Teagle News Feed

College: "The Best Rehearsal Spaces We Have for Democracy"

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:32:00 EDT

PBS NewsHour interview between Senior Correspondent Jeffrey Brown and Andrew Delbanco about his new book, "College."

College Graduation: Weighing the Cost ... and the Payoff

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:02:00 EDT

This year's college graduation season comes against a backdrop of rising concern over the costs of higher education, the burdens of student debt and the challenges graduates face in a difficult job market. The issue of costs and rising student debt have have touched off a national debate about the cost and value of a college education. Surveys by the Pew Research Center present a portrait of the views of the general public and college graduates.

The Liberal Arts and Leadership

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:59:00 EDT

Today�s economic environment, with its stubbornly high level of unemployment, is pressuring liberal arts institutions to justify the "value proposition" offered by our undergraduate programs. This was one of the concerns that brought leaders together at Wake Forest University for a conference in April, focusing on careers and the liberal arts in the 21st century. In particular, we are being asked to explain how a liberal arts degree advances employment prospects at a challenging time that many believe favors immediately applicable, career-ready skills.

$270K Teagle grant to continue Skidmore-SEO partnership

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:25:00 EDT

Skidmore College and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) will share a $270,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation of New York City to support Phase II of "SEO-Skidmore Connections," a partnership that works to enhance the college readiness of talented but underserved high school students from New York City.

Teagle DREAMers: Achieving the American Dream for the Undocumented youth of America

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:16:00 EDT

As college-bound students from New York City who understand the opportunities our access to education has given us, we are committed to raising awareness about injustices students face and removing barriers that prevent them from the opportunities that we�ve been afforded. Through video interviews, research, and petitions, we hope to be advocates for change as we support the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors), inform our visitors about unequal opportunities and inspire them to make a difference.

Humanities Ph.D. in 4 Years

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:37:00 EDT

Few believe the current model � in which humanities students often study for 8 or 10 years only to enter an uncertain academic job market � is smart or sustainable. While that conclusion isn�t a new one, the traditional blueprint has persisted.

Union Settlement &Drew University Get Teagle College-Community Connection Grant

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:29:00 EDT

Union Settlement Association and Drew University have been awarded a $270,000 College-Community Connections grant from the Teagle Foundation. The grant will support a partnership between Union Settlement and Drew University to give low-income, underserved high school and middle school students in East Harlem the opportunity to experience the rewards associated with college education.

Testing the Teachers

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:39:00 EDT

David Brooks takes on the question of evaluating college learning. Brooks alludes to many of the organizations and individuals Teagle has supported -- Richard Arum's work, Charlie Blaich at Wabash, and Carol Schneider at the AAC&U.

Wealth or Waste? Rethinking the Value of a Business Major

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:13:00 EDT

Undergraduate business majors are a dime a dozen on many college campuses. But according to some, they may be worth even less. More than 20% of U.S. undergraduates are business majors, nearly double the next most common major, social sciences and history.

Trying to Find a Measure for How Well Colleges Do

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:48:00 EDT

How well does a college teach, and what do its students learn? Rankings based on the credentials of entering freshmen are not hard to find, but how can students, parents and policy makers assess how well a college builds on that foundation?

Associated Colleges of the South experiments with Course Sharing

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:24:00 EDT

In discussions about the future of higher education, there�s often plenty of hand-wringing over the precarious fate of the hundreds of small, tuition-dependent private colleges scattered throughout the country. With many of them located in out-of-the-way places, their isolation means that merging or even collaborating with other institutions to reduce costs is typically not an option.

A Smug Education?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:26:00 EDT

"Perhaps if our leading colleges encouraged more humility and less hubris, college-bashing would go out of style and we could get on with the urgent business of providing the best education for as many Americans as possible."

To cut costs, W.Va. colleges to share faculty

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:34:00 EDT

"It's bold and creative, and it's innovative," said UC President Ed Welch. "It is very unusual to find something like this, particularly among liberal-arts institutions. That's why we're experimenting with a new delivery alternative to see if it can both assure the same level of quality and learning as traditional classroom interaction but be more efficient to hold down the costs of tuition."

College, religion, and Santorum

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:15:00 EDT

CNN cites Teagle-funded report to fact check Santorum's comments on the "deleterious influence of colleges on conservatism and faith."

College at Risk

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:47:00 EDT

Teagle board member Andrew Delbanco discusses the current climate of discussion about postsecondary education in the United States.

Liberal learning: Only for the elite?

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:15:00 EDT

Teagle program officer discusses liberal education and college access in Washington Post.

Rosenberg, Warner Named Teagle Fellows

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 14:07:00 EDT

Two Wabash College faculty members � Dr. Warren Rosenberg (English) and Dr. Richard Warner (History) � were named GLCA Teagle Pedagogy Fellows. Read more about the program.

