Liberal Education and America's Promise
Oregon Advocacy and Campus Action
Oregon joined the LEAP initiative as a partner state in 2007. In collaboration with AAC&U, administrative and faculty leaders in Oregon are piloting a series of campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of liberal education for all college students. In concert with LEAP, educational leaders hope to advance a strategic dialogue on the future of higher education and the importance of liberal education in the state. A central focus is sharpening student learning outcomes, improving curricula, and strengthening outcomes assessment practices for the aims of liberal education and the majors.
In October 2007, the Provosts’ Council of the Oregon University System unanimously agreed to become a “LEAP State.” In doing so, they pledged to “do our best for Oregon postsecondary education as well as the success of national efforts to better define, educate, and assess the learning students need in this new century.” You can read the full letter from the Provosts’ Council here (pdf).
The Oregon University System is also a partner in AAC&U’s new project, Give Students a Compass: A Multi-State Partnership for College Learning, General Education, and Underserved Student Success. Funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Compass Project is a multi-state collaborative effort to re-map educational aims, educational practices and assessment strategies for general education in public higher education—two-year and four-year—within a set of participating state systems. Within the broad goals of the project, there will be a strong and sustained focus on the educational needs of students who, historically, have been underserved in higher education: first generation students, ethnic and racial minorities, and those from low-income families.
Recent and Upcoming Events
On May 16, 2008, AAC&U hosted a regional meeting on the campus of the University of Oregon (in partnership with the Oregon University System) on the “Role of the Departments in Advancing and Assessing Liberal Education Outcomes.” Representatives from sixteen Oregon institutions (public and private) gathered to talk about current practices in student learning and assessment and strategies for strengthening assessment practices in departments and in the major.
Institutions in the Oregon System
Additional LEAP Campus Action Network Institutions in Oregon
Resources and Activities to Promote Liberal Education in Oregon
The new Interinstitutional Learning Outcomes and Assessment Task Force (appointed by the Provosts’ Council and Vice Chancellor) has been working for nearly a year to understand current learning outcomes and approaches to outcomes assessment across the OUS universities, to promote capacity building and best practices, and to enhance alliances with community colleges and K-12 in this work. Members represent the seven universities, OUS and the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. A progress report (pdf) was provided to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education in early spring 2008.
The Oregon University System sent a team of nine faculty, administrators and staff (representing all public campuses and the Interinstitutional Faculty) to the AAC&U General Education Institute in Minneapolis May 2008. Its report is helping to inform the work of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Task Force and Provosts, as well as the campuses.
Press Releases and Coverage
- Vanguard, the student newspaper of Portland State University, published an article (July 30, 2008) announcing the Oregon University System's participation in the Compass Project.
For more information about the Oregon University System LEAP program, please contact Elisabeth Zinser, AAC&U Senior Fellow and Special Assistant to the Chancellor, Oregon University System, elisabeth_zinser@ous.edu or Susan Albertine, Senior Director for LEAP State Initiatives, albertine@aacu.org.
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