President's Task Force

DELTA UPSILON

BUILDING BETTER MEN

President’s Leadership Task force

Table of Contents The History of Delta Upsilon Global Economy Report State of the Fraternity Our Strategic Plan Program Assessments Overview Assessment Methodologies Educational Programs Chapter Excellence Plan Criteria UNILOA Results Report Related Articles

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The History of Delta Upsilon Founded:

November 4, 1834 Williams College, Williamstown, MA Founded as the first non-secret fraternity Sixth-oldest general men’s college fraternity North America’s oldest and largest non-secret fraternity

Vision Statement: Delta Upsilon is a premier men’s fraternity committed to Building Better Men for a global society through service, leadership development and lifelong personal growth of our diverse membership.

Vision Statement: Delta Upsilon’s mission is Building Better Men. We will accomplish this by focusing on our non-secret heritage and Four Founding Principles: In the fall of 1834, 30 men met in the Freshmen Recitation Room of the Old West College at Williams College to proposed a revolutionary idea. These men, 10 each from the freshmen, sophomore, and junior classes were dissatisfied with that state of Fraternity affairs at Williams College and wanted to form a new organization. The men were upset because the two campus secret societies conspired to use their advantages of number and privilege to win in the race for campus office and honors. The men who met on that night did not believe this was right; they believed these offices and honors should be won based on the superiority of merit. They took action. These men founded what would eventually become Delta Upsilon, the first non-secret fraternity.

They chose a name: The Social Fraternity. To the founders, “social” did not mean entertainment events, it meant an interest in life’s interactions among people and how society would better itself through group action. The two societies ridiculed the new group, but the founders knew full well that the Social Fraternity would thrive. Within time, Delta Upsilon recruited more than half the men on campus, and for the first time, campus honors were awarded to men based on merit; not connection or affiliation.

This idea of a spirited, principles-based brotherhood based on merit spread rapidly. Within four years, men of similar beliefs set up another group, at Union College in Schenectady, NY. Our Middlebury Chapter was born in 1845; Hamilton, in 1847. More followed: Amherst, Western Reserve, Wesleyan, Vermont, Rochester, and Colby. The first seven chapters at the 1852 convention, and they are known as the “Seven Stars” of Delta Upsilon.

An early meeting of four chapters formed the individual chapters into an organized fraternity in Troy, N.Y. during November 1847.

Williams, Union, Amherst and Hamilton met in Convention, and formally established the Anti-Secret Confederation (ASC) as its name. Its Constitution paralleled that of Williams, and the Convention first adopted a member key, bearing the Greek words Ouden Adelon, meaning “Nothing Secret.” The Fraternity’s colors were set as “old gold on a field of sky-blue.”

To this day, Delta Upsilon still uses principles rooted in its founding to guide its mission. These principles are transparent in our nonsecret ritual and oath, and serve as a strong guide for the fraternity, even 175 years later.

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Global Economy Report

Building Bet ter Men in a Global Economy

Navigating the Educational Landscape during Turbulent Times By: Bernard Franklin, PhD, Kansas State ‘75

THE NEED In a 2006 national survey, Corporate Voices for Working Families and other partners asked more than 400 employers about the readiness of young people entering the U. S. workforce. “Are They Really Ready to Work?” was the question posed. The answer was a disturbing “no”. The employers said young people lack professionalism and a work ethic as well as skills in teamwork, collaboration, oral communication, critical thinking and reading comprehension. Seven in 10 employers saw these skills as necessary for entry-level high school graduates, but they reported that four in 10 high school applicants did not have them.

The reality today is that too few young people are ready to be adults. Many are not prepared for college or training beyond high school. Many are not focused enough to meet life’s challenges as they transition to adulthood, and they particularly aren’t prepared for employment. According to rigorous data analyses conducted by national researchers Michelle Gambone, James Connell and Adena Klem, only four in 10 young people are ready for work by the time they reach age 21.

Given that some of the most important workplace skills are professionalism, communication, teamwork and critical thinking, it may be time that our Fraternity critically examine our practices to see how we may better support the social, emotional and cognitive development of our young men. It is not suggested that we abandon or principles or ideals. However, we need to see how to make those principles and ideals relevant for a much greater challenged young man than when our Fraternity was founded, or when we, alums, were undergrads.

Awareness and understanding of what young men are experiencing socially and emotionally is critical to helping them succeed academically and socially. However, the entire Fraternity world is often confused and overwhelmed by the array of well meaning but disconnected and fragmented programs and initiatives for young men. One of the biggest challenges faces many Fraternities after seeing a problem is our knee-jerk response of convening an internal committee and creating a new program to solve it. We don’t engage outside leaders who can help us understand the challenges of our young men and how best we may create environments for their growth. All of these competing initiatives keep too many people going to too many meetings that don’t net real progress. We are all very busy trying to make things better, but no one is taking time to look at the “big picture”. The question becomes can Fraternities that were created 150plus years ago change their traditional practices to be relevant and supportive to today’s young man?

BACKGROUND In 1992 I was the recipient of the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Roberta Christie Essay Contest with a topic of “Teaching, Educating and Developing Men: The Missing Piece in Student Development Education in Colleges and Universities.” I coordinated the annual African American Male Symposium at Kansas State University from 1991-1996. I presented “In Search of the Missing Piece: Men’s Issues in Leadership Development” and “African American Men at Risk” at the 1991 Summer Leadership Symposium sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation and the University of Maryland-College Park. Both of these papers have been published as resources of the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs, University of Maryland-College Park. I was Chair of the College Men’s Development Task Force of the Standing Committee for Men, ACPA from 1992-1994.

Recognizing my expertise in men’s development, in 1994 I was invited to participate in a U.S. Department of Education--Dwight D. Eisenhower Program, entitled “Empowering the Next Generation: New Approaches to Leadership and Leadership Development.” This elite group of seven faculty and student affairs professionals were charged with developing a prototypic leadership development program for undergraduate students that could be adopted by higher education institutions, and was led by Dr. Alexander Astin of UCLA. My dissertation focused on undergraduate men, titled ““Gender as a Factor in Evaluating Academic Environments and Learning Outcomes”.

I have served as therapist and life coach to the Kansas City Chiefs, and my private practice currently serves primarily young men. I think I know a little bit about young men’s development.

It is my assessment that our campuses are today filled with thousands of boys who are extremely susceptible to what I call “hypermasculinity”: the overriding desire to prove that I am a man. This probably originates, according to Sociologist Walter Miller, in the fact that for many boys today there is no consistently present male figure that they can identify with and model themselves on.

Because of this, they develop an “almost obsessive...concern with ‘proving their masculinity’ ”.

Sociologist Joseph Pleck, in his book The Myth of Masculinity, says that society also plays a role in laying up traditional roles for boys and girls. But anthropological, sociological, and psychological studies have all shown that lack of appropriate male role models plays an 6

important and highly critical role in the development of rigid, dichotomous, and hierarchical sex roles, which includes a considerable degree of violence.

Is there really something unmanly about a boy or young man who is repelled by luridly violent films, who does not enjoy breaking bones and rupturing muscles--his own or others’--whether it be in the school yard, on the street, or on the football field? Is there really something unmanly in refusing to drink 2 six packs of beer on top of 5 shots of vodka or tequila? Is there something unmanly about understanding a woman when she says no, and backing away? Is there something unmanly about volunteering to read to an inner city kid struggling with reading? We desperately need new heroes and a new ways of thinking for our boys and young men, heroes whose sense of adventure, courage, and strength are linked with caring, empathy, and altruism.

My dissertation, again titled “Gender as a Factor in Evaluating Academic Environments and Learning Outcomes”, examined whether the college campus is making in progress in making men more broadly educated. University environments have historically been considered male domains. Traditional educational expectations--rationality and logic, competitiveness, and objectivity--have been associated with the male student. Nowhere is this context of academia stronger than in research-oriented doctoral-granting institutions.

Young men are still more competitive and career oriented; women are more supportive of each other and concerned with personal and social development. The environments in predominately male academic departments are more career and achievement oriented, and predominately women’s academic departments are more supportive of each other. Many young men are still threatened by true and honest intimacy and, therefore, have difficulty with relationships. If women define themselves through connectedness and sharing, the young male experience is more likely to be one of competition. Much of the male experience continues to be punctuated with “scoring” metaphors: scoring with women, at work, in sports, and finally in the classroom.

In terms of outcomes, women reported more growth in cooperating with others and men reported more growth in mathematics and quantitative skills. Women scored higher on goals describing “personal and social development”: developing their own values and ethics, understanding themselves and other people, and developing healthy life habits; while young men scored higher on factors comprising the understanding science and technology scale: Understanding the nature of science, new scientific and technical developments, and the consequences of science and technology. Young men need more than to understand science and technology, they need to understand how science and technology may impact their lives for positive and for negative, and how to embrace care, teamwork, and a work and community of women and people of color.

Please read the paper, “In Search of the Missing Piece: Men’s Issues in Leadership Development”, that I presented at the University of Maryland-College Park in 1991. The piece is nearly 20 years old, but it still describes the culture of young college men.

WHY IS THIS DISCUSSION SO IMPORTANT: The Changing Face of High School Graduates Between 2003 and 2013, the number of students graduating from U.S. high schools will increase by 4 percent. While the overall number of graduates continues to shrink, demographic changes are radically altering the ethnic and preparatory characteristics of our school age population.

Specifically, the decrease hides several trends: • • • • • • •

19 percent decline in the number of White non-Hispanic graduates, who are most likely to obtain a four year degree 52 percent growth in the number of graduates of color (Asian, Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, Native American), who are least likely to obtain a four year degree The share of graduates made up of students of color will grow from just 1 in 8 to more than 1 in 5. (Knocking at the College Door (March 2008), Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education.

The number of high school graduates of color (Asian, Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, Native American) is expected to grow by 50 percent in the next 10 years.

The highest growth will occur among Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic high school graduates, who are less likely to attend college.

The bulk of the decline will occur among White non-Hispanic students, who are more likely to attend.

Moderate growth will occur among Asian students, who are the most likely to attend (Knocking at the College Door (March 2008), Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education).

In the next decade, minority students will outnumber white students graduating high school, according to a recently released report on higher education. A separate report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics in fall 2006 indicates that increasing numbers of minority high school graduates will mean increased numbers of minority college students. The report speculates there will be 27 percent more black students and 42 percent more Hispanic students enrolled in colleges nationwide in 2015, according to the report. The study indicates only a 6 percent increase in the number of white students (Number of minority high school graduates will 7

rise, Amanda Dick, Hatchet Staff Writer, George Washington University, April 7, 2008).

GAY BROTHERS Finally, we have not had the courage to come to grips with the growing numbers of young men who are openly gay. I don’t believe any Fraternity has come to grips with how to build a community of men, with straight and gay young men living together. It’s time we come out of the closet.

CHANGE OR DIE On November 4, 1834, our Fraternity was created at Williams College, in Williamstown, MA. The sixth-oldest general college men’s fraternity was formed as a protest to the secret behavior of other fraternities. It was revolutionary. Those men made a grand statement that great men of class and distinction do not have to hide or shun the spotlight of how men of distinction are molded and shaped.

Publicly, those men took their principals of Friendship, Character, Liberal Culture and Justice, and they formed a fraternity. In seventyfive years, these enduring principals have brought men together in brotherhood to become North America’s oldest and largest non-secret fraternity.

Too many of our men live in less than desirable fraternity houses with little to no alumni or other male mentorship or support. Getting drunk, smoking weed, and snorting coke is more important to some young brothers than analyzing these principals and their relevancy for a swiftly changing global community.

And too many alumni are wrapped up in nostalgic dreams of what the “house was like” when they lived there. Or they are lost in their current roles, not taking into consideration that someone sacrificed for them to be where they are. They are too focused to give back, even in minimum ways to help guide a young brother to his maturity.

What if you were given a choice of our Fraternity changing or dying? I am talking about the life and death of our Fraternity. What if the president of your undergraduate college or university declared today that your Chapter had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way young men live out fraternity life? And if they didn’t change, the Chapter would be asked to shut the doors this summer.

