Liberal Education and America's Promise

LEAP Campus Examples

Through LEAP, AAC&U is working with hundreds of campuses as they reinvent undergraduate education to ensure that all students graduate prepared for the challenges of the new global century.  Guiding these changes are a set of essential learning outcomes important for all students and a set of principles of excellence.

See below for The Latest Campus Examples from LEAP (new examples are posted quarterly, RSS feed coming soon).

See the Full Archive of LEAP Campus Examples

Contact the Office of Communications and Public Affairs to share with us how your LEAP campus is improving undergraduate learning and increasing excellence for everyone.

Make the Essential Learning Outcomes a framework for the entire educational experience, connecting school, college, work, and life

Utah State University
Utah State University's studies about undergraduate research revealed that more than 26 percent of Utah State University’s graduating seniors report on the National Survey of Student Engagement that they engaged in independent research with a faculty mentor during their undergraduate career.  In these projects, research, teaching, and scholarship become parts of one simultaneous, overlapping, shared process. Undergraduates at Utah State can become active scholars throughout their undergraduate careers, not just at the last stages. See the Utah State Research Office for more information about this high-impact educational practice and how it is being implemented at USU. (October 2009).

St. Lawrence University
In St. Lawrence University professor Patti Frazer Lock’s first-year program course, her fifty students have lots of opportunities for interaction and collaborative learning. The students are also expected to write substantial amounts each week, in reflective journals, “advising letters” to their first-year advisers, assessments of peers’ papers, and research reports. Frazer Lock teaches Having an Impact: Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation, with two other St. Lawrence staff members who also share advising duties, and the students all live together in a residential building and participate in community-based learning placements. It’s unusual to find so many engaged learning practices clustered in a single course, but it’s all by design at St. Lawrence, one of two “intensive sites” in the Bringing Theory to Practice project. Read more -- "Engaged Learning for Well-Being at St. Lawrence" (AAC&U News, Jan./Feb. 2009).

Miami Dade College
As a result of dialogue among faculty, students, alumni, employers, civic leaders, and community members, Miami Dade College celebrated a Learning Outcomes Covenant signing of 10 learning outcomes that are reinforced and assessed throughout the curriculum and in cocurricular activities. This example was featured at the 2009 AAC&U Annual Meeting (January 2009).

Give Students a Compass

Focus each student's plan of study on achieving the essential learning outcomes--and assess progress

University of the Pacific
The University of the Pacific's general education program consists of breadth program requirements, fundamental skills requirements, and a seminar series (Pacific Seminars), which fosters integrative learning and enables students to learn about topics beyond their discipline.
View the video about the University of the Pacific Pacific Seminars. AAC&U Conference: Faculty Roles in a Time of Change (April 2009).

University of Wisconsin-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cross-College Advising Service (CCAS) exists solely to help students who are undecided about their college major to make informed decisions and plan their liberal education. CCAS puts the emphasis on undergraduate advising for students. In addition, students may join First-Year Interest Groups to become immediately immersed in areas of liberal education. Read more – “The Long View: Charting Purposeful Pathways through Advising” AAC&U News (September 2009).

University of Utah
In fall 2008, the University of Utah’s Undergraduate Council endorsed a set of Learning Outcomes for the General Education Program building on the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes.  In order to assess the impact of these learning outcomes on courses and student learning, the University of Utah has added a step to the process through which departments proceed in order to get their course certified for a General Education Requirement.  Beginning in fall 2009, departments applying for a course to have general education designation will be asked to select at least three of the learning outcomes that they believe students in the course will achieve.  They will also be asked to select an assignment from their syllabus that can be used to measure students’ achievement of the learning outcomes selected for the course.  See the Office of Undergraduate Studies for more information. (Fall 2008).

Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation

Immerse all students in analysis, discovery, problem solving, and communication, beginning in school and advancing in college.

