High Impact Practices and the LEAP Vision for Excellence

3. What is LEAP? A ten-year campus action and advocacy initiative to champion the value of a liberal education. The initiative focuses campus practice on fostering essential learning outcomes for all students, whatever their chosen field of study. LEAP shines a spotlight on how campuses are employing high impact practices and enacting principles of excellence that ensure success for all students. LEAP also provides national and state advocacy for a vision of excellence that provides all students with the advantages of an engaged liberal education.

4. Began with college educators�but also brought to the table K-12 educators, policy makers, business leaders, leaders in philanthropy. Report makes the case for a more engaged liberal education for all students�not just those in certain majors or kinds of institutions and not just for the most privileged. All students deserve the advantages that come with an engaged liberal education.Began with college educators�but also brought to the table K-12 educators, policy makers, business leaders, leaders in philanthropy. Report makes the case for a more engaged liberal education for all students�not just those in certain majors or kinds of institutions and not just for the most privileged. All students deserve the advantages that come with an engaged liberal education.

5. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter by George D. Kuh (AAC&U 2008)

6. The World is Demanding More� Global economy in which innovation is key to growth and prosperity Rapid scientific and technological innovations changing workplace and society Global interdependence and increasingly complex cross-cultural interactions Changes in the balance of economic and political power Fragility of democratic institutions and decline in civic engagement

7. Refer them to handout for more detail: You will see on this list some tried and true college outcomes and some newer outcomes calibrated for our changing times. Take the example of personal and social responsibility. College learning, of course, has always involved responsibility�in our earliest American colleges, in fact, moral development was the primary purpose of college. And issues of personal and social responsibility continue to be essential outcomes of college�but, in today�s world, explorations of these issues must be anchored in involvement with our diverse communities and real-world challenges we are facing as a society�and challenges our students will face in today�s workplace.Refer them to handout for more detail: You will see on this list some tried and true college outcomes and some newer outcomes calibrated for our changing times. Take the example of personal and social responsibility. College learning, of course, has always involved responsibility�in our earliest American colleges, in fact, moral development was the primary purpose of college. And issues of personal and social responsibility continue to be essential outcomes of college�but, in today�s world, explorations of these issues must be anchored in involvement with our diverse communities and real-world challenges we are facing as a society�and challenges our students will face in today�s workplace.

8. Essential Learning Outcomes Essential for: Professional success Personal development Responsible citizenship

9. Refer to handout Developed to answer the question: given these rising demands given the scope of outcomes we�re seeking given the students currently seeking college learning What are some markers of excellence in practice�institutional practice, classroom practice, assessment practice Focus on Principles 2, 3, 5 and 7 e.g.�Principle 2�Give students a compass We know students take a very peripatetic path to a college degree these days, placing higher demands on advising all throughout their schooling. This, too is a concern mentioned in your own Environmental Scan report.Refer to handout Developed to answer the question: given these rising demands given the scope of outcomes we�re seeking given the students currently seeking college learning What are some markers of excellence in practice�institutional practice, classroom practice, assessment practice Focus on Principles 2, 3, 5 and 7 e.g.�Principle 2�Give students a compass We know students take a very peripatetic path to a college degree these days, placing higher demands on advising all throughout their schooling. This, too is a concern mentioned in your own Environmental Scan report.

11. Why Are These Practices Effective?Encourage Deep Learning Time on task Substantive interaction with peers/faculty Encounter diversity Get frequent feedback Require reflection and integration Real-world application Source: National Survey of Student Engagement (2007). Experiences That Matter: Enhancing Student Learning and Success.

12. What is Deep Learning? Attend to underlying meaning as well as surface content Integrate and synthesize different ideas Discern patterns of evidence Apply knowledge in different situations View issues from multiple perspectives Source: Laird, Nelson, et al. �The Effects of Discipline on Deep Approaches to Student Learning and College Outcomes,� Research in Higher Education (49:6, September 2008).

14. The Good News: Compensatory Effect High-impact educational practices are correlated with higher retention rates, higher gpa, deep learning, self-reported gains for all students. Impact even greater for underserved students.

16. The Bad News�Who is More Likely to Participate? Undergraduate Research (for example)- Those who: attend more selective college attend private college Asian or White enrolled full-time college educated parents under 24 years old Source: National Survey of Student Engagement (2007). Experiences That Matter: Enhancing Student Learning and Success.

17. The Important Message Historically underrepresented students are least likely to participate in most high-impact practices, but actually benefit more than more privileged students.

18. Further Bad News�Not Enough Students of Any Background Get These Practices at all Learning communities�17% Undergraduate research�19% Service learning�36% first year; 46% seniors Senior experience�32% Sources: High-Impact Educational Practices (AAC&U, 2008) NSSE rather than CESSIE dataNSSE rather than CESSIE data

19. National Surveys of Employers on College Learning and Graduates� Work Readiness AAC&U commissioned Hart Research Associates (in 2006, 2007, and in late 2009) to interview employers (C-level suite executives and, in 2009 additional human resource professionals) whose companies report that hiring relatively large numbers of college graduates Findings are summarized in the following reports: How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today�s Global Economy? (AAC&U, 2007) How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning? Employers� Views on the Accountability Challenge (AAC&U, 2008) Raising the Bar: Employers� Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn (AAC&U, 2010) See: www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research

21. 2009 AAC&U Survey Methodology Survey among 302 executives at private sector and non-profit organizations that have 25 or more employees Each reports that 25% or more of their new hires hold an associate�s degree from a two-year college or a bachelor�s degree from a four-year college. Overall margin of error = +5.7 percentage points Source: Raising the Bar (AAC&U, 2010)

22. Employers� Expectations of Employees Have Increased

23. Employers perceive room for two-year and four-year colleges to improve.

24. 24 Balance of Broad Knowledge and Specific Skills Preferred

25. Employers assess the potential value of high-impact educational practices.

26. Employers assess the potential value of high-impact educational practices.

27. Employers� Top Priorities for Student Learning Outcomes in College

28. 28 Other Areas of Learning Needing Increased Emphasis

30. Assessments� Effectiveness In Ensuring College Graduates Have Skills/Knowledge

31. Employers Advise Colleges Where To Focus Resources To Assess Student Learning

32. What Employers Say �my company lives and dies on our ability to innovate and to create the new products and processes that give us an edge in this very competitive global economy. ESCO needs people who have both a command of certain specific skills and robust problem-solving and communication skills.� Steven Pratt, CEO, ESCO Corp. and Chair of the Oregon Business Council 32

33. What Employers Say �[Employers] generally are...frustrated with their inability to find �360 degree people� who have both the specific job/technical skills and the broader skills (communication and problem-solving skills, work ethic, and ability to work with others) necessary to promise greater success for both the individual and the employer.� From Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Report of Findings Based on Focus Groups Among Business Executives (AAC&U, 2006)

34. Debra Humphreys www.aacu.org/leap humphreys@aacu.org