Not merely to survive, if we are to grow and thrive, we must choose a new course. Those wedded to the practices and procedures of the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s are wedded to the past -- ideas and policies that are tired, worn and obsolete. We will find no new answers there.

Bobby Kennedy once said, “The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the great enterprises and ideals of American society” (Address, University of California at Berkeley, October 22, 1966.) He also warned, “If we fail to dare, if we do not try, the next generation will harvest the fruit of our indifference; a world we did not want - a world we did not choose - but a world we could have made better, by caring more for the results of our labors. And we shall be left only with the hollow apology of T.S. Eliot: ‘That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all’” (8/23/67, Americana Hotel, New York, N.Y).

PROPOSED TASK FORCE Within this end, it is proposed that we create a time-limited Task Force to understand “What makes a fraternity relevant to men and higher education in the 21st Century?”

The Task Force will identify strategies that will advance positive results for our Fraternity in each of the following three to six emphasis areas: 1. Men achieve academic success and ready for a productive future.

2. Men attain the education, life skills, and employment and/or community resources needed to increase income and save for their financial security.

3. Men achieve better health by adopting healthy lifestyles (physical, mental, and spiritual) 4. Men understanding and learning to lead with collaboration, team-working skills.

5. Men understanding how to live in a global community.

The following is a description of the purpose, key responsibilities and end product of each emphasis area.

Purpose The key purpose of the Task Force is to develop recommendations for review and approval by the DU board of directors. The 8

recommendations should be a multi-dimensional plan that advances measurable community change in one targeted area.

Recommendations would be used for the development a new strategic plan.

• • •

Examine best practice research and strategic action opportunities with the greatest potential to produce measurable results.

Research and define strategic action options that would move our Fraternity toward measurable progress in achieving our desired outcomes.

Evaluate action opportunities with the following additional criteria: - Action that holds the greatest potential to address young men’s hunger for belonging and connection to other men.

- Action where proven research offers the greatest opportunity to improve young men’s lives and community life.

- Action where the DU Board of Directors is needed to champion strategic action.

- Action that aligns with the history and heritage of Delta Upsilon.

- Action that maximizes the opportunity to work corroboratively with community partners, national student leadership thought leaders, and other National Greek partners.

Responsibilities • Group members will participate in this limited-limited task force to develop organizational change recommendations • For members who are issue experts, assist in preparing selected data or best-practices research for task force review.

• Review selected documents prior to meetings.

• Help gather relevant data from community engagement, such as consumer focus groups or presentations by issue experts.

• Develop recommendations to be presented to the DU Board of Directors by Spring Board meeting, 2010.

• At the conclusion of the Task Forces work, members will be encouraged to continue to be involved in advancing the change strategy/ies.

Produc ts • Develop recommendation/s by Spring 2010 that will advance measurable results for each emphasis area.

• Identify what would be measured to demonstrate progress on the Community Change Strategy/ies that will permit such progress to be tracked over time.

Recommendations would serve as foundation for the development of new organization strategic plan.

Anticipated Task Force Mee tings The Task Force will 4-6 times from June 2009 to December 2009.

• A preliminary work group may be formed of board members and headquarters staff to prepare and address particular tasks in preparation for the full task force meetings.

• Meetings may be open to the interested observers.

• Invited alumni may be asked to join the task force as their expertise and background is needed.

Task Force Composition The Task Force will include alumni volunteers, headquarters staff, and Greek and Fraternal leaders and issue experts. The Fraternity President will provide facilitation and headquarters staff will support the Task Forces work.

Task Force membership will include: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Bernard Franklin, PhD, Fraternity President Paul Edgerley, Managing Director, Bain Capital, DU’s Top Donor Michael McCree, Vice President, LeaderShape Laura Osteen, Ph.D., Director of Leadership Studies, Florida State University Jeremiah Shinn, Associate Director of Student Activities, Indiana University John Duncan, Director, Holden Leadership Center, University of Oregon, Former Staff member Bruce McKinney, Board Member Woman Greek Advsior President / VP level administrator

Task Force Agenda/Ac tivities To accomplish its task, headquarters staff will provide support the planning task force work, to include: developing initial list of strategic priorities, preparing and compiling relevant research, data, information to help the Task Force team members understand 9

the history of Delta Upsilon. The headquarters staff will also prepare meeting summaries and recommendations, and coordinate communication between the task force and the Board.

Key agenda items and/or activities include: • Review the Board’s recent strategic priorities • Review documents prepared by Bernard Franklin, PhD.

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State of the Fraternity

State of the Fraternity VISION – Delta Upsilon is the premier men’s fraternity committed to Building Better Men for a global society through service, leadership development and lifelong personal growth of our diverse membership.

MISSION STATEMENT – Delta Upsilon’s mission is Building Better Men. We will accomplish this by:

Focusing on our non-secret heritage and Four Founding Principles:

The Promotion of Friendship The Development of Character

The Diffusion of Liberal Culture The Advancement of Justice

The state of Delta Upsilon is strong.

This past year was truly remarkable for our great Fraternity, and we are pleased to share with you the 2008-2009 Annual Report of Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

The Fraternity is guided by a five-year strategic plan that was developed in 2007. The purpose of the Strategic Plan is twofold: improve the execution of the Mission Statement and make progress towards achieving the Vision Statement. The plan contains 32 action items organized in nine mission-critical areas. The fraternity’s professional staff is charged with executing the operations of the fraternity and ensuring advancement in the mission-critical areas. The Board of Directors monitors the progress using a Balanced Scorecard. A Balanced Scorecard is a strategic performance management tool for measuring whether the operational activities are aligned with the larger-scale objectives in terms of vision and strategy. A stoplight indicator is used to measure the current status of performance to the specified goal or target.

Red: Measurement is significantly behind The 2008-09 academic year produced green lights in eight of the nine expectations/goals and corrective action mission-critical areas, with significant advancement in most areas. The ninth area must be taken to cause improvement. lagged slightly behind goal pace, but still met expectations.

William Messick Lafayette ’68 retired as chairman of the board this past summer after six years of service. His leadership and guidance has the fraternity trending in a positive direction. As we celebrate 175 years of Delta Upsilon, the Fraternity is well positioned to achieve its vision of being the premier men’s fraternity committed to Building Better Men for a global society.

If you have questions, or comments, please feel free to contact Executive Director Justin Kirk at kirk@deltau.org.

President E. Bernard Franklin, Ph.D., Kansas State ‘75

Chairman of the Board Richard X. Taylor, North Carolina State ‘82

Yellow: Measurement is behind expectations/goals; no corrective action is deemed necessary at present but this area is subject to heightened review.

Green: Measurement is meeting expectations/goals.

Past Chairman of the Board William L. Messick, Lafayette ‘68

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Executive Director Justin Kirk

Membership Recruitment Delta Upsilon recorded one of its most successful membership recruitment years in recent memory, experiencing a 14 percent increase over last year. More than 1500 hundred associated members were recruited into fraternity and for just the second time in the last decade, the Fraternity initiated more than 1200 men (1210). While many national fraternities are reporting membership growth, the 14 percent increase is an impressive number by industry standards.

DU Chapters are not only seeing success in their recruitment efforts, but more importantly, they are retaining the members they recruit. Total membership in the fraternity grew to 3268 members, up from 2985 the prior year. This marks an average chapter size of 42.5.

The Fraternity has used a consistent recruitment message over the last two years. Phired-up Productions, a fraternity recruitment training company, has provided recruitment training at each of the last two Leadership Institutes and Winter Educational Conferences. Chapter leaders are using the Phired-up message in their everyday conversations around recruitment.

Instead of focusing on a specific rush period, chapters are encouraged to recruit year-round using the Fraternity’s Four Founding Principles as the core message and a values-based selection process.

To recognize those chapters achieving recruitment success, a Top 10 ranking was added to the homepage of the fraternity’s website. The ranking is updated weekly as new members are reported. The top five chapters for the 2008-09 academic year were: Oklahoma

Central Florida

Indiana

Western Illinois

Purdue

Associate Members:

:1357 in 2008 :1546 in 2009 +: 13% Initiated Members:

:1061 in 2008 :1210 in 2009 +: 14% Total Undergraduate Members:

:2985 in 2008 :3268 in 2009 +: 9.5%

average Chapter Size: 42.5 Key: =15 members

Alumni Relations It has been long believed that involved alumni are the key to long-term success for a chapter. The Fraternity placed a strong emphasis on recruiting and training local and regional volunteers.

To better equip our local advisors, the first Advisors Academy was held in Indianapolis at the Winter Education Conference.

Twenty-eight advisors attended the academy and learned about today’s college student and how to better advise their DU Chapter.

This academy will be the foundation for our advisor training efforts.

A section of the Fraternity’s website has been dedicated to opportunities for volunteer involvement. It contains descriptions of the available positions and how to become involved. The Fraternity also hosted alumni events in New York, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Houston and Denver.

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Loss Prevention Delta Upsilon’s loss prevention program has proven to be effective in reducing the number of loss prevention incidents.

The Fraternity has also been a leader in industry initiatives. DU became a Founding Supporting Partner of the Alcohol Prevention Coalition, an institution-wide solution for tackling high-risk drinking on America’s college and university campuses. The coalition consisting of universities and other organizations is designed to serve as the definitive program for institutions seeking to achieve state-of-the-art practice in alcohol prevention. Partnering with the coalition will provide the fraternity with cutting-edge research and programming to address alcohol use.

DU also partnered with a number of other Greek organizations to sponsor an anonymous Hazing Hotline that members can use without concern for retribution.

Membership Development The Membership Development component of the strategic plan is at the heart of the fraternity’s mission of Building Better Men. The number of members attending DU educational events saw a significant increase.

Attendance at the Leadership Institute grew 14 percent and the Winter Educational Conference saw an increaseof 13 percent.

The Regional Leadership Seminars included 484 attendees, a boost of 16 percent over last year. This program has the largest per year attendance of any DU educational event. The Fraternity also introduced e-learning, training undergraduates and alumni through a series of topical webinars.

To better understand the growth of our members and the effectiveness of the fraternity experience, DU partnered with the Center for Student Learning Outcomes at Indiana State University to administer the University Learning Outcomes Assessment (UniLOA). UniLOA is a theory-based, reliable, and valid instrument designed to measure student learning outcomes in the following domains: critical thinking, self-awareness, communication, diversity, citizenship, membership and leadership, and relationships. The assessment data will allow us to evaluate our programming and measure progress.

Communications Delta Upsilon’s communications program continues to undergo a transformation and has been recognized as an industry leader.

At the Fraternity Communications Association (FCA) annual conference, DU was recognized with three communications awards.

FCA is the association for fraternity/sorority communications and represents more than 80 organizations. Only seven fraternities and sororities received three or more awards.

Chapter Development The chapter servicing strategy has moved to a model of assessing each chapter’s needs through multiple methods and proactively addressing those specific needs. Chapter visits are conducted by the staff member best suited to address the specific need. Each chapter is also provided a headquarters liaison, providing regular communication and follow-up throughout the academic year.

Staffing The staffing of the International Headquarters continued to evolve and enters the 2009-10 at full capacity. The professional staff is a blend of permanent skilled and entry-level developmental positions committed to providing a high level of customer service to constituents. The staffing structure has been aligned with the strategic plan to support and advance the mission of the fraternity.

Upon review of the plan, a number of new positions were added. The position of chapter development coordinator was created to aid in the development of educational programs and work specifically with the colonies and interest groups. With the dramatic increase in social media technologies, a communications consultant was added to manage the fraternity’s online presence, brand, and oversee the development of a new website. An additional Leadership Consultant was hired to support the fraternity’s aggressive expansion plan. The pool of candidates for staff positions also grew. The number of applicants for leadership consultant positions nearly tripled over the previous year. The summer internship program was also enhanced. Three undergraduate leaders spent the summer working at the headquarters assisting with the planning and execution of the Leadership Institute. Each intern also coordinated a major project.

Chapter Grow th Webster Chapter was chartered in April to become the first Greek organization in Webster University’s 94-year history.

