The Undergraduate Experience

Improvement Matters

by Peter Felten This post originally appeared as a NILOA Guest Viewpoint on the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment website. This Viewpoint summarizes important takeaways found in Chapter 6 of “The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most”…

Global Neighborhood

Researching residential learning communities

by Shannon Lundeen and Cara McFadden Residential learning communities (RLCs) vary widely in objectives, structure, resources, selection criteria, accessibility, curricular content, and co-curricular programs, not only from one institution to the next, but even among RLCs in the same institution….

book cover of Threshold Concepts in Practice

Threshold Concepts in Practice

by Susannah McGowan Threshold Concepts in Practice, an edited compilation of papers presented at the Fifth Biennial Meeting on Threshold Concepts in 2014, came out earlier this year. This is the third edited volume from Ray Land, Jan Meyer, and Mick…

The Undergraduate Experience

Alignment Matters in the Undergraduate Experience

In a new video produced by the Center for Engaged Learning to supplement The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing on What Matters Most (Wiley, 2016), Betsy Barefoot (John N. Gardner Institute), Peter Felten (Elon University), and Charles Schroeder (Higher Education Consultant) discuss the role…

The Undergraduate Experience cover image

Making College Matter

President Leo M. Lambert and Assistant Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning Peter Felten have a new article in The Conversation US about two factors that can enhance students’ college experiences: Taking responsibility for learning Developing meaningful relationships…

Students in Costa Rica

Understanding global learning: Definitions matter

by Amanda Sturgill We have wrapped up the second summer meeting of the Center’s research seminar on Integrating Global Learning with the University Experience: Higher-Impact Study Abroad and Off-Campus Domestic Study. Five teams are making progress towards answering questions about the relationship…

George D. Kuh

George Kuh on High Impact Undergraduate Inquiry

On July 25, 2016, George Kuh presented at the Center’s Conference on Excellent Practices in Mentoring Undergraduate Research. His closing keynote (video below) focused on “Ensuring that Undergraduate Inquiry is a High Quality High-Impact Practice.” How to cite this post: George…

Brad Johnson

Brad Johnson on Excellent Practices in Mentoring UR

Brad Johnson presented the opening keynote at the Center’s Conference on Excellent Practices in Mentoring Undergraduate Research. He examined “Excellent Practices in Mentoring Undergraduate Research: What We’ve Learned & Lingering Mysteries” (video below). How to cite this post: Brad Johnson…

list of high-impact activities

ePortfolio as High-Impact Practice

At the recent Conference On Excellent Practice in Mentoring Undergraduate Research, George Kuh announced a new addition to the Association of American Colleges and Universities list of High-Impact Educational Practices (HIPs). The addition of ePortfolio extends the association’s list to eleven…