Association of American Colleges & Universities President speaks to Shepherd community

Author: ITP News Desk | Published: 02/05/2010 | 22 Views | Short URL: http://itpwv.com/local/n/6496

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV—Shepherd University hosted Dr. Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges & Universities on Wednesday, February 3, in the Erma Ora Byrd auditorium to a packed audience of students, faculty, and staff looking at changes in the school’s curriculum.

The AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. The association has more than 1,150 institutional members and is devoted to advancing and strengthening undergraduate curriculum and liberal education.

Dr. Richard Helldobler, vice president for academic affairs, said Wednesday afternoon that for many, the dialog to reform Shepherd’s curriculum has taken time, deep regression, and courage to begin thinking about the lives of students and their needs.

The dialog also posed the question of how the academic community can provide students with the skill set and confidence to transcend entry-level positions as well as career changes that will be sweeping in both number and scope, Helldobler said.

Schneider’s discussion, “Helping Students Connect: general education, liberal education, and intentional practice across the curriculum,” focused on fostering essential learning outcomes that would prove to be worthwhile for students after graduation.

The Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, which was launched under Dr. Schneider, is a 10-year public advocacy and campus action initiative to get students and the public on board with tapping into what really matters in a college education in the 21st century, Dr. Suzanne Shipley, president of Shepherd University, said Wednesday.

“The LEAP initiative builds on the major effort of the “Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College,” a multi-year initiative to articulate the needs for a 21st century liberal arts education and identify comprehensive, innovative models that improve learning for all undergraduate students,” Shipley said.

A comprehensive review of the curriculum helps to take a look at general studies across the curriculum and what it really means for students to connect and integrate all the different aspects of their higher learning at Shepherd, leaving the institution readily prepared for the work force and civic engagement, Schneider said.

Schneider addressed breadth and depth practices of integrating the 20th century with emerging practices that focus on essential learning outcomes.

Part of the objective in changing designs for learning in the 21st century is looking at what students need to know, which includes rethinking educational purposes to better prepare students for global interdependence, innovation in the work place, and a diverse democracy.

Schneider said that by helping students be better prepared, students will understand what they’ve learned well enough to do something with it, which will help them be grounded and care about the way they use knowledge.