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The fraternity opened three new colonies in the 2008-09 academic year: Johnson & Wales University, Virginia Tech University (Old Gold), Embry-Riddle University The strategic plan set a stretch goal of five new colonies a year, hence the yellow dashboard indicator.

Interest groups at the University of Pittsburgh and Rutgers University (Old Gold) were established late in the spring semester, with plans to colonize in fall of 2009.

Future expansions were also confirmed at Grand Valley State University (fall of 2009), University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (spring of 2010), Marietta College (Old Gold--fall of 2010), the University of Delaware (Old Gold--fall of 2011), and the University of Iowa (Old Gold--fall of 2012).

An “Old Gold” is a campus where Delta Upsilon formerly had a chapter.

Standards of Excellence The Standards of Excellence provide a set of standards for successful chapter operations. The core program in this area is the Chapter Excellence Plan (CEP). The CEP was initially created to be used as a planning guide for a chapter’s activities throughout the year. Over time, it morphed into a year-end report card used to grade chapters. Chapter awards were determined by CEP submissions. One of the most frequent requests from chapter leaders was to reconfigure the CEP to allow for online reporting. The request was heard and a work group of board members, volunteer leaders, and the professional staff transformed the CEP into an online reporting system that would not only grade chapters, but could also be used as an effective planning guide. The new CEP allows chapter officers to report their activities as they happen and the chapter’s score will be updated within days. A chapter will also be able to see how it compares to other DU chapters. The framework was revised to focus on the Four Founding Principles along with chapter operations. Those chapters who embody the principles in their activities will be rewarded.

The Fraternity’s awards program saw major additions to its portfolio. The DU Awards of Merit were created to honor esteemed members of the Fraternity who have exhibited excellence or notoriety in their professional career. The name for the DU Awards of Merit has been chosen because of the Fraternity’s historical tie to the Founders description: “the only superiority that we acknowledge is the superiority of merit” when selecting members to join DU. Members can be recognized in the following eight professional categories.

• Sloan-Kettering Award of Merit in Business – banking, financial management, marketing, real estate, entrepreneurship, leaders of industry, etc.

• James Conant Award of Merit in Education – teaching, administration, research, leadership • Edgar Bergen Award of Merit in Entertainment – sports & recreation, music, photography, theater and the arts.

• Charles Evans Hughes Award of Merit in Justice - law, judicial, international relations, etc.

• Stephen Crane Award of Merit in Literature – writing, publishing and editing.

• Lester Pearson Award of Merit in Human Service – community service, philanthropy, theology and religion • Linus Pauling Award of Merit in Science – health & medicine, technology, research, engineering and the sciences.

• James Garfield Award of Merit in Public Service – government, politics, civil service and military

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Our Strategic Plan

Greetings, We are pleased to present Delta Upsilon International Fraternity’s 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, approved by the Board of Directors on April 26, 2007. This plan addresses many of the same themes and strategic challenges found in previous plans but also provides direction for the next five years.

Thanks go to all who had a hand in its creation, including the Board of Directors, headquarters staff, and alumni volunteers who provided input and direction. Your voices have been heard, and we believe the Strategic Plan is responsive to many of the issues raised by you. The process was facilitated under the able guidance of Delta Upsilon Educational Foundation Chairman, Steve Rowley, Ohio ’65.

The goal of the Strategic Plan is to transform Delta Upsilon into a truly excellent organization. To better define the goal, in addition to some minor changes to the fraternity’s Mission Statement (the daily purpose of Delta Upsilon), the Board has adopted the following Vision Statement (what Delta Upsilon aspires to be): Vision Statement: Delta Upsilon is the premier men’s fraternity committed to Building Better Men for a global society through service, leadership development, and lifelong personal growth of our diverse membership.

The purpose of the Strategic Plan is thus twofold: improve the execution of the Mission Statement and make progress towards achieving the Vision Statement.

As you will see, the 2007-2012 Strategic Plan contains 32 action items – a potentially daunting list. These items are organized into nine mission-critical areas: 1. Chapter Growth 2. Membership Growth 3. Membership Development 4. Chapter Development 5. Standards of Excellence

6. Staffing 7. Communications 8. Alumni Relations 9. Loss Prevention

Three things of note will be done in the execution of the plan. First, to achieve the excellence desired by 2012, Delta Upsilon will align the organization’s activities and initiatives with the Four Founding Principles:

The Promotion of Friendship The Development of Character

The Diffusion of Liberal Culture The Advancement of Justice

Second, we will identify and implement industry best practices. Finally, wherever possible we will determine appropriate measures to define success. To truly become “the premiere men’s fraternity,” we need to understand the criteria to create an objecting measuring process.

Please remember that this is your Fraternity. As you read the 2007 Strategic Plan and have comments or suggestions, feel free to offer your feedback via the email addresses below. Additionally, if you have expertise in a particular area relevant to the Strategic Plan and would like to offer assistance, please let us know; there is plenty of work to be done.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Sincerely, William L. Messick, Lafayette ’68 Chairman of the Board Messy12@aol.com

Justin J. Kirk Executive Director kirk@deltau.org

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Delta Upsilon Fraternity Strategic Plan Delta Upsilon Vision Delta Upsilon is the premier men’s fraternity committed to Building Better Men for a global society through service, leadership development and lifelong personal growth of our diverse membership.

Mission Statement Delta Upsilon’s mission is Building Better Men.

We will accomplish this by: • Focusing on our non-secret heritage and Four Founding Principles:

The Promotion of Friendship The Diffusion of Liberal Culture

The Development of Character The Advancement of Justice •

Abiding by our Strategic Guidelines in the following mission-critical areas:

Chapter Growth Communications

Membership Recruitment Alumni Relations

Membership Development Staffing

Chapter Development Loss Prevention

Standards of Excellence

Strategic Guidelines Chapter Grow th • We will develop and maintain a proven program for fraternity growth.

• We will install a minimum of five (5) new, quality chapters each academic year.

• We will seek to return to campuses where we have committed alumni support.

• We will seek to gain access to Greek-friendly campuses.

• Before a chapter goes dormant, we will attempt to establish a plan for a successful return.

• In addition to adding chapters in North America, we will evaluate the potential and ramifications of installing chapters on select campuses around the world.

Membership Recruitment • Delta Upsilon will recruit on our Four Founding Principles:

The Promotion of Friendship The Development of Character

The Advancement of Justice The Diffusion of Liberal Culture • The size of the chapters will consistently be above the fraternity campus average.

• Recruitment Program Guidelines and Marketing Plan Guidelines will be applied consistently across all chapters.

Membership Development • DU will focus on delivering quality Membership Development Programs. The frequency and schedule for these programs will be re-evaluated annually.

• Personal and leadership development programs should be defined to promote alumni interaction in meeting the program’s objectives.

• All of Delta Upsilon’s programming including our Community Service initiatives should reinforce our heritage and principles, and be consistent with the targeted “DU Brand” Identity.

Chapter Development • Staff will be proactive in discovering the needs of our chapters.

• The Fraternity will develop specific programming to address chapter needs.

Standards of Excellence for Chapters • Standards of Excellence and the Chapter Excellence Program shall be used as a planning tool.

• A meaningful Awards Program shall be maintained to promote the program’s success.

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• •

Effective utilization of technology and training will be elements of focus in our Chapter Excellence Program.

Feedback from all chapters will be sought each year to improve the program.

Communications • Delta Upsilon will enhance its operations and communications, as well as its value and appeal to undergraduates and alumni, by upgrading and maintaining its technological capabilities and support.

• Technology will be implemented to bring our entire membership closer together, and technology will become an area of distinct competitive advantage.

• We will establish the attributes of a DU Brand Identity and develop a Marketing Plan to ensure that the benefits of membership will become better known and help us grow.

Alumni Relations • Engaged alumni volunteers are the key to Delta Upsilon’s success!

• Electronic communication will become the primary means of communicating with chapters and alumni.

• The Delta Upsilon Quarterly will become an engaging alumni communication vehicle.

• We will implement a formal program of recruitment, training and personal development for alumni volunteers.

Staffing • Capable, enthusiastic, committed and diverse staff will facilitate the achievement of Delta Upsilon’s Strategic Plan.

• The staff will be a blend of permanent skilled positions and developmental positions designed to enhance the fraternity’s success and the future success of recent DU graduates.

• The Staffing Plan will be reviewed annually to ensure proper support for our most important strategic initiatives.

Loss Prevention • Loss Prevention will be an integral part of all educational activities and programs.

• Undergraduate members and alumni volunteers will be educated on all Loss Prevention policies to help ensure full knowledge and compliance.

• The Fraternity will update and maintain our crisis management program.

• The Fraternity will continue to build the reserve of the Loss Prevention Fund.

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Program Assessments

Overview and Assessment Methodologies Overview The 2007 American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) College Learning for the New Global Century report has served as a call to action for Delta Upsilon. The report recommends a set of Essential Learning Outcomes that out line the hallmarks of the 21st Century college graduate. To remain relevant with an ever-changing global society and to align with the educational mission of higher education, Delta Upsilon will make assessment of student learning outcomes a top priority.

DU engages in ongoing assessment of educational programs and student learning in order to continuously improve programs and curricula. The educational programs continuously gather data from multiple sources, including post program evaluations, University Learning Objectives Assessment, and Fraternity and Sorority Experience survey. Currently, Delta Upsilon has over 1,600 undergraduate members going through our educational programs per year outside of on-campus programming efforts.

Assessment Methodologies The following are the assessment methodologies that Delta Upsilon is currently utilizing for educational programs evaluation (Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels), student growth and learning (University Learning Objectives Assessment) and environmental factors of our chapter culture (Fraternity and Sorority Experience Survey).

Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Program Evaluation Level 1: Satisfac tion Per Kirkpatrick, “evaluating training satisfaction is the same thing as measuring customer satisfaction. If training is going to be effective, it is important that students react favorably to it.”

Level 2: Learning Per Kirkpatrick, “It is important to measure learning because no change in behavior can be expected unless one or more of these learning objectives have been accomplished.

Level 3: Behavior Level Three evaluates the position impact of training. “What happens when the student leaves the program and return to their chapter?

How much transfer of knowledge, skill, and attitudes occurs?” Kirkpatrick questions, “In other words, what change in position behavior occurred because students attending DU programs.

Level 4: Results Per Kirkpatrick, Level Four is “the most important step and perhaps the most difficult of all.” Level Four attempts to look at the chapter results that accrued because of the training.

Level 5: ROI/ROE Over time the need to measure the dollar value impact of training has emerged and Dr. Jack Phillips added a fifth level to the Kirkpatrick Model. This approach allows to see if the perception of investment is worth the cost of the training. Most ROI/ROE measurements utilize hard data, such a decrease in cost because of “x” training. Here we measure the investment of cost for students to attend the DU programs.

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Assessment Methodologies Assessment Methodologies University Learning Objectives Assessment (Student Learning Outcomes) Launched: Fall 2009 Objec - Conducted Yearly Universit y Learning tives Assessment (Student Learning Outcomes) Launched: FallLearning 2009 - Conduc Yearly (UniLOA) is a “dashboard indicator” The Unviersity Objectivested Assessment of student growth, learning, and development and is a powerful tool to assist Delta

The Unviersity Learning Objectives Assessment (UniLOA) is a ‘dashboard indicator’ of student growth, learning, and development Upsilon in supporting program development on an individual chapter level and internationally. and is a powerful tool to assist Delta Upsilon in supporting the planning of program development on an individual chapter level and internationally.

The UniLOA is a theory-based, reliable, and valid instrument designed to measure student in the following domains: Thelearning UniLOA outcomes is a theory-based, reliable, and valid instrument designed to measure student learning outcomes in the following domains: • • • • • • •

CRITICAL THINKING SELF-AWARENESS COMMUNICATION DIVERSITY CITIZENSHIP MEMBERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP RELATIONSHIPS

Critical thinking Self-awareness Communication Diversity Citizenship Membership and Leadership Relationships

TheThe items were written using ausing foundation of material collected through focus groups, individual structured web-based items are written a foundation of material collected through focus groups,interviews, individual surveys, liberal arts and general education outcomes, and student development theory. In many cases, verbatim quotes about student structured interviews, web-based surveys, liberal arts and general education outcomes, and student learning outcomes were used to fashion the UniLOA’s items.

development theory. In many cases, verbatim quotes about student learning outcomes were used to fashion the UniLOA’s Using these methods the authorsitems. contend that the UniLOA is strongly supported by existing research and practice, and presents a high degree of construct validity. Concurrent, criterionrelated, and discriminant validity studies will be conducted with the passage of time.

