New Paltz selected to attend national summer institute on general education reform

The State University of New York at New Paltz was selected this spring to attend the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Institute on General Education and Assessment at the University of Vermont from June 4-9. New Paltz is one of 36 colleges, universities and state systems from across the country sending teams to the 2010 summer institutes.

The New Paltz team will include: Patricia Sullivan (Communication and Media); Paul Kassel (Theatre Arts); Lynn Spangler (Chair of the General Education Board, Dean’s Office, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Communication and Media); Simin Mozayeni (Economics and Presiding Officer of the Faculty); and Don Christian (Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs). Team members will work together to learn about processes for general education revision, national models for general education, and assessment of student learning in general education programs.

“AAC&U’s 2010 summer institutes are designed to address in a variety of ways the central challenge facing higher education – ensuring that all students achieve the high quality liberal education they need and deserve,” said AAC&U president Carol Geary Schneider. “Each year, we are inspired by the exciting and innovative ways these institutions are tackling the challenge of improving liberal learning outcomes for all their students.”

For 20 years, AAC&U’s Institute on General Education and Assessment has provided hundreds of colleges and universities with the formative and collaborative space to advance general education reform and its assessment on their campus. Campus teams come to this institute to develop, refine and advance intentional curricula, engaging pedagogies, effective assessment and long-term sustainability of efforts.

“Next year, we will evaluate our general education program and consider ways to revise and re-direct it,” said Provost Don Christian, who has been named interim president for the coming year. “It has been seven years since the current general education program was implemented, and recent changes in SUNY central general education requirements provide more flexibility to re-structure this program. The time is right for careful and thorough review of this very important part of our educational offerings.”

All AAC&U institutes offer campus teams a time and place for sustained collaborative work on a project of importance to their campus along, with a curriculum focused on important trends, research and best practices, and a resident faculty of educational experts. For more information on AAC&U meetings and institutes, visit www.aacu.org.