Institute
2022 Institute on General Education and Assessment
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A Virtual Learning Experience
Application Period Closed
Please email Hannah Schneider ([email protected]) with any questions about the 2022 Institute.
What an invaluable experience the Institute was! We got to talk to other schools making the same journey in general education. We benefited from one-on-one sessions with experienced leaders and we got the chance to sit as a group and make real headway. We entered with vague ideas and emerged with an actual draft curriculum.
About the Institute
The Institute on General Education and Assessment (IGEA) provides campus teams with opportunities to refine and advance general education programs and their assessment. The Institute features an enhanced curriculum with greater interactivity built in between teams and faculty. With a deep and abiding commitment to ensuring that access to excellence in higher education is available to all students, the Institute maintains a laser-like focus on issues of quality and equity. The curriculum provides both “nuts-and-bolts” tools and pragmatic strategies while connecting to the latest research in curricular coherence and student success.
During the Institute, teams will design equity-minded approaches to integrating general education with the major. These plans will help provide answers to the question, “Why do I need to take this class?” by demonstrating the centrality of general education in connecting student learning with critical social issues that matter to students and society, intentionally aligning with learning outcomes identified as essential for student success in their own lives, their communities, and the workplace.
I had the opportunity to attend two Institutes on General Education and Assessment with two different teams from the same institution. Each time we returned with renewed focus and a clear plan to move our project forward. The ability to have concentrated time with my campus team to focus and learn was invaluable; and having access to world class experts to guide us and provide feedback enhanced our experience more than I could ever express.
Who Should Attend?
The Institute on General Education and Assessment is designed for any campus, system, or consortium engaged in redesigning general education for students. Attendees can be at any stage in the process of rethinking general education approaches and issues emerging from their respective needs and circumstances. Teams should include a diverse set of colleagues, including a senior academic officer and faculty and other educators working on general education committees or teaching general education courses. Team members can include student affairs professionals and assessment and curriculum specialists with active roles in advancing student learning on campus.
Talking with others in a similar situation allowed us to take solace that we are not alone and to learn what others are doing to address this daunting and comprehensive task. As team leader, I found that the connections made when reaching out to institute faculty to initiate appointments to be remarkable! Things emerged from that outreach that were really nice to experience. I think, if we had been in person, we might not have reached these points of connection.
The most useful part of the Institute was having the time to brainstorm with our team about complicated issues. Individual consultations with faculty were spot on with helping the team identify potential solutions to our most nagging problems.