2011 National Medals of Arts and Humanities Ceremony

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 14:05:00 EDT

Andy Delbanco, a Teagle board member, received a National Medal in the Humanities. Watch him receive his award in this video.

Beyond Tolerance

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:33:00 EDT

College officials discuss religious pluralism at AACU meeting.

Higher Ed Groups Back Guidelines for Student Learning

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:23:00 EDT

More than two dozen college associations, accrediting agencies and other organizations have endorsed a set of guidelines that they say show that they are committed to gathering evidence that their students are learning, the New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability will announce today.

Colleges Can Take 4 Steps to Assure Quality

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:22:00 EDT

The New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability, released today a set of guidelines it says will help colleges assess and improve student achievement and, in the process, better demonstrate the quality of their offerings.

Measuring what college students actually learn

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:21:00 EDT

Today, a group called the New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability is putting out a set of guidelines for schools. They recommend colleges set goals for what students should know when they graduate, and then measure and report the results.

Understanding the written word: Educators, students weigh in at UC Santa Cruz on past, present and future of reading

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:20:00 EDT

In the world of e-readers, 150 character narratives, and text-message novellas, literature professors often look over a generational - and technological - gap when addressing their students.

Liberal arts education lends an edge in down economy

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:15:00 EDT

Check out the piece by Mary Beth Marklein in USA Today citing the latest Arum/Roksa/SSRC report, with a different perspective than we've seen in the higher ed media outlets.

Let's Improve Learning. OK, but How?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:57:00 EDT

Read Bob Connor's new article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Tis the Season to Assess Student Learning in College

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:35:00 EDT

James Minor of the Southern Education Foundation talks about student learning assessment

Collaboration in a New Era

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:34:00 EDT

Check out Teagle Foundation president Richard Morrill's speech about the changing nature of higher education - and the need for collaboration - in the 21st century.

Catalyst for Change: The CIC/CLA Consortium

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:34:00 EDT

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) releases the report, �Catalyst for Change: The CIC/CLA Consortium�

‎Major Engagement

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:33:00 EDT

‎2011 NSSE Results on Student Engagement

Student Success, in the Classroom

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:26:00 EDT

Focusing on student learning can contribute to college completion.

More Options for History Ph.D.s

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:26:00 EDT

Here is an article about Teagle friend Jim Grossman's work on improving graduate education in the discipline of History.

New iPad App lets Brooklyn Students learn Chemistry with Greater Ease

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:50:00 EDT

Check out the chemistry app developed by NYU-Poly to help UAI high school students learn Chemistry as part of the Teagle Foundation's College-Community Connections initiative....Read more.

No More Plan B

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:13:00 EDT

Jim Grossman and Anthony Grafton of the AHA reconsider graduate education for the 21st Century... Read more

Measuring Engagement

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:18:00 EDT

Interesting commentary from Peter Ewell, Kay McClenney, and Alexander C. McCormick about NSSE and CCSSE. Read more

Tenure Reconsidered (a bit)

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:16:00 EDT

Interesting mention of how the ideas from Scholarship Reconsidered could align well with the assessment movement. Read more.

Value of the Liberal Arts

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:48:00 EDT

Value of the Liberal Arts. Listen.

This is your brain on summer

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:54:00 EDT

Teagle grantee, Jeff Smink of the National Summer Learning Association, writes an op-ed about summer learning loss in the New York Times. Read more.

Liberate Liberal Arts from the Myth of Irrelevance

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:45:00 EDT

Elsa Nunez, President of Eastern Connecticut State University, writes about "liberat[ing] the liberal arts from the myth of irrelevance" in The Christian Science Monitor.Read article.

Faculty Immobility

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:35:00 EDT

Leonard Cassuto writes about faculty immobility in the New Economy and references the National Forum on the Future of Liberal Education, which is a Teagle-sponsored effort to prepare academic leaders in the liberal arts. Read more.

Grooming Young Talent for Future Leadership

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:34:00 EDT

Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, a current Teagle grantee, as seen in the Wall Street Journal: Click here.

Ethical Reasoning and Action as a Student Learning Outcome

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:28:00 EDT

On assessing "ethical reasoning and action" as a student learning outcome in college Read more.

On "Navigating a Perfect Storm" in higher education...

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:16:00 EDT

W. Robert Connor, Teagle's Senior Advisor, offers his perspective on higher education confronting and ultimately "navigating a perfect storm." Read more

Do Majors Matter?

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:13:00 EDT

W. Robert Connor, Teagle's Senior Advisor, responds to the question, "Do Majors Matter?" Read more

Teaching them how to think

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:15:00 EDT

Assessment need not be a dirty word, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) professor tells faculty colleagues; when embraced, it can drive better teaching. Read more

Preparing Future Faculty to Assess Student Learning

Thu, 19 May 2011 10:14:00 EDT

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) launches report on preparing future faculty to assess student learning. Learn more.

