The Office of Undergraduate Education Programs is seeking faculty to participate in the ACE Leadership Fellows program aimed at building upon the strengths of the ACE program through an examination of the relationship between assessment and the improvement of teaching and learning within each ACE outcome. Fellows selected for the 2018-19 academic year will focus on the areas of science (ACE 4), the humanities (ACE 5) and the social sciences (ACE 6).
As the ACE program enters its 10th year, we have an excellent opportunity to look back on the goals for which this general education program was developed, to explore how well our university community is currently attaining those goals, and to chart a path toward continuous improvement for our future general education efforts. Because ACE 4, 5 and 6 are up for assessment reporting and recertification this year, we are seeking faculty members with experience teaching courses in these three outcomes to participate this year (with ACE 7, 8 and 9 to be considered during the 2019-20 academic year). The goal is ultimately to equip all ACE faculty with strategies for examining the student work aligned with each outcome and for recognizing opportunities for the improvement of student learning. Beginning in October each year, program fellows will meet in outcome-specific groups over a six-month period to:
* explore methods for evaluating success in general education programs and tools to facilitate continuous improvement of teaching and learning
* discuss the overarching goal of the ACE program and the value and goal of each group’s specific learning outcome
* review samples of the current year’s assessment reports within the group’s outcome to develop a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current ACE program
* summarize what has been learned in order to share best practices with fellow ACE instructors across the university, highlighting exemplary successes and – in the spirit of continuous improvement – suggesting a path forward that builds upon the outcomes already achieved over the past decade of ACE
2018-19 ACE Leadership Fellows are expected to attend the fall Teaching & Learning Symposium on the afternoon of October 19th, 2018, with additional meeting times to be arranged by the participating members of each group. Participants who complete all the requirements of this six-month program will receive a $1000 stipend. In addition, Fellows will have optional opportunities to participate in external faculty development programs, sponsored by either the Higher Learning Commission or the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Faculty interested in participating in the 2018-19 program should contact Patty Sollars, director of undergraduate education programs at patricia.sollars@unl.edu, with a brief statement of interest and indication of experience teaching in the ACE program by September 21, 2018.