A ‘best practices’ approach to
development of the course entitled
The
Prepared by members of the ‘CU101 Task
Force’, July, 2006
INTRODUCTION
This document aims to serve all readers interested in the development of the small-scale pilot course ‘The Contemporary Research University and Student Citizens’ to be offered in the Fall of 2006 to approximately 60 students living in Farrand and Baker residence halls. If successful, the longer term plans are to phase in, over a period of years, a course which will serve all incoming first year students. This document provides a brief history of the idea and then provides the intellectual and research base upon which this unique course strategy rests. It also aims to give the reader a sense of both broad over-view goals and highly specific concrete, measurable student outcomes. The term ‘best practices’ is employed here to mean the course goals, topics, readings, pedagogical strategies and assessment plans rely on the best available thinking about current state of knowledge and understanding for how higher education should address the over-arching purpose of this course. That over-arching purpose can be described in several ways: e.g., (1) to enhance and strengthen the intercultural maturity of UCB students, (2) to improve the campus climate for students by making it more inviting, more welcoming and more supportive of all students who enroll, (3) to help students develop an integrated, exemplary level, of ethical, honorable, student citizenship, or (4) to help all students to be more successful in their academic and social roles within this research university.
A Brief History of the ‘CU101’ Idea
As a concept, this course has been discussed for nearly a decade at UCB with support for the idea coming from students, faculty, and professional staff. These discussions nearly always shared several common themes. Supporters of the idea pointed out that students who could not successfully negotiate the social, student-life demands at UCB could never successfully negotiate the academic demands. Personal success in every day student life forms an essential foundation from which students can essay their primary academic goals. If, for example, they feel so unwelcome, unwanted, and isolated from their peers and choose to leave UCB, their academic aspirations leave with them. A second common theme in these discussions centered on the perceived need for UCB to be more proactive, more intentionally helpful in promoting students to understanding of UCB’s expectations, requirements, and general functioning in and out of the classroom. Past practices of simply assuming students know why they are here, how to be successful here, and have the skills to accomplish all of the tasks inherent in being a successful student have not been sufficient for many students. Lastly, as the broader societal contexts have changed, the university needs to also change in effective response. In particular, students in the 21st century will routinely be faced with contexts far more extensive, far more diverse, and far more variant from their own individual experiences than many previous generations. Coming to UCB often abruptly places students in an environment enormously more diverse along religious, cultural, racial, ethnic, political, and ethical dimensions than they have ever experienced or even imagined. Supporters of the ‘CU101’ concept argue the university has a serious responsibility to attend to these student needs.
Several highly-publicized, very regrettable incidents during the last few years have occurred which have provided specific impetus to the idea UCB needs to respond to this perceived responsibility. These incidents included student deaths, substance abuse, sexual assault, athletic recruiting, hate-crimes of racism, and intolerant behavior regarding differing views of religion, sexual orientation and politics.
Partially in response to these recent, high-visibility incidents, partly in response to external calls for action (e.g. from the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity, 2006; from the campus Chancellor’s Committee on Women, 2006) but mostly in response to the long-standing needs mentioned above, the Provost created and charged a task force to provide recommendations for a program aimed at the over-arching purpose articulated in the introduction above. That task force began meeting regularly in the Fall of 2006 and continues now.
Following wide-ranging discussion of topics, strategies, methodologies, etc., the task force has now generated a syllabus, a reading list, and set of pedagogical strategies to be employed in the phase I, pilot trial in the Fall of 2006. An assessment plan for this pilot which addresses perceptions of students and teaching faculty as well as measurable outcomes from the experience will be developed. The syllabus reflects a unique, creative application of the relevant literature about ‘best practices’ for the key topics mentioned above and detailed below. The strategy employs extensive in-class and out-of-class experiences developed by the task force faculty experts in these areas. The course has received temporary approval from the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee as an A&S, 2-credit elective for the academic year 2006-2007. The pilot course will be made available to students enrolled in either Farrand or Baker residential academic programs.