Double Discovery Center Oral History Project

Mon, 02 May 2011 13:32:00 EDT

The Teagle students at Double Discovery Center (DDC) led an oral history project that chronicled the founding of DDC at Columbia University in 1965. Project Website

Teagle's 2010 Annual Report

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:10:00 EDT

The Teagle Foundation is pleased to announce its 2010 Annual Report featuring President Richard Morrill�s essay, Arriving at Where We Started. Click here.

Study Abroad and Liberal Arts Learning

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:44:00 EDT

Read more in Inside Higher Ed:
Quantifying Study Abroad's Impact

Call for Applications � Teagle Assessment Scholar Development Program

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:24:00 EDT

Call for Applications � Teagle Assessment Scholar Development Program

The Center of Inquiry at Wabash College invites applications to the Teagle Assessment Scholar Development Program.

Teagle Assessment Scholars are faculty, staff, and administrators with a strong interest in using evidence to improve student learning. Teagle Scholars work with the Center to assist faculty, staff, and students at colleges and universities across the country in their assessment efforts by participating in site visits to institutions and by helping to facilitate multi-institution workshops.

The Teagle Scholar Development Program aims to promote the development of people who are committed to working with colleagues at both their own and other institutions to improve student learning. The Development Program will provide new Scholars with the skills and resources to improve the quality and impact of assessment.

Let's Close the Gap between Teaching and Assessing

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:39:00 EDT

Building on the major points made in the essay collection, Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment, Donna Heiland and Laura J. Rosenthal put our a call in The Chronicle of Higher Education to bring together teaching and assessment together in order to improve student learning. Read more.

Assessing the Sublime

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:40:00 EDT

Donna Heiland and Laura J. Rosenthal, co-editors of Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment, sit with Inside Higher Ed and answer a few questions about assessment, the humanities, and, yes, sublime learning. Read more.

Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:18:00 EDT

What happens when the disciplines make themselves heard in the discussions of learning outcomes assessment that are ubiquitous in higher education today? What do disciplinary perspectives and methodologies have to bring to the table? Teagle's new book, Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment, engages these questions from the perspective of literary studies and explores what is at stake in the work of assessment in the literature classroom, what we stand to gain, what we fear to lose, and whether current assessment methods can even capture the outcomes we care about most: the complex, subtle, seemingly ineffable heart of learning. Co-edited by Donna Heiland (Teagle Foundation) and Laura J. Rosenthal (University of Maryland), the book features essays by Carol Geary Schneider, Michael Holquist, W. Robert Connor, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, the editors, and many more. Check it out: http://www.teagle.org/disciplinaryassessment/

Undergraduate Liberal Education

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:33:00 EDT

Diana Chapman Walsh and Lee Cuba discuss �how experiential learning opportunities can enrich an undergraduate liberal education and produce graduates who are prepared to grapple, imaginatively and responsibly, with complex challenges they will face throughout their lives.�

Teagle Grantees on the Road

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:53:00 EDT

A workshop on Secularity and the Liberal Arts, which was developed by a working group of faculty and staff at Vassar, Bucknell, Macalester and Williams, is offered at Dartmouth College. Read more.

Mission and Majors

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:04:00 EDT

Missions and Majors: How do different departments and disciplines define and measure the liberal arts learning goals that characterize the college experience? Marion Fass of Beloit College, Frank Gersich of Monmouth College, Kevin Hastings of Knox College, and Robin Woods of Ripon College reflect on this question in the Teagle Liblog. Read more.

Academically Adrift is released today

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:52:00 EDT

Academically Adrift, Richard Arum's and Josipa Roksa's study of student learning at the undergraduate level, is released today. Check out the coverage in the Chronicle, Inside Higher Ed, the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and more.

President�s Essays

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:14:00 EDT

Rich Morrill, Teagle's president, discusses fund-raising and integral leadership.

Reconceiving the secular and the practice of the liberal arts

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:28:00 EDT

Jonathon Kahn, assistant professor of religion at Vassar College, blogs on the Teagle-funded project, "Secularity and the Liberal Arts," in The Immanent Frame. [More]

Fostering Culture of Learning Through Research-based Pedagogies

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:05:00 EDT

A growing challenge confronting virtually any college or university is to build a culture of effective teaching, learning, and assessment that extends across academic departments and disciplines. Come visit the Teagle Liblog to read more.

Measuring Student Learning: Many Tools

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:53:00 EDT

Teagle friend Charlie Blaich is featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education's blog, Measuring Stick. More.