Using these methods the authors contend that the UniLOA is strongly supported by existing research and practice, and presents a high degree of construct validity. Concurrent, criterion related, and discriminant validity studies will be conducted over time.

UniLOA (Fall 2008 - Spring 2009) 78 76 74 72 70 68 66 64 62 60 58 56

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Delta Upsilon Mean

Fraternit y and Sororit y Experience Survey (Environmental) Launching: Spring 2010 The Greek Student Experience Survey originally developed in 1986 at the University of Minnesota. The survey measures factors influencing chapter and Greek community support of intellectual and leadership development, values integration, and positive relationships. It has been noted as the premiereassessment tool for the University President’s Call for Values Congruence (Schendel, 2005).

This 300-plus item survey covers areas such as recruitment, chapter affairs, chapter house, academics, chapter advising, alcohol, personal growth and development, personal involvement, and demographics.

Delta Upsilon will utilize the Fraternity and Sorority Experience Survey to help our Chapter Servicing team and to make sure the environment in which learning and development is occuring within our chapters is congruent to a postive and conductive environment.

Benchmarking In October 2008 Delta Sigma Phi and Delta Upsilon Fraternities have announced a partnership centered on a shared commitment to utilizing student learning outcomes as a basis for informing student programming and fraternity operations. The two organizations have contracted with the Center for Learning Outcomes Assessment and the Center for the Study of the College Fraternity to measure their members’ experiences.

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Educational Programs

Educ ational Programs

Program: Leadership Institute Time Period:Leadership Annual (lateInstitute July) Program: Time Period: Yearly (late July)

The Leadership Institute is our annual leadership coference/ The Leadership Institute is our annual coference/fraternity convention that400 occurs once a fraternity convention that leadership occurs once a year. More than year. Over 400 undergraduate student’participant s participant in defined tracks in which the in main focus ofthe the undergraduate student’s in defined tracks which curriculum is on soft-skill development.

During the convention students meet in the Undergraduate main focus of the curriculum is on soft-skill development and service Convention/Business Meeting to have discourse on the matters of legislation that affect the fraternity. learning.

During the convention students meet in the Undergraduate Convention/Business Meeting to discuss on the matters of legislation Leadership Institute Scorecard that affect the fraternity.

Leadership Institute Scorecard: Program Title: Leadership Institute Target Audience: General Membership Duration: 3 days Satisfaction

End-of-program evaluation (1-7 scale)

Learning

Learning objectives completion (1 – 7 scale)

I was satisfied with the Leadership Institute.

Learned new knowledge and skills: 5.58

2009: 6.80/7.0 2008: 6.60 2007: 6.17

Overall learning objectives achievement: 6.33

I would recommend the Leadership Institute to other brothers.

2009: 6.80/7.0 2008: 6.80 2007: 4.69 I am likely to attend the 2010 Leadership Institute.

2009: 6.81/7.0 2008: 6.38 2007: 6.01

Learning objective achievement: To enhance your understanding of the purpose and use of the international fraternity, headquarters; staff, board of directors, educational foundation, services and products.

2009: 6.50/7.0 2008: 6.31 2007: 5.81 To improve your knowledge of the policies and procedures of Delta Upsilon.

2009: 6.20/7.0 2008: 6.23 2007: 5.59 To improve your skills in recruitment and other operational areas.

2009: 5.90/7.0 2008: 6.60 2007: 5.49 To increase your effectiveness in leadership as a chapter officer or member.

2009: 6.54/7.0 2008: 6.52 2007: 6.21 Develop the ability to examine the values and founding principles of Delta Upsilon.

2009: 6.50/7.0 2008: 6.39 2007: 5.76 Offer the opportunity to create an action plan for the school year.

2008: 6.28/7.0 2007: 6.07

5

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Program: Advisors’ Academy Time Period: Annual (early January) Program: Advisors’ Academy The Advisors’ Academy is a training program Time Period: Yearly (early January)

for local level volunteers which brings together primary chapter advisors from selectAcademy chapters and program colonies.

The academy is held in conjunction with the The Advisor is a training for local level volunteers that which offers the bring Presidents’ together primaryAcademy, chapter advisors from select chapters andadvisors colonies. the chance to join new chapter presidents certainwith areas of programming The academy is held inin conjunction the Presidents’ Academy, whichand build relationships. offers the advisors the chance to join new chapter presidents with certain areas of programming and relationship building.

Advisors’ Academy Scorecard:

Advisors’ Academy Scorecard Program Title: DU Advisors’ Academy Target Audience: Primary Chapter Advisors Duration: 2 Days

Overall Results Satisfaction

Learning

Position Impact

Chapter Results

End-of-program evaluation (1-7 scale)

Learning objectives completion (1 – 7 scale)

Self-assessment on knowledge impact

Self-assessment of improvement areas

Overall quality: 5.79

Learned new knowledge and skills: 5.75

Apply knowledge and skills to my position: 6.15

Overall learning objectives achievement: 6.00

(0% - Not at all, 100% - Critical)

Presenters: Knowledgeable: 6.20 Responsive: 6.50 Engaging: 6.00 Encouraging: 6.10 Environment: Large Group: 5.84 Hotel: 6.11 Materials/Content: Organized logically: 5.79 Examples: 6.00 Binder: 5.95 Curriculum/Materials were: Just about Right

Learning objective achievement:

Develop a better understanding of today’s students:

6.15

Develop a stronger personal relationship with undergraduates:

Applying Academy content to success as Advisor: 80%

To establish a network of advisors who you can contact for help:

Academy worthwhile investment in my development: 6.45

Academy content impacting:

Academy worthwhile investment for my chapter: 6.65

(Ranked 1-7, 1 – most impactful)

Advisorundergraduate communication

Quality support for undergraduates

5.55

3. Improving chapter programming

5.79

4. Decreasing loss prevention risk

5.95

5. Increasing values conversations

Increase awareness of available resources: Increase awareness of strengths and weaknesses as an advisor: Increase understanding of the role of an advisors

6. Increasing chapter member satisfaction

6.10

Increased understanding of Fraternity’s goals and direction:

5.84

Increase abilities to be an effective advisor:

5.95

6

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Self-assessment of investment value (1- 7 scale)

Academy will improve advisory performance: 6.11

1. % of new knowledge and skills directly applying to position: 2.

80%

5.63

Return on Expectation

Educational Programs Program: Presidents’ Academy Program: Presidents’ Time Period: Annual Academy (early January) Time Period: Yearly (early January)

The Presidents’ Academy is a training program for

The Presidents’ Academy is anewly training elected program forchapter Delta Upsilon’ s newly Delta Upsilon’s and colony elected Chapter President’ s of our chapters and colonies.

This program president’s. This program offers operational and soft-skills offers operational and soft-skills training to help prepare President’s for training to help prepare presidents for their term in office. their term in office.

Presidents’ Academy Scorecard

Presidents’ Academy Scorecard:

Program Title: Presidents’ Academy Target Audience: Chapter Presidents Duration: 4 days Overall Results Satisfaction

Learning

Position Impact

Chapter Results

End-of-program evaluation (1-7 scale)

Learning objectives completion (1 – 7 scale)

Self-assessment on knowledge impact

Self-assessment of improvement areas

Overall quality: 5.62 (2008-5.15)

Learned new knowledge and skills: 5.96

Apply knowledge and skills to my position: 6.06

Overall learning objectives achievement: 5.70

(0% - Not at all, 100% - Critical)

Facilitators: Knowledgeable: LG: 6.06 SG: 6.62 Responsive: LG: 6.22 SG: 6.64 Engaging: LG: 6.20 SG: 6.68 Encouraging: LG: 5.90 SG: 6.64

Learning objective achievement:

To recognize and articulate DU’s founding principles and mission:

6.34 (2008 – 6.21)

Environment: Large Group: 4.46 Small Group: 6.48 Hotel: 5.86

To articulate programs and events that are aligned with our values:

Materials/Content: Organized logically: 5.70 Examples: 5.96 Workbook: 6.10 Curriculum/Materials were: Just about Right

Applying Academy content to success as President: 78%

Academy worthwhile investment in my development: 6.16

Academy content impacting:

Academy worthwhile investment for my chapter: 6.24

(Ranked 1-7, 1 – most impactful)

Increasing executive board efficiencies Increasing developing leaders

To be able to integrate proper chapter operational efficiencies:

3. Increasing quality

To identify my unique leadership style:

4. Increasing values conversations

To articulate and recognize loss prevention standards and processes:

5. Decreasing loss prevention risk

To develop my ability to challenge processes:

6. Increasing chapter member satisfaction

5.58

5.68 (2008 – 5.01) 5.86 (2008 – 5.16) 5.52

To develop balance and direction capabilities:

5.36

7. Increasing programming

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Self-assessment of investment value (1- 7 scale)

Academy will improve position performance: 6.06

1. % of new knowledge and skills directly applying to position: 2.

67%

5.54 (2008 – 5.66)

Return on Expectation

Program: Recruitment Symposium Time Period: Annual (early January) Program: Recruitment Symposium The Recruitment Symposium brings together all Time Period: Yearly (early January)

chapter and colony vice presidents of membership recruitment for an intensive recruitment The Recruitment Symposium brings together allmembership chapter and colony Vice workshop.

TheRecruitment members themembership Dynamic Recruitment model through Phired Up Presidents of Membership for learn an intensive Productions andindividuals operational softRecruitment skills training that lead to successful values recruitment workshop. These learn theand Dynamic modelbased through membership Phired Up Productions and operationaland and soft skills recruitment selection. training that allow them to be successful in membership recruitment and selection.

Recruitment Symposium Scorecard:

Recruitment Symposium Program Title: Recruitment Symposium Scorecard

Target Audience: Vice President of Membership Recruitment Duration: 4 days Overall Results Satisfaction

Learning

Position Impact

Chapter Results

End-of-program evaluation (1-7 scale)

Learning objectives completion (1 – 7 scale)

Self-assessment on knowledge impact

Self-assessment of improvement areas

Overall quality: 5.86

Learned new knowledge and skills: 5.68

Apply knowledge and skills to my position: 5.66

Overall learning objectives achievement: 5.45

(0% - Not at all, 100% - Critical)

Presenters: Knowledgeable: LG: 5.89 SG: 5.69 Responsive: LG: 6.37 SG: 5.63 Engaging: LG: 5.78 SG: 5.19 Encouraging: LG: 5.94 SG: 5.69 Environment: Large Group: 5.20 Small Group: 5.67 Hotel: 5.90 Materials/Content: Organized logically: 5.83 Examples: 5.80 Workbook: 5.35 Curriculum/Materials were: Just about Right

Learning objective achievement:

Develop skills of communication and confrontation:

Applying Symposium content to success as Vice Presidents of Membership Recruitment: 90%

Symposium will improve position performance: 5.58 Symposium content impacting: (Ranked 1-7, 1 – most impactful)

1. Increasing quality

2. % of new knowledge and Articulate who the men of value are to skills directly applying be recruited: to position: 5.54 3.