Best Practices From the Relevant Literature
For the last three decades, many scholars have pointed out that the changing nature of American universities included more diverse student bodies which necessitated explicit attention to that change and its implications. For an early example see Chickering et al., 1981, The Modern American College: Responding to the New Realities of Divers Students and a Changing Society. A more recent over-view of this literature, along with specific best practices recommendations, can be found in King and Magolda (2005). Reinforcing the early recommendations, several authors have stated that the need for this type of education is urgent, locally, nationally and internationally (e.g. Gurin, et al., 2002; Fortune 500 legal brief, 2000). Gurin et al. stated that institutions of higher education face an urgent need to better prepare students who are inter-culturally competent with skills in ethical decision making which entails multiple cultural perspectives. The Fortune 500 brief indicates those industry leaders state that students who have had an effective education including understanding intercultural diversity are typically better prepared to understand, collaborate with and learn from people with different cultural backgrounds. They also demonstrate more creativity, better teamwork skills, and tend to be more effective in their jobs which relate to a diverse array of customers. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (2002) addressed many of these same issues in the larger context of revolutionizing undergraduate education. In contrast, universities have not adequately responded to this documented need, according to Levine and Cureton (1998). In fact, they argue that ‘multiculturalism remains the most unresolved issue on campus today.’ These national perspectives coincide well with the views of many UCB faculty, staff, and students; the task force concluded that the case for an effective university response stands as very compelling.
There exists a significant body of research work which, in general, argues that these ‘best practice’ efforts succeed to a measurable extent on some important dimensions.
So
what responses should be forthcoming?
How can we help students to gain an effective, working knowledge of how
they can best fit into this vast university?
How best can we help them learn about ideals, values, and
responsibilities of UCB individuals? How
can we assist them in developing the intellectual skills to analyze
communities, groups, and organizations so that they can determine rules of
group membership, recognize and effectively deal with differing interaction
styles, learn specialized behavior or culture codes and expectations,
construction and de-construction of barriers and challenges which may be subtle
or indirect? Can we help them recognize
the discrepancies which often arise between the behavior of individuals or
groups and the beliefs they espouse? To
the extent that we can enhance our students’ knowledge and skills in these areas,
we advance their education and strengthen the educational quality of this
university. This quote in the New York Times
captures much of the intellectual and educational premises of our effort:
"The whole discussion used to be framed around numbers," said Prof.
Jeffrey Milem of the
SPECIFIC COURSE CONTENT
Topics: The first universities; the development of American universities, before and after World War II. {class sessions 1– 4}
The goal: Explicitly articulate and critically examine the broad, defining (and often forgotten) mission of graduating students who are well-prepared to live active, moral lives with a strong sense of civic, democratic responsibility. We want to encourage the education of students who can truly engage in development of their democratic and civic values that contribute to society. We want them to be far more than simply passive consumers. This section aims to provide a deep historical context which will be directly and explicitly connected to the students’ experience as part of this university currently. This section will gently begin the consistent theme of the research university as the primary institution charged with the responsibilities of creating and disseminating knowledge. The students then tackle the invention and implementation of the concept of a public university in the service of the principle of a broadly available higher education with the goal of an educated population. This section of the course focuses on the best practice of learning how to view one’s place in a holistic, large framework while simultaneously appreciating the specificity of each student’s ‘here and now’ circumstances.
Measurable Outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate two or more major roles of the modern research university as an institution embedded within a democratic society and two or more major ways that universities have changed over historical time.
Session I:
Introduction to Course, Syllabus, Course Expectations
Reading Assignment for next
class meeting: Excerpt from Bugliarello’s The
New Trivium and Quadrivium
Session II:
Lecture: The first universities
Defining Criteria of a university
Trivium, Quadrivium, Paedioe
Traditions and values of early universities
Discussion:
Reading Assignment for next
class meeting: S. J. Gould’s excerpts from The
Hedgehog, The Fox, The Magister’s Pox
The purpose of this class is for students to gain knowledge and appreciation for the rationale of the development of universities – what is their purpose and role in society?
Session III:
Lecture: Development of American Universities
Formation of pre-colonial American universities
Early
Emergence of the state universities
Discussion: The
Hedgehog, The Fox, and the Magister’s
Pox
Reading Assignment for next class meeting: Hauser’s Athens and Berlin
The purpose of this class is to highlight the evolution of two different purposes and roles of Universities and help students to learn how to apply this knowledge to the early American Universities
Students will gain appreciation for the value of diversity in the emergence of state universities by exploring who used to be allowed the privilege of gaining a higher education versus who can do so now – what are the roles of class status, wealth, gender, political allegiances to the privilege and right of gaining a university education? How does this history relate to the emergence of American values of democracy, equity, and class structure? Who is included, who is excluded and why?
