programs in Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota, which were funded by the Bush Foundation, are described. Activities include advising, curriculum development and course review, department reviews, grants, humanistic studies, internships and interdisciplinary teaching, journals, leave supplements, master teachers,…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project of faculty and curricular development using a variety of classic texts and involving 10 liberal arts colleges and one state university. Three-week summer seminars were held for faculty who studied self-selected classics introduced by master teachers, and discussed…