70% Integrate proper chapter operational 5.38

efficiencies:

5.30

Increasing recruitment numbers Increasing bid acceptance

4.91

4. Increasing values conversations

5.36

5. Increasing member satisfaction

6.40

6. Decreasing loss prevention risk

5.72

7. Increasing programming

Identify unique leadership style: Articulate and recognize loss prevention standards and processes: Differentiate between static and dynamic recruitment processes: Examine how to utilize a names list in the recruitment process: Develop balance and direction capabilities:

5.02

8

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Return on Expectation

Self-assessment of investment value (1- 7 scale)

Symposium worthwhile investment in my development: 5.52

Symposium worthwhile investment for my chapter: 5.70

The Delta Upsilon Emerging Leaders Experience (DUEL) is designed to help young leaders meet the challenges and responsibilities of life and in their chapter. Each participant identifies and develops their unique Program: DUEL Experience leadership strengths utilizing the StrengthsQuestTM philosophy. Participants are immersed into Time Period: Yearly (early July) conversations of diversity and shared-values to effectively collaborate and lead through courage and conversation. are also The Delta Upsilon EmergingParticipants Leaders Experience allowsoffered membersthe to opportunity to gain an understanding of the interact and learn while gathering new insights into the history of Delta historical roots of Delta Upsilon by visiting the founding site at Williams College in Williamstown, Upsilon by visiting the founding site and spending three days talking Massachusetts.

The program effectively leads participants into creating a personal vision of the aboutfuture how to for growthemselves personally as aand leader and as a member of Delta leading their chapter.

Upsilon.

DUEL Experience Scorecard:

DUEL Experience Scorecard Program Title: DUEL Experience Target Audience: Emerging Leaders Duration: 2 Days Satisfaction

Learning

End-of-program evaluation (1-7 scale)

Learning objectives completion (1 – 7 scale)

Overall quality: 6.40

Learned new knowledge and skills: 6.70

Facilitators: Knowledgeable: 6.80 Responsive: 7.00 Engaging: 6.90 Encouraging: 6.80

Overall learning objectives achievement: 6.58

Environment: Large Group: 6.20 Small Group: 6.60 Resort: 6.30 Materials/Content: Organized logically: 6.40 Examples: 6.80 Curriculum/Materials were: Just about Right

Learning objective achievement: Identify individual personal contributors:

6.70

Identify unique strengths:

6.60

Create a personal vision:

6.20

Obtain knowledge of founding history:

7.00

Articulate and recognize the principles:

6.90

Articulate programs and events to align to DU values:

6.20

Identify moments that have influenced leadership:

6.50

9

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Chapter Impact

Self-assessment of improvement areas

DUEL Experience will improve my chapter: 6.50

Return on Expectation Self-assessment of investment value (1- 7 scale)

Academy worthwhile investment in my development: 6.90 Academy worthwhile investment for my chapter: 7.00

Program: Alternative Spring Break Time Period: Yearly (early March) DU’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Program exposes embers to complex social and cultural issues through community visits, experiential learning, direct service, group discussion, readings, and reflection activities. The program’s vision is to transform students into advocates of social change on issues affecting our communities.

Program: GreekLifeEdu Time Period:on-going This online training program educates members on the facts of alcohol, hazing, and sexual assault. This program helps to empower students to make well informed decisions and provides simple strategies to help keep themselves and their friends safe.

Program: Online Programming Time Period: on-going Delta Upsilon offers varying needs of online programming through synchronous and asynchronous learning avenues to meet the needs of our member and advisors. These online programming events are picked early through a needs assessment of student and volunteer needs.

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Chapter Excellence Plan Criteria

Chapter Excellence Plan The Chapter Excellence Plan (CEP) is Delta Upsilon educational intranet which focuses on the development of operational and valuesbased educational programming within the chapter. The CEP is designed to offer criteria for our chapters to guide chapter actions in the areas of chapter operations or one of our four founding principles. Through guiding aligning the chapters actions with our principles we will instill a continual understanding of what it means to put the principles of the fraternity into action in their every day lives. Students are able to read the criteria, view samples and demonstrations to complete the criteria and upload planning and execution documents to be reviewed by staff who can offer immediate feedback to our members. In addition chapters will have the ability to see what all other chapters are doing and reach out and build a network of fellow undergraduate leaders who are making striving in putting our principles into action.

Chapter Excellence Plan Criteria

documentation of its activities.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring A link to the chapter CEP is provided to the University to showcase the value of Delta Upsilon to the campus community.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Operational The chapter has short- and long-term goals established for the spring semester and reviews the status of the goals from the fall.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Vice President of Academic Excellence

The chapter utilizes at least one DU alumnus and at least one non-DU as local advisors.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Operational The chapter GPA must be above the all men’s average.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Spring

The chapter president prepares written executive board meeting agendas a minimum of two days before the meeting.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter president prepares written executive board meeting agendas a minimum of two days before the meeting.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Spring

The chapter GPA must be above the all men’s average.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall

Chapter officers meet with an advisor at least once a month.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall

The chapter recognizes an academic advisor who is faculty/staff and follows a job description.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Chapter officers meet with an advisor at least once a month.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Spring

The chapter will implement a written scholarship program which minimally includes: an academic resource list, study skills information, chapter tutorial programming, and a personal study hour schedule for the members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an updated Constitution and By-laws.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter has short- and long-term goals established for the fall semester.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Development of Charac ter The chapter maintains a recognition program for scholastic achievement.

Points: Planning 3 Execution 2 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an advisory board made up of alumni and university officials.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an internal academic mentor program.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

Development of Charac ter At least one chapter member is an officer in student government.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall

The chapter’s scholarship program includes an academic review committee that meets with all members not meeting the chapter minimum standards.

Points: Planning 3 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

At least one chapter member is an officer in student government.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Spring

Advancement of Justice The chapter utilizes campus resources related to academics such as tutorials, workshops/seminars, and library tours.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Advancement of Justice The chapter has a written code of conduct for all members to sign once a year.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Noteworthy ac tivities The chapter has an academic eligibility requirement for officer and voting written into the by-laws. They must be a minimum of

The chapter has a functioning Judicial Board, including 32

2.75 for officer and 2.5 for voting privileges.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall or Spring Vice President of Administration

calendar.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Spring Vice President of External Relations

Operational The chapter submits all paperwork to IHQ by their respective due dates.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Operational The chapter maintains accurate records of members’ contributions to philanthropy and service projects.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter creates and distributes to all members by the first week of classes a master calendar that includes all chapter events.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter publishes an alumni newsletter.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 5 Priority: Spring The chapter maintains accurate records of members’ contributions to philanthropy and service projects.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter has and utilizes a standard meeting agenda.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has a service/philanthropy partner within their community.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter roll book and ritual books are in good condition and stored in a fireproof location.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter publishes an alumni newsletter.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter creates and distributes to all members by the first week of classes a master calendar that includes all chapter events.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Parliamentary procedure is used during chapter meetings.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an alumni recognition program.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Promotion of Friendship The chapter should organize and host one alumni event.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall

Promotion of Friendship The chapter promotes each member’s activities, honoraria and community involvement on the chapter website.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Invite parents, faculty and alumni to Initiation by written correspondence.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring The chapter attends two campus sports games per year wearing letters.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Development of Charac ter Each member should be involved in at least one campus activity outside of the chapter.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter should publish a parent/alumni newsletter at least twice per year.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

At least 10% of all initiated members hold leadership positions in other campus organizations.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 10 Priority: Fall or Spring

Invite parents, faculty and alumni to Initiation by written correspondence.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Diffusion of Liberal Culture Campus cultural events are included on the chapter’s master calendar.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall Campus cultural events are included on the chapter’s master

An advisor recognized by DU IHQ is in attendance at a minimum of one chapter meeting per month.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring 32

The chapter hosts an appreciation event to thank any faculty/

Advancement of Justice Each member participates in at least one philanthropy event.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

administration who has supported the chapter.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Spring The chapter must host one alumni speaker outside of initiation.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

Noteworthy ac tivities Points: Planning 0 Execution 0 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter hosts an appreciation event to thank any faculty/ administration who has supported the chapter.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall

The chapter must publicize and invite parents/alumni to one service event.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an alumni mentoring program in place where they match each undergraduate with an alumnus.

Points: Planning 5 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Each member participates in at least one service event per semester.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter should organize and host one alumni event.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring

Each member participates in at least one philanthropy event.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Each newsletter should have a write-up about at least one alumnus.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The parents of associate members are provided an overview of the Associate Member Education Program and the expectations of membership.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Development of Charac ter The chapter schedules at least one day to participate in a campus beautification or clean up project.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Each member participates in at least one service event per semester.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Diffusion of Liberal Culture The chapter should sponsor a minimum of two alumni and/ or parents events per year, such as Founders Day, Initiation, Parents’ Day, Homecoming, etc.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter must participate in a minimum of one philanthropy/service event sponsored by another Greek organization or campus group.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter should submit a press release to the university newspaper, IHQ, and at least one additional media outlet on philanthropies and programming.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Vice President of Finances Operational Develops a balanced budget for all expenses with the assistance of the Executive Board and the Alumni Treasurer.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter has at least one cultural event per year in which parents and alumni are invited.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Receipts are required for any reimbursement to members who use funds for supplies.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has at least one cultural event per year that takes place off campus in the community.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The families of all chapter members receive appropriate financial information.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter has at least one cultural event per year that takes place off campus in the community.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter should submit a press release to the university newspaper, IHQ, and at least one additional media outlet on philanthropies and programming.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Chapter financial information is disclosed to potential new members and initiates.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

33

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Chapter financial information is disclosed to potential new members and initiates.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter hosts one program a year relating to developing members’ understanding of the larger financial issues of the world.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

There is no use of chapter funds for the purchase of alcohol (i.e. slush funds, social funds, portions of house dues, special assessment, extra dues, separate accounts, etc.).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Noteworthy ac tivities The chapter has a collection policy in place for all members and families to review.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

A source independent of Delta Upsilon conducts an annual audit or compilation report of the chapter finances (i.e. books).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter actively pursues all accounts receivable and total accounts receivable will not exceed 5% of the chapter’s total income.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Vice President of Loss Prevention Operational Is a member of the Executive Board and will attend Executive Board meetings, and offers input as to the advancement of the fraternity.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

A promissory note is secured from each brother who does not pay his dues on time. Past due or extended payment plans should be disclosed at each chapter meeting in the treasurer’s report.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter follows the BYOB checklist and policy to ensure that any event where alcohol is present adhere to Fraternity and university/college policies.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Two officer signatures are required on all checks written by the chapter and no chapter credit cards are in existence.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring There is no use of chapter funds for the purchase of alcohol (i.e. slush funds, social funds, portions of house dues, special assessment, extra dues, separate accounts, etc.).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter follows the BYOB checklist and policy to ensure that any event where alcohol is present adhere to Fraternity and university/college policies.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter annually saves at least 5% of its total budget for emergency reserve.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Develops and enforces a written code of conduct for all members to sign yearly.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

Develops a balanced budget for all expenses with the assistance of the Executive Board and the Alumni Treasurer.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter must attend all Loss Prevention training opportunities.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter finances are computerized or kept with a financial institution of certified accountant and distributed to the chapter.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter must be current on all financial obligations to the Fraternity and outside vendors.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Development of Charac ter The chapter hosts one program per year with an alumnus or local resource on either personal or organizational budgeting.

Promotion of Friendship The chapter has a relationship with university health service personnel to assess/survey the chapter members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring Campus police/security is invited to attend one chapter meeting per year to discuss safety issues related to the campus.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

35

Development of Charac ter The chapter has at least two speakers talk to at least 75% of

membership about alcohol abuse.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter hosts an executive retreat.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring The chapter has a documented crisis management procedure which is reviewed with members once a year.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Noteworthy ac tivities The chapter hosts one meeting each year in which the purpose of FIPG and Loss Prevention policies are discussed.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has an Associate Member Education Program separate from the Associate Member handbook.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall The chapter has an Associate Member Education Program separate from the Associate Member handbook.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Spring

The chapter has a rotation set up among all chapter members for serving on event management duty.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter will schedule three speakers per year dealing with issues concerning Loss Prevention, such as alcohol/drug abuse, hazing, sexual abuse, STD’s, legal liability, etc. and has a minimum of 75% of the chapter in attendance.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

All members are surveyed to determine their needs and interests in membership programming.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall

Vice President of Membership Education

The date of initiation will be made clear at the beginning of the associate member period.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

Operational Develops a written, monthly membership education agenda of activities.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter hosts an executive retreat.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall Associate members attend chapter meetings and the associate member class president gives a report.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Pinning ceremony is performed as outlined in the Delta Upsilon ritual book.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The date of initiation will be made clear at the beginning of the associate member period.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter initiation ceremony is performed as outlined in the Delta Upsilon ritual book.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The associate member program (pledging ceremony to initiation) is no longer than 8 weeks.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall The associate member program (pledging ceremony to initiation) is no longer than 8 weeks.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Promotion of Friendship Associate members are asked to organize one brotherhood/ non-alcoholic event in conjunction with the chapter AME/ Brotherhood chair to learn the process of organizing events for the chapter.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The ritual team properly prepares and rehearses the ritual before initiation.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter maintains an open ceremony for the initiation of its members and alumni and faculty are given formal invitations.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter must hold at least one substance-free retreat.