Session IV:
Lecture: American Universities after World War II
“Golden Age” of the
Influences of:
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944
Federal Program for funding
(Academic) Research
Multiculturalism
Discussion:
This class focuses on the transition of the
Topics: The purposes of a research university. {class sessions 5 – 6}
This section leads students into discussion and appreciation
of consequences of an uneducated society contrasted with the opportunities and
responsibilities of an educated citizenry.
The aim here is to begin the encouragement of students’ self-reflection
and self-awareness of their personal identities and identification of some of
their roles as university students and members of multiple communities with
special emphasis on their membership in the larger community that is CU-Boulder. Students are guided to greater development
of an effective, working knowledge through a sound understanding of self and
one’s multiple identities in the university social context. This understanding of self provides a
necessary foundation for the development of a sound understanding of
inter-group maturity, especially among groups that differ from each other in
important ways. This section will be
approached partly from the perspective of the Perry scale work, as further
developed by
Measurable Outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate three different elements of their personal identities and roles as a university student and at least two ways the research university can and should aid their development as educated, ethical, active citizens.
Session V:
Inventing the University – What are Universities For?
Reading Assignment for next class: Batholomae’s Inventing the University and Menand’s What Are Universities For?
Discussion: Inventing the University and What Are University’s For?
Reading Assignment for next class: Colby, A., Ehrlich, T.,
& Beaumont, E. Educating citizens:
preparing
This assignment focuses on moral and civic responsibility as specifically related to the education of citizens. What roles can and should the University play in the evolution of the concept ‘citizenship’ and the development of citizens?
Session VI:
Discussion: Educating Citizens: . . and The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society
Reading Assignment: Tatum’s The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?
This class discussion provides students with the knowledge and tools needed to begin to investigate how identity is formed with special emphasis on discussing the tools required for them to better understand their own identity. What are the life experiences-- educational, social, interpersonal, historical, cultural, religious, political-- that have contributed most significantly to the formation of their ideals, their values, their needs, their expectations, their ability to assume responsibility and how they deal with the privileges and rights that are bestowed upon them.
Topics: Deeper, more focused reflection of
individually-held values. {class sessions 7- 9}
This section continues the emphasis on enhancing students’
understanding and appreciation for who they are as individuals with respect to
values, ambitions, purposes in attending CU-Boulder, and for who they are in
relational contexts with other students, staff, faculty and members of the
larger
Measurable Outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate a well-founded understanding of how they came to acquire and hold two opinions or outlooks, shared with their immediate family. They should be able to articulate how the influence of attending UCB might strengthen, mitigate or cause them to abandon one or more of their current inter-cultural perspectives. Students should also be able to articulate two or more ‘identities’ or roles they assume as a member of UCB.
Session VII:
Exercise: Fishbowl Activity: Am I My Parents’ Values?
Individual input to class on specific topics: Why am I in college? Why am I at CU? Do I know what I want from my education, from my life? How did I get to these goals? How well do I know and understand my relationships with individuals and with groups? These activities aim to get students to get to know how they developed or assumed their important values.
Option 1: 3 people are in the fishbowl – others observe
The ones who want to comment become a second fishbowl and have conversation with the first fishbowl about what they witnessed.
Option 2: one group is in the fishbowl – others observe
Fishbowl conversation ends.
The observers can comment on what they observed. Fishbowl participants listen but don’t comment.
This class session provides students with an opportunity to learn about the similarities and differences among them, as a class and mini-society of 15 individuals.
Session VIII:
Discussion: Rites of Passage and
The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?
Separation from parents, peers, neighborhoods, communities, Disequilibrium/Liminalities, and Aggregation. Who Am I in this situation as a student at CU?
Reading Assignment for next class: The Dilemma of Difference, Ainley et al.
Session IX:
Dilemma of Difference
Integrating Rites of Passage Discussion – Focus on communities from which we are separating and the differences that we are bringing to the classroom and university.
Reading Assignment for next class: I Am Charlotte Simmons, T. Wolf or Moo, Jane Smiley.
How do members of communities deal with differences and how do they deal with similarities? What are effective and ineffective strategies?