California State University-Long Beach, Drake University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The AAC&U conference on General Education and Assessment in February 2009 included a General Education Workshop. During the workshop, conversations centered on faculty buy-in, state system-level participation, and starting and maintaining redesign efforts. This workshop was set in the context of remapping general education and three campus examples were highlighted. The workshop included presentations from Lisa Maxfield, general education coordinator at California State University-Long Beach; John M. Burney, associate provost for Curriculum, Faculty Development, and Assessment at Drake University; and Rita C. Kean, dean of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Workshop Handouts (pdf)

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Some of the Berkshire County sixth-grade students visiting Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts had never set foot on a college campus before. On this visit, they met with English professor Rosanne Fleszar Denhard and several of her students. The sixth-grade students watched a multimedia presentation, and talked about their interests in things like graphic novels, filmmaking, and writing for newspapers or magazines. The sixth-graders learned that these topics were among the many they could study in college. Their enthusiasm was clear: “I’m definitely coming to MCLA. I definitely want to make sure [that] Roseanne Fleszar Denhard is still here,” one sixth-grader exclaimed after Denhard’s presentation. Read more -- "Changing Aspirations in a Changing Economy: The Berkshire Compact" (AAC&U News, June/July 2009).

Otterbein College
During the November 2008 Network conference, Engaging Science, Advancing Learning, Otterbein College facilitators described the development and implementation of a two-course sequence in integrative sciences.  Designed to move beyond introductory offerings and increase scientific literacy, these courses focus on science as a way of knowing and offer opportunities to practice scientific reasoning that addresses global problems and results in a stronger understanding of the role of science in society. See the “From Scientific Inquiry to Global Applications—Development of a Two-course Sequence in Integrative Sciences” (ppt) presentation by Amy Jessen-Marshall, Chair of Integrative Studies Program and Associate Professor of Life Sciences, Lisa Marr, Academic Teaching Staff for Life Sciences, Wendy Sherman-Heckler, Associate Professor of Education, and Kevin Svitana, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences—all of Otterbein College.

Engage the Big Questions

Teach through the Curriculum to Far-Reaching Issues - Contemporary and Enduring - in Science and Society, Cultures and Values, Global Interdependence, the Changing Economy, and Human Dignity and Freedom.

Utah State University
Utah State University completed an evaluation of the first-year experience program in October 2009. USU found that roughly two thirds of the first year class at Utah State University participates in Connections, a first year experience that focuses on developing critical college study skills, time-management techniques, and test-taking strategies, as well as promoting an awareness of the campus and community. It encourages the development of a support network of classmates, faculty, and staff to help ensure a successful beginning to students’ academic experiences. At the core of Connections is the Common Literature Experience, in which all freshmen, the University, and the broader community read a book, participating in discussions and a lecture from the author.  See University Connections for more information. (October 2009).

San Jose State University
The San Jose State University Health Science Department has worked diligently to integrate public health, which was a program only offered to graduate students, into the undergraduate general education curriculum. University staff worked both from the inside and out, introducing public health into the existing general education curriculum and creating new courses centered on public health. What resulted was collaboration across departments and campus to enhance student learning and engagement in public health issues. Read more -- "Infusing Public Health Education in the Undergraduate Curriculum: The Experience of a Comprehensive University" from Peer Review (Summer 2009).

Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action

Prepare students for citizenship and work through engaged and guided learning on "Real-World" problems.

Wagner College
Wagner College’s Wagner Plan requires students to complete issue-centered integrative learning communities during the first year, the intermediate years, and the senior year. The communities are organized around a larger theme or problem, and include experiential as well as academic learning. This example was featured at the 2009 AAC&U Annual Meeting (January 2009).

Clark University
Clark University has a comprehensive program to advance liberal education outcomes for all students. Students must complete an eight-course Program of Liberal Studies (PLS) that includes classes in several outcome areas - including verbal expression, formal analysis, historical perspectives, values perspectives, and others. Both an international studies option within the PLS and the Active Learning and Research program—which focuses on real-world problems—provide opportunities for exploration and learning outside the traditional classroom. Read more -- "Refocusing Undergraduate Education on “Effective Practice”: Curricular Change at Clark University"
(AAC&U News, March 2009).