Points: Planning 3 Execution 5 Priority: Fall The chapter must hold at least one substance-free retreat.

Points: Planning 3 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter maintains an open ceremony for the initiation of its members and alumni and faculty are given formal invitations.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

All members are surveyed to determine their needs and interests in membership programming.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring 35

All “big brother” programming is outlined and communicated to associate members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter hosts one workshop/seminar on topics related to collegiate males.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall

Diffusion of Liberal Culture The chapter schedules one night for all interested members to discuss pre-selected current social or cultural topics.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter hosts one workshop/seminar on topics related to collegiate males.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring

The chapter hosts one workshop per year on proper meal etiquette and proper conduct.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

Development of Charac ter The chapter identifies and arranges educational leadership opportunities for all interested members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

Sponsor or attend cultural events twice a year.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter achieves 70% completion of the UNILOA assessment.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter should participate in at least one campus sponsored cultural event.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has a program in place for supporting brothers with financial issues, with referral to campus/community resources as part of the program.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter’s associate member education program has a section specifically addressing ritual and its meaning.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall The chapter’s associate member education program has a section specifically addressing ritual and its meaning.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter has a written procedure for supporting members who show signs of drug use, mental health issues, financial issues, or alcohol abuse, with referral to campus/community resources as part of the program.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter holds at least one educational program with another campus organization.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall

The chapter has a plan in place to help new members identify leadership areas in which they want to improve or gain experience.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter holds at least one educational program with another campus organization.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring

The associate member program has a section on personal growth (e.g. health, cultural experience, book group).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The associate member program includes an etiquette portion.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Fall The associate member program includes an etiquette portion.

Points: Planning 1 Execution 4 Priority: Spring

The associate member program has a section on personal growth (e.g. health, cultural experience, book group).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter has one brotherhood meal night where they eat and are educated on cultural/ethnic food.

The chapter has at least 75% participation in GreekLifeEdu. 36

The chapter schedules one night for all interested members to discuss pre-selected current social or cultural topics.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter size must be equal to or above the median size on campus.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall

The chapter has one brotherhood meal night where they eat and are educated on cultural/ethnic food.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter is involved in freshman orientation activities.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall The chapter retention rate of new members is equal to or greater than 85%.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter hosts an event in which a university professional leads a discussion in his/her area of expertise.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Fall

Develop recruitment materials and utilize available resources designed to educate potential members and their families about the benefits of membership in Delta Upsilon.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter hosts an event in which a university professional leads a discussion in his/her area of expertise.

Points: Planning 2 Execution 3 Priority: Spring

All formal and informal recruitment events are non-alcoholic.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Advancement of Justice The chapter debriefs following community service using DUIF resources.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter size must be equal to or above the median size on campus.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Spring VP of Recruitment maintains an up-to-date names list through out the entire year and asks brothers for updates weekly.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

All members and associate members are educated about the Loss Prevention policies of the fraternity.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall

The chapter conducts at least one skill set recruitment seminar.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall The chapter maintains a year round recruitment program that reflects chapter standards and utilizes the Four Founding Principles.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 7 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter is involved in one women’s rights issue or LGBT event per year (e.g. “Take Back the Night”, Safe Zone training).

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter conducts at least one skill set recruitment seminar.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

Noteworthy activities Points: Planning 0 Execution 0 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter maintains an active recruitment committee with a written year round plan.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

All members and associate members are educated about the Loss Prevention policies of the fraternity.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter utilizes alumni in the recruitment process.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Vice President of Membership Education

The chapter utilizes technology in the recruitment process.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Operational The chapter utilizes its website for recruitment and updates the site regularly.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Spring

The chapter utilizes their college/university alumni association summer events held throughout the state/province as recruitment events.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter utilizes its website for recruitment and updates the site regularly.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 3 Priority: Fall

The chapter retention rate of new members is equal to or greater than 85%.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring 37

Develop recruitment materials and utilize available resources designed to educate potential members and their families about the benefits of membership in Delta Upsilon.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Spring

The chapter has written eligibility standards for new members and describes those standards during the recruitment process.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter has at least one service event in which potential members are invited and attend.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

The chapter has a written procedure for the extension of membership bids.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter utilizes new members in the recruitment process and includes recruitment training of new members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring Develop position goals, budget, and officer manual to pass on and train his replacement.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Development of Charac ter The chapter establishes a chapter-funded scholarship program to encourage members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Diffusion of Liberal Culture The chapter hosts a minimum of one cultural event during each formal recruitment cycle.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring Chapter recruitment efforts reflect the standards and published chapter goals concerning diversity.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Advancement of Justice The chapter provides all potential members with the explicit financial obligations of membership.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter advertises to all potential members any financial scholarships available to members or new members.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter has a minimum of one justice event during each formal recruitment cycle.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 4 Priority: Fall or Spring The chapter utilizes a formal information session that describes DU and outlines requirements of membership.

Points: Planning 0 Execution 5 Priority: Fall or Spring

Noteworthy ac tivities Points: Planning 0 Execution 0 Priority: Fall or Spring 38

UNILOA Results Report

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE FRATERNIT Y: IMPACT OF MEMBERSHIP ON STUDENT GROW TH, LEARNING, AND DEVELOPMENT A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED BY: UNIVERSITY LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT (UNILOA) C0MPILED BY: THE CENTER FOR LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT, INC. JULY, 2009

INTRODUC TION Fraternities have a long history of tenuous relationships with the college campuses on which they reside. On some campuses, fraternities are seen as having a positive impact on their members and complement the goals of the institution. On other campuses fraternities have been barred from even existing. Fraternity representatives will often lay claim that membership enhances overall student growth, learning, and development and serves to bolster the essential quality of campus life as their various organizations add to the force of student volunteers upon which all campuses have come to rely. Institutions note the sometimes raucous behavior of fraternity members on the whole negatively impacts the quality of the student experience. Unfortunately, stalwarts from both camps have no choice but to rely on their own lived experience and are limited to providing anecdotal arguments for or against the concept of “fraternity.”

Do fraternities add to or subtract from the overall collegiate experience? To answer that question, one must look at overall outcomes, or, what and who do students become as a result of their fraternity experience as measured in changes in their behavior. Some limited studies have been conducted from which contrasting conclusions have been drawn, from espousing values contrary to academic achievement to promoting engagement which has been found to complement academic achievement.

Yet, to date, no “hard data” has existed that might provide empirical evidence to support any argument for or against “fraternity.” To that end, five national fraternities, some in concert with one another and others as a result of unilateral action on their part, participated in the University Learning Outcomes Assessment project and gathered data from their various chapters across the nation.

The UniLOA is a standardized assessment instrument designed to measure student behaviors consistent with seven distinct domains regarded as critical by employers, academicians, managers, researchers, accrediting agencies, and a host of others. Through a variety of administration protocols, behavior can be measured at key points along a student’s academic lifespan, thus providing valuable data for College and University decision-makers, and in the present project, fraternities, to support strategic planning.

A total of 5,697 valid responses were forwarded to the Center for Learning Outcomes Assessment for analysis by the various national fraternities between 2007 and 2009. This report presents a comparative analysis of findings of male college students based on their membership or non-membership in a fraternity.

Summary of selec t findings: Fraternity men score higher than the national mean of all students as well as the national mean for males on all seven of the domains measured by the UniLOA, with the exception of scoring lower than the national mean on the communications domain. Fraternity men did, however, score higher on the communication domain than non-affiliated males.

Fraternity men scored at a statistically significant higher level (p<.05) than non-affiliated males on a total of 47 (67%) of the UniLOA’s individual items, and scored numerically higher on an additional 8 (11%) items.

Fraternity men scored numerically lower than the non-affiliated male mean on 15 (21%) UniLOA items, of which 2 (3%) were statistically significant (p<.05).

Fraternity men experienced higher net gains in growth over their academic lifespan in each of the seven UniLOA domains than non affiliated male students.

Fraternity men experienced average growth within each of the UniLOA’s seven domains of 2.37 points as opposed to non-affiliated men’s average growth of .60 during the first semester of their first college year.

The largest differential in scores is observed in the domains of citizenship and membership/leadership, with fraternity men scoring substantially higher than the national norm and non-affiliated males.

Fraternity men score numerically lower on multiple items more frequently in critical thinking (4 items), self-awareness (4 items, with one of statistical significance of p<.05) and communications (5 items).

41

Considering the overall rate of growth along all 7 UniLOA domains is stronger for fraternity men than for non-affiliated males, there may be some grounding to supporting the claim that fraternity membership causes accelerated growth, learning, and development as opposed to mere correlation.

Highest and lowest scored UniLOA items for fraternity men in each of the UniLOA domains are presented in the table on the following page.

Considering the overall rate of growth along all 7 UniLOA domains is stronger for fraternity men than for non-affiliated males, there may be some grounding to supporting the claim that fraternity membership causes accelerated growth, learning, and development as opposed to mere correlation.

Highest and lowest scored UniLOA items for fraternity men in each of the UniLOA domains are presented in the table on the following page.

Highest

Lowest

Critical Thinking

I understand basic statistics that I read or see in the media. For example when I see or read statistics I know what they mean and how they are being used to represent information appropriately or inappropriately.

I am good at describing things in class. For example I answer the teacher’s questions when we are reviewing material.

Self-Awareness

I am self monitoring. For example I am constantly checking if I am where I want to be in my life and who I want to be.

I list my personal goals for a class or activity. For example I list my learning goals for a class beyond the learning outcomes listed in the syllabus, as well as my goal for a grade.

Communication

I adjust my communication skills to whatever setting I am in. For example I use different kinds of skills in class than I do during informal situations.

I make sure that when I am talking with someone I change my communication style to be consistent with their world view. For example when speaking to someone who is devoutly religious I take that into account when I speak with them.

Diversit y

I value differences between people as part of the overall human experience. For example I know that we are not a melting pot where people who are different can come to be seen as ‘all the same’.

I know that people are different and that these differences are important.

I act on the values of diversity and social justice. For example I work with an organization or with my church to help others.

Citizenship

I vote. For example I am registered and vote in campus, local, state and national elections

I engage in the political process through voicing viewpoints. For example I write letters to the editor, engage in debate with others, or contact political leaders to voice my opinion

Membership and I can describe the common factors in both leadership and membership. For example I can Leadership use this knowledge in a way that makes me effective as either a leader or a member

I engage in constructive dialog rather than arguments.

For example when I confront others I focus on minimizing a negative emotional response from people I’m confronting

Relationships

I use effective networking skills. For example I go out of my comfort zone to introduce myself to and establish and maintain an appropriate relationship with others, such as my professors and supervisors

I balance keeping personal, social, and professional relationships healthy with the rest of my life. For example I spend time on relationships and still get my school work done 42

DOMAIN AND COMPOSITE MEANS BY SAMPLE AND NATIONAL DATABASE Overall Domain Means - Fraternit y Sample n=5,697

Critical SelfThinking Awareness

Communication

Diversit y Citizenship

Membership and Leadership

Relationships

National Database Norm

72.60

69.43

73.37

69.45

63.15

70.21

70.16

Male NonFraternit y Student Means

73.48

68.19

72.42

67.52

62.48

69.21

68.61

All Fraternit y Means

73.93

69.70

72.69

70.23

67.82

72.25

71.11

43

Critical Thinking (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

1) I rely on multiple kinds of information when I form an opinion. 74.30 For example I look for a variety of facts and informed opinions before forming my own conclusion.