Topics: The dilemma of difference, discomforting circumstances {class sessions 10–11}
This section of the course focuses more explicitly on the nature of the university community, identifying some of the stresses and strains which derive from such a broad, diverse and new environment. Here many of the expectations that the university community has for incoming students will be articulated, discussed and evaluated. There will be a strong emphasis on learning how to view one’s place in a holistic, large framework while simultaneously appreciating the specificity of each student’s ‘here and now’ circumstances, which are almost certainly new, probably strange, and frequently a bit intimidating.
Measurable Outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate two topics, circumstances, or conditions at UCB which make them feel personally uncomfortable, perhaps threatened, perhaps intimidated. They should also be able to articulate the same for campus individuals or campus groups which represent significant social or cultural differences with their own.
Session X:
Liminalities/Discomforts/Disequilibrium
Reading Assignment for next class: Mellix’s From Outside, In and Harro’s The Cycle of Socialization
Creating Campus Community: In Search of
Ernest Boyer's Legacy, William M. McDonald (Editor)
Campus Life: In Search of Community, (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1990)
This class provides the opportunity to investigate how social systems deal with difference, disequilibrium. How do social systems evolve and how do they dissolve?
Session XI:
What are the new Communities?
What are the Communities at the University?
What are the expectations of the communities?
Who can belong?
Who does the community allow me to be?
Fran Peavey, The Power of Context – Heart Politics
Discussion:
Reading Assignment for next
class: Kupperman, Character
Eberly, The Content of America’s Character: Recovering Civic Virtues
John Templeton Foundation, The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development
This class session deals with information about the diversity of communities within the University, from classroom, to research laboratory, to residence halls, to student groups. What aspects of the individual’s identity emerge and are evidenced in each of the multitudes of social interactions.
Topics: The Enrichment of Personal Character in the University Context {class sessions 12-15}
This large section of the course explicitly focuses on articulating for the students the broadest undergraduate mission of this university: graduation of educated, ethical, civic-minded citizens. Multiple dimensions of each individual student’s development will be touched on and discussed around the concrete elements of formal readings and the campus’s own Honor Code, Classroom Behavior Code, the Colorado Creed and implicit community values of the academic institution. These UCB documents will be an integral part of the exploration and examination after a presentation around character development in the 21st century. Only recently, the professional journal, College and Character, announced its conference title on Character Development in the consumer age. This topic might serve us well in fashioning a discussion that leads into the campus’s Honor Code and Creed. The opportunity to explicitly identify consequences of behaviors will not be missed. It is this section of the course which is designed to most explicitly raise awareness of student behavior and student responsibility issues placed into the context of university expectations with special emphasis on sexual harassment, racial diversity, GLBT issues, and religious tolerance.
Measurable Outcomes:
Students should be able to name at least two specific university expectations of students which frequently different from the expectations of students’ themselves. They should be able to identify at least two types of relationships within the university they need to recognize and learn how to successfully negotiate during their undergraduate years. They should be able to articulate at least two ways in which the interaction of alcohol can greatly influence their individual interactions with other students, their interactions with other community groups and their probabilities for successful graduation from UCB. Students should be able to articulate at least two specific, college scenarios which constitute sexual harassment between two students of the same age.
Session XII:
Character – An exploration of students’ “…growth of those aspects of themselves that represent his or her ethical worth, including behavior, cognition, affect, values, personality, identity, and skills that are not moral themselves but support moral function. Such growth should lead to personal ideals of the contributing/benefiting UCB student
Kupperman’s Character, Eberly’s The Content of America’s Character: Recovering Civic Virtues, John Templeton Foundation’s College and Character
This class explores concepts of values, courage, individuality, and of character. What is the difference between who you think you are, your ideals and values, and how you actually live your life through your behaviors? When do beliefs, values and behaviors come into conflict? What are the social characteristics, environmental influences, and internal characteristics that influence the cohesion between belief and behavior?
Session XIII:
Community Values: Academic & Research Community
Honor Code
Classroom Behavior Code
Discuss various types of academic and research components of the institution
Explore the intellectual community from different academic perspectives (e.g., Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, LGBT Certificate Program, Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement, Leadership Certificate Programs, etc.)
The purpose of this class is for the students to explore the social characteristics of the academic and research community. Who are the participants? What are the expectations of the institution, of the individual him/herself (faculty or student) and the reciprocal expectations of others? Students may explore concepts of acceptance, rejection and negotiation.
