Association of American Colleges and Universities

AAC&U President Releases Statement on Common Core Standards
AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider released a statement calling the common core standards release by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers as an important first step, but far from what is really needed to face up to America’s achievement shortfalls. See full statement and press release.

Audio Podcasts of 2010 Annual Meeting and General Education Sessions Now Available
AAC&U is pleased to offer audio podcasts of selected sessions from our 2010 Annual Meeting: The Wit, The Will... and the Wallet, January 20-23, including recordings of the Opening Plenary, Project Kaleidoscope/STEM sessions, and sessions from the VALUE symposium on electronic portfolios, among others. Five podcasts are also available online from AAC&U's Network for Academic Renewal conference: General Education and Assessment: Maintaining Momentum, Achieving New Priorities. Included are recordings of the conference keynote address, Conceptualizing a 21st Century Renaissance for General Education presented by Robert Weisbuch, president of Drew University.

Liberal Education: Through the Looking Glass
March 09, 2010

With the release of the new Tim Burton movie based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, I was reminded of the wonderful lessons that book teaches, especially about the ongoing struggle to communicate clearly in a topsy-turvy world. As AAC&U continues to work in our LEAP initiative to “make the case for liberal education,” ... read more >

FACULTY ROLES IN HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—March 25-27, 2010. Register now!

FACING THE DIVIDES: Diversity, Learning, and Pathways to Inclusive Excellence in Houston, Texas - October 21-23, 2010.

CREATIVITY, INQUIRY, AND DISCOVERY: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN AND ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES in Durham, North Carolina - November 11-13, 2010. Call for proposals due April 8.

INSTITUTE ON GENERAL EDUCATION AND ASSESSMENT at the University of Vermont - June 4-9, 2010.

GREATER EXPECTATIONS INSTITUTE: Leadership to Make Excellence Inclusive at Vanderbilt University - June 15-19, 2010. Apply today!

ENGAGING DEPARTMENTS INSTITUTE at the University of Pennsylvania - July 7-11, 2010. The application deadline is Friday, March 19.

PKAL SUMMER FACULTY STEM LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE on the Baca campus of Colorado College - July 17-22, 2010.

The March issue of AAC&U News features a project to redesign large lecture classes at the University of North Texas; new data about college and career readiness; an opinion piece on interdisciplinary studies, and the latest news about AAC&U meetings, projects, and publications.

Developing a Moral Compass: What is the Campus Climate for Ethics and Academic Integrity?

Developing a Moral Compass focuses on whether and how well-educational environments foster academic integrity and promote ethical responsibilities to self and others. The report presents findings from a unique campus climate assessment tool—administered in 2007 to 24,000 students and 9,000 academic administrators, faculty, and student affairs professionals at twenty-three colleges and universities—regarding opportunities for developing competence in ethical and moral reasoning and cultivating personal and academic integrity.

Assessing Outcomes and Improving Achievement: Tips and Tools for Using Rubrics

This publication provides practical advice on the development and effective use of rubrics to evaluate college student achievement at various levels. Also included are the generic rubrics developed by faculty teams for fifteen liberal learning outcomes through AAC&U's Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) project. These VALUE rubrics can be readily adapted to reflect the missions, cultures, and practices of individual colleges and universities.