74.0

75.20

+1.2 *

8) I can see what a problem is like from a different perspective.

75.20 For example I anticipate different possible solutions and outcomes based on different perspectives.

75.6

74.70

-.9

15) My presentations in classes are concise, precise, and persuasive. For example they are always within the time limit and don’t wander off the point and I typically get an A on my presentations.

72.50

70.0

73.20

+3.2 *

22) I can tell when something is a belief, when something comes from science, and when something is logical. For example in class discussions, political debates, personal differences, and areas of conflict, I listen for these different perspectives.

73.60

75.7

74.10

-1.6

29) I evaluate the credibility of sources and information. For 73.50 example when I am using the Internet, or reading popular media, I know how to tell credible sources from questionable sources.

74.3

73.60

-.7

36) I identify valid and invalid arguments and can spot fallacies 71.80 of deductive and inductive arguments. For example I see when someone has a problem with the logic and structure of their argument, or is confusing cause and effect, or is missing key pieces that are needed.

71.7

73.20

+1.5 *

43) I identify the basic assumptions behind opinions and arguments. For example I can specify my assumptions and values that lead to my points of view or other people’s assumptions and values.

71.10

70.3

71.90

+1.6 *

50) I understand basic statistics that I read or see in the media.

For example when I see or read statistics I know what they mean and how they are being used to represent information appropriately or inappropriately.

75.40

76.7

76.90

+.2

57) I am good at describing things in class. For example I answer the teacher’s questions when we are reviewing material.

69.20

68.5

71.30

+2.8 *

64) I know when someone is using misleading language. For 76.70 example I can tell when a TV advertisement has used some ‘weasel words’ to try to confuse or mislead me.

78.0

76.90

-1.1

44

Critical Thinking Graph

Self-Awareness Graph

45

Self-Awareness (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

2) I list my personal goals for a class or activity. For example I list my learning goals for a class beyond the learning outcomes listed in the syllabus, as well as my goal for a grade.

51.70

47.8

53.20

+1.9 *

9) I can express my personal goals to others. For example I have 71.90 engaged in meaningful meetings with significant others to assist in establishing and clarifying goals and making a plan to accomplish those goals.

68.8

72.00

+3.2 *

16) I am able to attach lived experience to emotional/affective response. For example I can manage the emotional response I experience and accept the comfort and discomfort they bring to me.

72.50

73.1

72.70

-.4

23) I can describe myself accurately. For example I have engaged in reflection with others and have sought their input to check the accuracy of my perceptions.

71.10

70.1

71.50

+1.4 *

30) I talk freely about my strengths and weaknesses. For example I have admitted to others when I cannot do something and have taken action to improve the skills that I found lacking.

71.70

71.6

70.40

-1.2

37) I have a career plan. For example I have a written and 69.60 comprehensive career plan and understand how my daily activities compliment that plan in achieving my goals.

66.4

70.00

+3.6 *

44) I can describe the skills that I have gotten from my education. 74.20 For example I have identified skills and ability that I didn’t possess before going to school and I can tell others what they are.

72.1

74.40

+2.3 *

51) I am aware of real results of decisions and the effectiveness of their implementation. For example my decisions usually involve thinking about the consequences of my actions for myself and for others around me.

73.10

74.0

70.80

-3.2 *

70.40

63.7

68.80

+5.1 *

58) I am self monitoring. For example I am constantly checking if I am where I want to be in my life and who I want to be.

65) I am very organized in my work. For example I keep a “to do” list and use it.

46

Communications (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

3) My presentations in classes are concise, precise, and persuasive. 73.30 For example they are always within the time limit and don’t wander off the point and I typically get an A on my presentations.

70.9

72.80

+1.9 *

10) I use my best active listening skills. For example at parties and in class I use active listening and check with others to make sure I have heard them appropriately.

73.80

73.2

72.40

-.8

17) I adjust my communication skills to whatever setting I am in. 77.30 For example I use different kinds of skills in class than I do during informal situations.

77.2

76.00

-1.2

24) I use technical terms and jargon as appropriate. For example I adjust the level of my communication to my audience, I don’t communicate the same with professors as I do with first year students on campus.

73.80

73.1

73.40

+.3

31) I make sure that when I am talking with someone I change my 69.10 communication style to be consistent with their world view. For example when speaking to someone who is devoutly religious I take that into account when I speak with them.

68.4

67.20

-1.2

38) I use correct grammar when appropriate in speaking with others. For example when speaking in class or to professors I use correct ‘standard English’ even though I may use dialect and slang with my friends.

77.30

77.2

75.60

-1.6

45) My oral presentations are well structured. For example I spend a lot of time organizing what I am going to say, and even map out or outline my presentation.

71.20

67.5

71.60

+4.1 *

52) I use supporting material for my presentations and papers.

For example I rely on reliable sources and references to help me make my points.

76.80

76.6

75.10

-1.5

59) I ‘self disclose’ appropriately in conversation or in class. For example I share my genuine thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences as needed, but not too much so.

70.90

69.7

71.10

+1.4 *

66) I know what others think about my communication style. For example I listen when others tell me how I come across to them.

72.20

70.4

71.90

+1.5 *

47

Communications Graph

Diversity Graph

48

Diversit y (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

4) I have personal relationships with several people who are ethnically different from me. For example I have several AfricanAmerican or European-American friends.

70.90

69.5

73.40

+3.9 *

11) In a class or among my friends I will advocate for diversity and 72.20 social justice. For example I make sure that everyone is treated the same way.

71.7

69.60

-2.1

18) I take the time to see things from a different gender, ethnic, or 67.20 social class perspective. For example in class assignments I will use a perspective different from my own to help strengthen the paper.

65.8

67.80

+2.0 *

25) I can tell anyone what diversity is. For example I have a ‘standard answer’ when someone asks me about diversity.

65.60

63.5

67.40

+3.9 *

32) I talk with other people who are different than me about our 68.40 differences. For example I will talk with someone who is ethnically different from me to try to understand the world from their point of view.

65.6

68.60

+3.0 *

39) I act on the values of diversity and social justice. For example I 67.90 work with an organization or with my church to help others.

62.9

69.40

+6.5 *

46) I go beyond simple diversity to act and think more complexly. 68.50 For example I work hard to include many types of differences such as gender, ethnicity, social class, morals, and personality when I form opinions or work with other people in class or hang out with my friends.

65.3

69.90

+4.6 *

53) I value differences between people as part of the overall human experience. For example I know that we are not a melting pot where people who are different can come to be seen as ‘all the same’. I know that people are different and that these differences are important.

75.70

74.8

73.30

-1.5

60) I see myself as a member in multiple communities. For example I see myself as a member of a club, an organization, a social group, a family or origin, a local community, a state, a nation, etc. all at the same time.

73.80

70.3

74.60

+4.3 *

67) I behave in such a way to offset my inherent gender, ethnic, and social class bias. For example I work hard to see things from other gender, ethnic, or social class points of view.

68.10

65.8

68.80

+3.0 *

49

Citizenship (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from male nonfraternit y mean

5) I spend time researching candidates before I vote. For example I will read some independent sources about more than one presidential candidate before making up my mind.

70.90

69.5

73.40

+3.9 *

12) I am serious about voting. For example, I actively access the media to learn about and to address questions about a candidateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s platform, beliefs, and values

66.10

64.0

68.10

+4.1 *

19) I am informed of current events. For example I regularly read, listen, or watch various media to remain current in my knowledge of local, regional, national and international events

66.50

66.2

70.00

+3.8 *

26) I vote. For example I am registered and vote in campus, local, state and national elections

70.30

67.7

71.50

+3.8 *

33) I know about current issues within the community. For example I know what the hot political and social issues are in my town

63.40

62.4

66.60

+4.2 *

40) I contribute financially to causes I believe in. For example I make financial donations to charities, organizations, and causes

60.60

65.5

64.40

-1.1 *

47) I can identify good political leaders. For example I am able to report to others the values, voting records, platform and political philosophy held by political leaders and understand how these compliment or contrast to those of the community

64.90

63.4

69.20

+5.8 *

54) I engage in the political process through voicing viewpoints.

For example I write letters to the editor, engage in debate with others, or contact political leaders to voice my opinion

55.50

50.7

62.20

+11.5 *

61) I empower those around me. For example I actively seek the opinions of others and assess them in contrast to my own and am able to withhold judgment of the other person

68.10

65.8

68.80

+3.0 *

68) I am active in organizations related to professional and personal interests without overextending my commitments. For example I belong to professional and hobby clubs and groups

67.70

61.6

71.20

+9.6 *

50

Citizenship Graph

Membership and Leadership Graph

51

Membership and Leadership (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

6) I know when and where skills and talents can most benefit the larger group. For example I look for and actively participate in groups or work teams based on my skills and abilities

72.70

69.9

73.90

+4.0 *

13) I am a role model for others. For example I am aware of how 74.10 others see me and I act in ways that provide a positive example for others to follow

72.9

73.00

+.1

20) I have polished communication skills for influencing others.

For example I have learned effective ways to influence others and have observed situations where others have changed their minds based on my influences

70.00

69.5

72.00

+2.5 *

27) I use good skills in confronting others. For example I share my observations of another person in a constructive and nonthreatening way to influence changes in their behavior

71.00

69.3

71.60

+2.3 *

34) I know how to effectively run an organization, group, or club.

For example I use my skills of influencing others to help conduct the business of organizations I belong to

69.50

65.2

72.60

+7.4 *

41) I engage in constructive dialog rather than arguments. For example when I confront others I focus on minimizing a negative emotional response from people I’m confronting

68.20

66.0

67.50

+1.5 *

48) I can describe the common factors in both leadership and membership. For example I can use this knowledge in a way that makes me effective as either a leader or a member

73.00

71.2

74.10

+2.9 *

55) I balance my needs and the group’s needs so that neither is neglected. For example sometimes I will give up what I want or need so that the group will succeed

72.10

71.0

71.70

+.7

62) I take risks to accomplish a goal or to get the job done. For example I don’t fear failure in such as way that I won’t act and I will try new ways of doing things

72.10

72.3

73.50

+1.2 *

69) I actively seek leadership opportunities in areas that are important to me or in which I have expertise. For example I seek to be a leader in the groups I belong to

69.70

64.8

73.70

+8.9 *

52

Relationships Graph

53

Relationships (* = p<.05) Item

National Mean

Non Fraternit y Male Mean

Fraternit y Mean

+ or – from male nonfraternit y mean

7) I balance keeping personal, social, and professional relationships healthy with the rest of my life. For example I spend time on relationships and still get my school work done

76.70

74.9

75.60

+.7

14) I understand and improve my self-expression in relationship management. For example I am able to express my thoughts and feelings with others consistent with the situations I share with them

72.40

71.6

71.50

-.1

21) I use effective networking skills. For example I go out of my 65.00 comfort zone to introduce myself to and establish and maintain an appropriate relationship with others, such as my professors and supervisors

63.0

66.80

+3.8 *

28) I take an active part in class discussions. For example I engage in discussions with others who are different than me and make new friends and acquaintances outside my own “circle”.