Session XIV:
Community Values: Social-high profile and sustained aspects of campus and university life
Housing
Greek Life
Campus Spiritual Groups
Athletics
Role of Intoxicating Substances
Moral/ethical and behavioral consequences of actions: regarding alcohol, sexual assault/harassment from individual to community
Reading assignment for next class; excerpts from I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, Moo by Jane Smiley
This class session explores community values in the social aspects of campus and university life. Where do the community values originate? How does the individual student deal with difference in values, in contribution to the community, in destruction of the community, in the care of other members of the community? What are the consequences for violation of the community values: in the community itself , in interpersonal relationships, in the institution, in the society at large?
Session XV:
Relationships
Academic (Professors, Instructors, teaching assistants, fellow students, etc.)
Intimate (dating and committed relationships; matters of masculinity and femininity)
Professional (academic research with human participants, etc.)
Social (large group interactions; sporting events e.g. football games, intramural sports, on-campus parties, residence hall-sponsored activities)
Bystander responsibility
Students will explore the varied and diverse relationships that form in the University community. Attention will be given to the expectations of participants in these relationships and how those expectations impact each individual’s behavior.
Session XV:
PAPER I DUE
REFLECTION/SYNTHESIS SESSION I
Topics: Active participation and conversations with diverse campus
groups
{Sessions 16-19, 21-23, 25-26}
This part of the course emphasizes engaging the students in multiple forms of active learning about campus groups about which they know little, but about which they are curious. The process will entail learning how to engage in conversation with members of groups different from any previously experienced; how to learn about different perspectives on campus issues, social issues, political issues, ethical issues; how to share their own perspectives to people with different outlooks.
Measurable outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate at least two aspects of the ‘outreach learning’ effort about which they had the most apprehension or nervousness or the least confidence. They should be able to articulate two ‘new’ elements of knowledge, appreciation or understanding they derived from the experience about either themselves, the process of engaging a new group, or about perspectives of the newly encountered group.
Session XVI:
Activity: Selection of three groups from university communities for “public-invited community events.”
Process:
1. Students randomly identify university groups: 1) Of which they are not a member and 2) they have a keen interest in learning (more) about (a brainstorming session)
2. After compilation is completed, each student has two votes to select groups that they would like engage in as a participant-observer. The list is reduced to those with the highest vote count.
3. Students vote one more time to arrive at three subgroups of interest. Students may negotiate to move into groups that most interest them. As with the traditional freshman seminar, students will focus on their selected group until the end of the term.
4. Students meet in their respective groups to learn about each other’s specific reasons for selecting the group. Consequently, the groups further differentiate into individual foci. Each group declares in writing the individual foci.
5. Each member of the group should assign preliminary background information searches to each member as well as to identify PUBLIC events in which they can attend and interact with members of the community.
Reading assignment for next class period: Theme-cycle I–University Education: bell hooks’ Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope.
Session XVII:
Discussion: hooks’ Engaged Pedagogy
Presentation on key ideas from the readings for consideration while engaging in “public-invited community events.”
Assignment: 1) for next class read Billingsley’s Facilitating Discussion 2) Members of groups should continue to identify PUBLIC events for engaging their selected communities.
Session XVIII:
Discussion: Billingsley’s A Guide to Facilitating Discussion
Presentation on key ideas from the reading and discussion for consideration while engaging in participant-observation activities
Assignment for next class: Participant-observation activities
Session XIX:
Activity: Members of each group report on out-of-class events in accordance with Theme-cycle concepts on the University and Engaged Pedagogy
Session XXI:
Presentation: Introduction to Theme-cycle II The Individual Student In the University Society
Activity: Students write and discuss goals for intellectual development and life-long learning aspirations
Session XXII:
Discussion:
Presentation on key ideas from the reading and discussion for consideration while engaging in participant-observation activities
Reading assignment for next class: Howe and Strauss Cycles of Generations
Session XXIII:
Activity: Members of each group report on out-of-class events in accordance with Theme-cycle concepts on the University, Praxis, and Student Citizenship
Session XXV:
Discussion: Engaging in Public Events in the University Culture
Session XXVI:
Discussion: The University and Its Human Diversity
Topics: Invited guests from multiple communities plus invited experts {class sessions 20, 24}
This section of the course will aim to utilize the personal experiences, expertise and willingness to share those attributes in interactive conversations with the students in the class. The conceptual goals aim to personalize, with concrete, direct student contact with individuals who can share first-hand knowledge with the students about the main theme of the course: generating a welcoming, supportive, campus climate for CU students coming from a great variety of races, gender identities, religions, and cultural background.
