Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, returns to UNL Feb. 10 for a one-day symposium celebrating UNL's efforts to improve undergraduate education. A public presentation runs from 2-3:15 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Auditorium with a reception and poster session to follow in the Heritage Room. All faculty and interested members of the UNL community are encouraged to attend the presentation and reception.
Geary Schneider's visit celebrates UNL's first year of Achievement-Centered Education and our on-going work to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment through efforts such as the Peer Review of Teaching; the Faculty Leadership for Writing Initiative; Program Excellence through Assessment, Research, and Learning; and Liberal Education and America's Promise.
Geary Schneider last visited in 2005, and helped kick off UNL's reform of its general education curriculum. That fast-track effort resulted in the university-wide adoption of ACE in 2008. The first-year class that enrolled in fall 2009 was the first to matriculate under ACE.
ACE is built on student learning outcomes that answer the fundamental question, "What should all undergraduate students - irrespective of their majors and career aspirations - know or be able to do upon graduation?" ACE reflects and builds on a national project spearheaded by AAC&U, the Liberal Education and America's Promise initiative, which focuses on quality student learning. UNL participated in the LEAP initiative and ACE's learning outcomes set high expectations for student education.
AAC&U has more than 1,150 member institutions and is the leading national organization devoted to advancing and strengthening undergraduate liberal education.
On Feb. 10, Geary Schneider will meet with faculty groups involved in aspects of undergraduate teaching, learning, and assessment. Her presentation is expected to celebrate and comment on UNL's efforts to improve student learning.
Other goals of the symposium are to share and discuss how UNL's efforts have sponsored new ideas regarding assessment, program development, curricular collaboration, and the enhancement of undergraduate education and give participants a chance to reflect upon issues that need to be addressed in order to sustain the momentum of these initiatives in the future.
Geary Schneider's visit is sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
- Kim Hachiya, University Communications