Mitchell College
To engage non-science majors in the study of science (and to ensure that they meet the general education requirement of developing an understanding of the natural world by applying the scientific method,) faculty at Mitchell College redesigned non-major science courses to help students make the connection between the study of science and other aspects of their lives. Non-major science courses, both life and physical science, now include a service-learning, research component dealing with the impact of human civilization on the global environment and the responsibilities of humans in preserving their environments.

This example was taken from the “Advancing Understanding of Science and Its Connection to Other Aspects of Life through Service Learning” (ppt)  poster presentation at the Engaging Science, Advancing Learning conference (November 2008). Click here to see an overview of the program.
Presenters: Victoria E. Brennan, Chair and Associate Professor, Science and Mathematics Department, Kimberly Blake, Associate Professor of Life Sciences, and Kristen Lester, Assistant Professor of Life Sciences—all of Mitchell College

Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning

Emphasize personal and social responsibility, in every field of study.

Washington and Jefferson College
Washington and Jefferson College's Magellan Project assists students embarking on projects that complement their studies in a given major. The program is designed to help students in crafting and telling stories that will be useful throughout their college careers and beyond by offering funding, particularly to under-served students; mentoring; proposal design workshops; and referrals to other funding resources. This example was featured at the 2009 AAC&U Annual Meeting (January 2009).

Wagner College
Wagner College's Port Richmond Partnership is an innovative program that will focus the school's community resources in an effort to improve the quality of life in the Port Richmond community, located on Staten Island's North Shore. A job training and educational center, which will offer pre-college and college classes and other services, recently opened in Port Richmond. Read more -- "Former President Clinton Recognizes Wagner Commitment." (2009).

University of Southern California
University of Southern California’s Joint Education Project (JEP) is one of the largest and oldest service-learning programs in the country. This program engages over 2000 students each semester from various subject disciplines. It focuses on the pedagogy of community service, with reflection as a key component.

This example was taken from the “Conceptualizing Diversity with Service-Learning” presentation at the Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Excellence conference (October 2008).
Presenters: Susan C. Harris, Director of Research and Academic Affairs, and Carol Brown, Graduate Student in Psychology— both of University of Southern California

Assess Students' Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems

Use assessment to deepen learning and to establish a culture of shared purpose and continuous improvement.

St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College developed an Essential Learning Outcomes Assessment (ELOA) questionnaire that elicits information about students’ prior learning experiences, current understandings, and future aspirations in relation to the “essential learning outcomes” of a college education, as identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The questionnaire was developed by a team of St. Olaf faculty and staff, and piloted with entering first-year students during Week One in September 2009. More than 450 entering first-years (91% of those invited to participate) completed one of six versions of the instrument.
(October 2009).

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Liberal Education Reform Team (LERT) led the campus-wide effort to establish a framework for institutional learning outcomes are being addressed in the curriculum and developing an assessment model from 2009 AAC&U Annual Meeting (January 2009).

Spelman College
Electronic portfolios have become popular at many colleges and universities in recent years, as faculty and administrators seek innovative ways to document and evaluate student development and achievement. But at Spelman College, a historically black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia, portfolios had a place in the curriculum long before most students and faculty had even heard of the Internet. Read more -- "Assessing Learning, Encouraging Individuality Through Portfolios at Spelman College" from AAC&U News (November 2008).

LaGuardia Community College
Since 2001, more than 8000 students have created e-portfolios at LaGuardia that demonstrate their achievement of key learning outcomes from course to course and year to year, reflect on their evolving academic, professional, and personal selves, and create documents that supplement resumés and transfer applications to senior colleges. The goals of the e-portfolio project at LaGuardia include encouraging students to take control of their educations, to become self-directed and self-motivated learners, to link classroom and lived experiences, and to increase facility with digital communication. See information about e-portfolios at La Guardia, an audio podcast of a presentation on e-portfolios by Bret Eynon, executive director of LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning, and information about AAC&U’s assessment initiative, VALUE. (June 2009).