Measurable outcomes:
Students should be able to articulate at least one item, relevant to their own personal place at UCB, learned from each guest presenter.
Summary Measurable outcomes over entire course:
{Sessions 27-30 will be dedicated to total course synthesis.}
(1) Be able to identify two or more essential components or skills of critical thinking which have powerful utility in understanding multiple cultural communities at UCB.
(2) Be able to articulate clearly the intellectual and cognitive value of being able to view certain events, communities and individuals from two or more differing vantage points.
(3) Be able to articulate clearly the connections between two or more personally held beliefs about gender, race, culture or religion and membership in family groups, neighborhoods, school communities or group membership with a strong component of personal choice (e.g. sororities, athletic teams, volunteer groups, etc.).
(4) Be able to identify two or more indicators of personal intellectual development.
Session XXVII:
Develop the Final Paper: Description of Theme Cycle in context to our “public-invited community events.”
Session XXVIII:
Reflection/Synthesis I
Session XXIX:
Reflection/Synthesis II
Session XXX:
Course Wrap-up
10-PAGE PAPER DUE (SYNTHESIS OF ENTIRE COURSE)
Some specific ‘best
practices’ employed within the pilot course The Contemporary Research University and Student Citizens.
The task force committee members who generated the pilot course syllabus identified several key principles, recommendations and guidelines for course content and methodology from several sources in the literature cited.
(1) The skill which provides the capacity of an individual to regard a different culture in a positive light rests upon that individual’s skill and capacity to regard an inter-personal difference favorably and the latter skill rests upon the ability for an individual student to regard a different or conflicting view as different, rather than necessarily wrong.
(2) Development of an effective, working knowledge, identified as ‘inter-cultural consciousness’, necessitates a sound understand of self and one’s multiple identities in their social context. Encouraging self-reflection and analysis provides one useful pathway toward the goal of enriching one’s understanding of the self.
(3) Learn how to be more effectively responsive to a broad array of all types of personal and group interactions through skills development required for good teamwork. Gaining direct experience, perhaps for the first time, in personally engaging individuals with different views, backgrounds and goals provides an important methodological pathway for enriching students’ understanding of difference.
(4) Enhancing one’s capabilities to be cognitively more nuanced and capable of handling intellectual complexity supports an enriched knowledge and an enhanced ability to understand, accept and value differences of many types: sexual orientation, religion, social class, ethnicity, race, etc.
(5) Learning how to view one’s place in a holistic, large framework while simultaneously appreciating the specificity of each student’s ‘here and now’ circumstances requires the employment of three key domains of understanding: cognitive complexity, self-identity, inter-personal relationships.
Assessment of the
Pilot
The task force is keenly aware of the need for effective assessment of this pilot effort and has generally laid out a program to do so. Many specific details are still to be worked out. The assessment program will have four main parts: (1) student assessment using national standardized testing instruments, (2) a locally constructed assessment of student reaction to carefully constructed scenarios which entail ethical, social, multi-cultural dimensions, (3) direct student interviews using a structured interview instrument designed locally and focused on their specific course experiences, and (4) interviews and feedback from the course instructors. For items 1 and 2, we plan to administer the same test to student samples from the general population of incoming first year students, as closely matched by predicted grade point average, major, gender and race as we can from other residential academic programs (probably Sewall and Libby). At least part of these student assessments will be repeated at the end of the spring semester as well, to get some indication of the durability of whatever gains showed up in the fall assessment process. This information will be accumulated, analyzed and evaluated with the aim of making a determination of whether the pilot itself achieved many of its goals or not and, further, whether the results portend sufficient success to justify continued work toward implementing the larger project generally envisioned.
Literature Consulted
Association of
Chickering, A. W. 1981. The
Baxter Magolda, M.B. 2003. Identity and learning: Student affairs’ role in transforming higher education. J. of College Student Development, 44:231- 237
Bennett, C. 2001. Genres of research in multicultural education. Review of Educational Research, 71: 171-217.
Fortune 500 Corporations Legal Brief. Support of Diversity in Higher Education. Online at {http://vpcomm.umich.edu/admissions/legal/gratz/amici.html}
Gurin, P., Dey, E.L., Hurtado, S. and Gurin, G. 2002. Diversity and higher education: Theory and impact on student outcomes. Harvard Educational Review 72: 330-366.
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