Liberal Education and America's Promise
Oregon Advocacy and Campus Action
Oregon joined the LEAP initiative as a partner state in 2007. In collaboration with AAC&U, administrative and faculty leaders in Oregon are piloting a series of campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of liberal education for all college students. In concert with LEAP, educational leaders hope to advance a strategic dialogue on the future of higher education and the importance of liberal education in the state. A central focus is sharpening student learning outcomes, improving curricula and teaching-learning practices, making excellence inclusive, and strengthening outcomes assessment methods for the aims of liberal education and the majors.
In October 2007, the Provosts’ Council of the Oregon University System unanimously agreed to become a “LEAP State,” affirmed by the Chancellor. In doing so, they pledged to “do our best for Oregon postsecondary education as well as the success of national efforts to better define, educate, and assess the learning students need in this new century.” You can read the full letter from the Provosts’ Council here (pdf).
The Oregon University System is also a partner in AAC&U’s project, Give Students a Compass: A Tri-State Partnership for College Learning, General Education, and Underserved Student Success. Funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, State Farm, and the Lumina Foundation, the Compass Project is a tri-state collaborative effort to re-map educational aims, educational practices and assessment strategies for general education in public higher education—two-year and four-year—within a set of participating state systems. Within the broad goals of the project, there will be a strong and sustained focus on the educational needs of students who, historically, have been underserved in higher education: first generation students, ethnic and racial minorities, and those from low-income families. Three campuses serve as Compass Beta Campuses: Eastern Oregon University, Portland State University, and Southern Oregon University. The remaining four public universities are “engaged sister campuses” in Compass: Oregon Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, and Western Oregon University. The project also entails tracking and inquiry into the ways systems can be ‘generative catalysts for change.’ The Interim Report (pdf) of OUS on Compass was completed in June 2009.
Recent and Upcoming Events
On May 16, 2008, AAC&U hosted a regional meeting on the campus of the University of Oregon (in partnership with the Oregon University System) on the “Role of the Departments in Advancing and Assessing Liberal Education Outcomes.” Representatives from sixteen Oregon institutions (public and private) gathered to talk about current practices in student learning and assessment and strategies for strengthening assessment practices in departments and in the major.
The Oregon Joint Boards of Education (Board of Higher Education and Board of Education) and the Oregon Business Council will hold a Tri-Board Invitational Forum on January 7, 2010 in Portland. The Forum is entitled: College Learning and Oregon’s Future: Return on Investment for Students, the Economy and our Communities. Business and education leaders will discuss contemporary developments in college education nationally and in Oregon, linked to the PK-16 continuum of learning. Topics will focus on learning outcomes that matter in college, practices that support student success in achieving essential outcomes, emerging practices in outcomes assessment, Oregon’s engagement in LEAP, and strategies for strengthening public understanding about 21st Century college learning imperatives. Paired with the Forum will be a Joint Boards of Education meeting in which policy action will be taken and steps outlined for future developments.
Institutions in the Oregon System
Additional LEAP Campus Action Network Institutions in Oregon
Resources and Activities to Promote Liberal Education in Oregon
The Interinstitutional Learning Outcomes and Assessment Task Force (appointed by the Provosts’ Council and Vice Chancellor in February 2008) has been working for nearly a year to understand current learning outcomes and approaches to outcomes assessment across the OUS universities, to promote capacity building and best practices, and to enhance alliances with community colleges and K-12 in this work. Members represent the seven universities, OUS and the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. A progress report (pdf) was provided to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education in early spring 2008, followed by a progress report (pdf) to the Provosts’ Council on November 6, 2008.
The Oregon University System sent a team of nine faculty, administrators and staff (representing all public campuses and the Interinstitutional Faculty) to the AAC&U General Education Institute in Minneapolis, May 2008. A second team was assembled to represent the three Compass Beta campuses and system leadership for the 2009 General Education Institute. Special meetings back in Oregon were held to hear reports and discuss the findings and thinking of each team. The reports continue to inform the work of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Task Force and Provosts, as well as the campuses.
Press Releases and Coverage
For more information about the Oregon University System LEAP program, please contact Ruth Keele, Director, Performance Measurement and Outcomes, Oregon University System, ruth_keele@ous.edu; Shawn Smallman, Vice Provost, Portland State University, smallmans@pdx.edu; or Susan Albertine, Senior Director for LEAP State Initiatives, albertine@aacu.org.
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