Commenting on the Presidents' Alliance

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Now that the Presidents' Alliance has been launched, what are people thinking? Josipa Roksa, co-author of the forthcoming Academically Adrift, as well as fellow of the National Forum on the Future of Liberal Education, weighs in. [More]

Teaching and Metacognition

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:09:00 EDT

Laura J. Rosenthal, professor of English at UMD, blogs about metacognition and teaching in the literature classroom in The Long Eighteenth. [Read her entry.]

Learning in Higher Education

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:08:00 EDT

The Science Science Research Council launches new website on "Learning in Higher Education." It features Richard Arum (NYU) and Josipa Roksa (UVA)'s study of college learning, Academically Adrift, which is forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press (January 2011). More

"Collective Action" on Assessing Learning

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:57:00 EDT

Teagle grantee New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability announces 71-strong "Presidents' Alliance." Read more in Inside Higher Ed.

Teagle grantee New Leadership Alliance launches its Presidents' Alliance

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education: 71 Presidents Pledge to Improve Their Colleges' Teaching and Learning

It's Not How Much Student Data You Have, but How You Use It

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:39:00 EDT

Teagle Vice President Donna Heiland, and Teagle friends Stan Ikenberry, Peter Ewell, Charlie Blaich, George Kuh, and David Paris are featured in Chronicle of Higher Education article, "It's Not How Much Student Data You Have, but How You Use It." [More]

Pathways to Learning Collegium

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:39:00 EDT

In February 2008, Teagle made several grants to consortia of liberal arts colleges to explore the application of recent research on how people learn to teaching practices and curricular design at the undergraduate level. One of these Collegia was administered by the Great Lakes College Association, a consortium of thirteen liberal arts colleges in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The report, �Pathways to Learning Collegium� documents the work that faculty at GLCA�s member institutions accomplished during the grant period, and discusses emerging themes in this work.

Why are We Assessing?

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:19:00 EDT

Teagle grantees New Leadership for Student Learning and Accountability and the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment are featured in Linda Suskie's Inside Higher Ed op-ed, "Why Are We Assessing?" [More]

Liberal Arts I: They Keep Chugging Along

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:24:00 EDT

Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Bob Connor and Cheryl Ching ask how the liberal arts--and in particular, the humanities--are faring in these tough economic times. "When the economy goes down, one expects the liberal arts -- especially the humanities -- to wither, and laments about their death to go up. That�s no surprise since these fields have often defined themselves as unsullied by practical application. This notion provides little comfort to students -- and parents -- who are anxious about their post-college prospects; getting a good job -- in dire times, any job -- is of utmost importance. (According to CIRP�s 2009 Freshman Survey, 56.5 percent of students -- the highest since 1983 -- said that "graduates getting good jobs" was an important factor when choosing where to go to college.) ..." [More]

Using Assessment Evidence for Improvement in Complex Institutional Environments

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:23:00 EDT

Charles Blaich, Director of Inquiries at the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College, answers the question, "How does one go about using assessment evidence for improvement in our complex institutional environments?" Drawing on his experience working with a wide range of institutions in the Wabash National Study, Blaich describes some "lessons" and couple of "hazards" or "things to 'watch out for.'" "Four years ago, I started the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a longitudinal study that examines the factors that influence the outcomes of a liberal arts education (e.g. critical thinking, need for cognition, interest in and attitudes about diversity, leadership, moral reasoning, well-being). When I talk about the Study and its impact on institutions, I often describe it as a research project that morphed into an assessment project. But as I've thought about that description, I've come to realize that it is inaccurate. That description makes it sound as though the original intention of the project was "pure" research and that our goal of helping institutions came later. ..." [More]

Keeping Things Going in Turbulent Times

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:23:00 EDT

A year ago, Teagle made a $75,000 grant to the Partnership for After School Education (PASE) to support its Supporting Afterschool Agencies in Turbulent Times (SAATT) initiative. SAATT emerged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and was designed to help youth-serving organizations in New York cope with the new economic conditions, and importantly, develop plans that would ensure their stability in the future. With the grant, PASE selected 10 organizations and worked with them to develop strategic plans, identify program outcomes, facilitate staff development, strengthen information technology systems, review financial and fiscal plans, and the like. In addition, PASE ran 6 training sessions--which were open to all organizations in its network--on topics such as evaluation and assessment, strategic planning, creating collaborations and strategic alliances, working with boards, and securing funds for general operating support. "Findings" from the SAATT initiative were detailed in PASE�s report to the Foundation, and are as follows...[More]

The Straw Man of Science as Enemy of the Humanities

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:19:00 EDT

In the Teagle Liblog, Adele Wolfson of Wellesley College responds to recent publications that defend the importance of the humanities in the academy and argues that the sciences--like the humanities--work to "inspire and encourage creativity, place ideas in the context of history, prepare students to become engaged citizens, and develop the skills for critical analysis and argument." [More]