Re-Visioning Undergraduate General Educatio
for the 21st Century
The Office of the Provost, University Curriculum Committee for Liberal Education (UCCLE), and Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER) invite you to a symposium on general education. Please join us for a consideration of our own CLE and approaches used by other institution to maximize efficacy and resources for general education.
Dr. Susan Albertine from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) will provide both an informal discussion of trends in general education and a keynote address focused on the challenges of general education at Virginia Tech. Dr. Albertine is senior director of the AAC&U's Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative. In that capacity, she travels the country, working with institutions where a reconsideration of general education is crucial to the enhancement of the undergraduate curriculum.
This re-examination of Virginia Tech's approach and commitment to general education will be addressed across two sessions. The first session, Trends in General Education for the 21st Century, will be an informal presentation and discussion with Dr. Albertine, while the second session, Re-Visioning General Education at Virginia Tech for the 21st Century, will involve both a keynote address and a subsequent work session. Perspectives shared in these sessions will be incorporated into recommendations the UCCLE will present to the Office of the Provost in the spring.
All sessions are open to all faculty, advisors and administrators. Details as follows:
Trends in General Education for the 21st Century
February 4, 2010, 4:00-5:30 p.m., The Inn and Skelton Conference Center
Dr. Albertine will discuss a recent study of emerging practices among AAC&U member institutions as they refine and implement general education programs. Of the institutional responses to a survey, 89% indicated that the institution was in the process of assessing or modifying the general education program. Dr. Albertine has worked with many of these institutions across the country and will report on the processes and directions some have taken. This session will include the opportunity for faculty, advisors, and administrators to share in a conversation with Dr. Albertine about these trends.
Re-Visioning General Education at Virginia Tech
April 9, 2010, 12:30-3:00 p.m., Hillcrest Dining Hall
Based on her expertise with processes and trends across the country, Dr. Albertine will offer considerations for our own review of Virginia Tech's general education program. She will discuss learning outcomes for gen ed, and she will respond to results from a VT survey of faculty, administers, and advisors. Preliminary data from an SGA survey of students will also be shared. In break-out groups, participants will discuss various issues related to general education at Virginia Tech: goals, challenges, and strengths. Dr. Albertine will provide final comments after those group discussions.