67.10

65.4

68.90

+3.5 *

35) I foster cooperation rather than competition. For example I am not always trying to “win” at relationships

69.10

66.5

67.90

+1.4

42) I actively engage in relationship development and 70.10 management with a wide variety of “others”. For example I work on my relationships with peers, faculty, supervisors, etc

67.1

70.10

+3.0 *

49) I am confident in establishing a presence in dealing with others in the work place. For example I share my observations of others in an effective way to assure they know what my feelings are, without being overbearing with them

73.20

71.7

73.80

+2.1 *

56) I can confront other people in a constructive way. For example 70.80 when I have a disagreement with someone or don’t agree with what they say or do I can constructively bring this problem out into the open

69.7

71.70

+2.0 *

63) I don’t shy away from a relationship that may be hard. For 70.70 example if I think a relationship might cause some problems for me or be challenging or me I don’t back off because I know that I will really learn something in this relationship 70) I know how my gender, ethnicity, social class, and personality 71.40 affect my relationships. For example when my relationships have problems I think through how my gender, ethnicity, social class, or personality might be affecting the relationship

68.1

71.70

+3.6 *

68.1

76.60

+8.5 *

54

SAMPLE MEANS BY SELEC TED DEMOGRAPHICS AND NATIONAL DATABASE Grow th, Learning, and Development over the Academic Lifespan Fraternit y Sample

Critical Thinking

SelfAwareness

Communication

Diversit y

Citizenship Membership Relationships and Leadership

0-15 16-30

71.22

67.12

69.52

67.98

65.69

69.25

69.99

73.87

69.71

72.64

71.15

67.77

72.22

73.08

31-45 45-60 67-75 76-90 91-105 106-120

73.95

69.29

72.04

70.26

67.72

72.04

72.41

75.06

70.77

73.98

70.89

68.61

73.09

73.74

75.38

70.92

73.67

71.33

69.17

73.34

73.90

75.81

71.20

74.71

70.63

69.76

74.37

74.28

75.64

71.24

74.36

71.85

69.86

74.00

74.45

77.53

71.91

76.05

71.74

70.87

75.63

75.80

55

Grow th, Learning, and Development over the Academic Lifespan Fraternit y vs. Non-Fraternit y Samples

CT F

SA NF

F

COM NF

F

DIV NF

F

CZP NF

F

ML NF

F

R NF

F

NF

0-15

71.22 71.82 67.12

66.48 69.52

70.97

67.98 66.45 65.69 61.62 69.25 67.83 69.99 67.65

16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 91-105 106-120

73.87 73.95 75.06 75.38 75.81 75.64 77.53 6.31

68.15 66.86 67.82 68.65 70.10 69.89 70.38 3.9

71.80 71.05 72.47 72.01 73.06 74.64 75.65 4.68

71.15 70.26 70.89 71.33 70.63 71.85 71.74 3.76

Change Over Time Ne t Difference

71.65 70.48 73.53 76.49 75.00 76.25 77.83 6.01

+.30

69.71 69.29 70.77 70.92 71.2 71.24 71.91 4.79

+.89

72.64 72.04 73.98 73.67 74.71 74.36 76.05 6.53

+1.85

65.55 67.78 67.33 67.86 70.16 68.17 69.80 3.35

+.41

56

67.77 67.72 68.61 69.17 69.76 69.86 70.87 5.18

62.15 61.69 61.33 61.50 63.24 64.26 65.44 3.82

+1.36

72.22 72.04 73.09 73.34 74.37 74 75.63 6.38

69.36 68.24 69.10 68.11 69.69 70.14 71.87 4.04

+2.34

73.08 72.41 73.74 73.9 74.28 74.45 75.8 5.81

68.39 68.56 68.34 67.20 69.00 69.00 71.00 3.35

+2.46

Academic Lifespan Rate of Overall Growth, Learning, and Development based on Fraternity Membership Graphs Critical Thinking

Self Awareness

57

Communication

Diversit y

Citizenship

58

Membership and Leadership

Relationships

Citizenship

59

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1818 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Copyright Š 2007 by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9779210-4-1 The complete text of the LEAP report is available online at www.aacu.org. To order print copies, or to learn about other AAC&U publications, visit www.aacu.org, e-mail pub_desk@aacu.org, or call 202.387.3760.

Published with support from the Christian Johnson Endeavor Foundation, the Charles Engelhard Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Johnson Foundation, AT&T Foundation,Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and numerous individual donors.The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reďŹ&#x201A;ect those of the funders.

Nfncfstijq!pg!uif!Obujpobm!Mfbefstijq!Dpvodjm! gps!Mjcfsbm!Fevdbujpo!boe!BnfsjdbÖt!Qspnjtf Derek Bok, Interim President, Harvard University

Azar Nafisi,Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Myles Brand, President, National Collegiate Athletic Association

Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago

Mary Sue Coleman, President, University of Michigan Ronald A. Crutcher (Cochair), President, Wheaton College (MA) Troy Duster, Director, Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge, New York University; Chancellor’s Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley

Peggy O’Brien (Cochair), Senior Vice President, Educational Programming, Corporation for Public Broadcasting James F. Orr III, Chair, Board of Trustees, the Rockefeller Foundation Keith J. Peden, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Raytheon Company

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Christi M. Pedra, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Hearing Instruments

James Gentile, President, Research Corporation

Chellie Pingree, President, Common Cause

Gina Glantz, Senior Adviser to the President, Service Employees International Union Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President, University of Maryland Baltimore County Sylvia Hurtado, Director, Higher Education Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles Wayne C. Johnson, Vice President of University Relations Worldwide, HewlettPackard Company Roberts Jones, President, Education Workforce Policy, LLC H. Peter Karoff, Founder and Chairman, The Philanthropic Initiative George D. Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor and Director, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research Barbara Lawton, Lieutenant Governor, State of Wisconsin Stephen Mittelstet, President, Richland College, Dallas County Community College District

Sally E. Pingree, Trustee, Charles Engelhard Foundation Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities Wendy Sherman, Principal, The Albright Group, LLC Lee S. Shulman, President, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Donald M. Stewart, Visiting Professor, University of Chicago; Former President, the College Board and Spelman College Deborah Traskell, Senior Vice President, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company Stephen H. Weiss, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman, Inc. Blenda J. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nellie Mae Education Foundation Jack M. Wilson, President, University of Massachusetts System Ruth Wooden, President, Public Agenda

m/F ALL THE CIVIL RIGHTS FOR WHICH THE WORLD HAS STRUGGLED AND FOUGHT FOR

YEARS THE RIGHT TO LEARN IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL n â&#x20AC;&#x201D;W. E. B. DuBois

Dpoufout FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... ix EXECUTIVE HIGHLIGHTS ............................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION: A Dangerous Silence ......................................................................... 7 PART 1: What Matters in College?................................................................................. 11 The Essential Learning Outcomes ......................................................................... 12 Liberal Education and American Capability........................................................... 13 PART 2: From the American Century to the Global Century....................................... 15 Narrow Learning Is Not Enough .......................................................................... 15 The World Is Changing and Liberal Education Must Change Too ......................... 17 Engaging Twenty-First-Century Realities.............................................................. 19 Key Questions to Guide School–College Planning................................................ 20 Fulfilling the Promise of College in the Twenty-first Century................................ 23 PART 3: A New Framework for Excellence.................................................................... 25 The Principles of Excellence................................................................................. 26 1. Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive ....................................................... 27 2. Give Students a Compass................................................................................... 29 3. Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation ........................................................... 30 4. Engage the Big Questions.................................................................................. 33 5. Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action .................................................. 35 6. Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning ................................................. 37 7. Assess Students’ Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems ....................... 40 PART 4: A Time for Leadership and Action...................................................................... 45 What It Will Take.................................................................................................. 46 Liberal Education and America’s Promise .............................................................. 50 APPENDIX A: A Guide to Effective Educational Practices .......................................... 53 APPENDIX B: A Note on Commercial Colleges ............................................................ 55 NOTES ............................................................................................................................... 57

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n 2005, on the occasion of its ninetieth anniversary, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) launched a decade-long initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP): Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College. AAC&U represents over 1,100 colleges and universities of every type and size: large and small, public and private, research and master’s universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and state systems. It is the only major higher education association whose sole focus is the quality of student learning in the college years.

AAC&U launched the LEAP initiative because the academy stands at a crossroads. Millions of students today seek a college education, and record numbers are actually enrolling. Without a serious national effort to recalibrate college learning to the needs of the new global century, however, too few of these students will reap the full benefits of college.

College Learning for the New Global Century, published through the LEAP initiative, spells out the essential aims, learning outcomes, and guiding principles for a twenty-first-century college education. It reports on the promises American society needs to make—and keep—to all who seek a college education and to the society that will depend on graduates’ future leadership and capabilities.

The LEAP National Leadership Council comprises educational, business, community, and policy leaders who are strong advocates for educational excellence and change in higher education. These leaders have come together to recommend the essential learning outcomes described in this report because of their own belief in the power of liberal education and its importance in meeting the challenges of the new global century. But they have also been insistent that liberal education cannot be restricted, as it has been in the past, mainly to colleges of arts and sciences, or to the general education courses that most students take in addition to courses in their majors. The essential learning outcomes described in this report apply to the professional and occupational majors as well as the more traditional settings for liberal and liberal arts education.

Each member of the council has already been a vigorous advocate both for educational excellence and for far-reaching change in the way college learning is designed and implemented.

Each brought his or her own insight and expertise to the table as this report was being prepared. On behalf of the entire higher education community, we thank them for their wisdom, commitment, and practical advice.

The LEAP report also builds on the work of educators at AAC&U’s member campuses and especially those involved since 2000 in AAC&U’s Greater Expectations initiative. Through that earlier initiative, AAC&U organized a wide-ranging collaboration with colleges and universities already significantly involved in educational renewal and with many other educational organizations, accrediting groups, state policy makers, higher education executive officers, P–16 leaders, and business and civic leaders. The recommendations in this report are informed and grounded by the many promising examples of educational change identified through these collaborations.

The LEAP Initiative: 2007 and Beyond The LEAP initiative will continue at least through 2015, the occasion of AAC&U’s centennial anniversary. Four discrete but intersecting lines of activity have already been launched. A LEAP Campus Action Network now includes over 150 colleges and universities, as well as numerous

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U VII

partner organizations that are working, in ways appropriate to their mission, to achieve a more empowering liberal education for all today’s college students.

LEAP also is working in partnership with leaders in several states, connecting the learning outcomes recommended in this LEAP report with educational priorities for student achievement in those states. In addition, LEAP is both disseminating evidence about student learning outcomes to colleges and universities and providing assistance to colleges and universities about ways to use assessment to deepen student learning.

Finally, LEAP will continue to work, with the National Leadership Council and with AAC&U member presidents across the United States, to champion the value and importance of a twentyfirst-century liberal education for all college students.

The United States is faced today with an unprecedented opportunity to provide far more students than ever before with the kind of life-enhancing, liberal—and liberating—education that once was available only to a fortunate few.This nation’s future depends on our ability to fulfill the promise of education for all our citizens. In today’s knowledge-fueled world, ensuring the most empowering forms of learning for all students should be our top educational priority.

Ronald A. Crutcher President, Wheaton College (MA) Cochair, National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise

Robert Corrigan President, San Francisco State University Chair, Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities

Peggy O’Brien President, Educational Programming, Corporation for Public Broadcasting Cochair, National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise

Carol Geary Schneider President, Association of American Colleges and Universities

VIII AAC&U | Foreword

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his report is the culmination of more than a year of sustained and collective work by the LEAP National Leadership Council, AAC&U staff members, and numerous advisers throughout the United States. We are especially appreciative of the time and effort council members devoted to the development of this report. Their expertise, wisdom, and commitment were essential in shaping an analysis that reflects the perspectives of educators, employers, and philanthropic and civic leaders.

The LEAP initiative was made possible through a major grant from the Christian Johnson Endeavor Foundation and through complementary funding from many other sources, including the Charles Engelhard Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Johnson Foundation, AT&T Foundation,Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and numerous individual donors. Particular thanks go to our partners in the several foundations, including Julie J. Kidd, Sally E. Pingree, Daniel F. Fallon, Eugene Tobin, Boyd Gibbons, Carol Johnson, and Robert Vaughan. Their interest and active support have been invaluable. We also thank the many colleges, universities, and partner organizations that have joined us in shaping the LEAP initiative as members of the LEAP Campus Action Network.

Numerous other advisers contributed in significant ways both to this report and to the LEAP initiative. Donald Harward, former president of Bates College and senior fellow at AAC&U, helped spark the entire effort. Special thanks also are due to Ronald Calgaard,W. Robert Connor, Richard Hersh, Stanley Katz, Rebecca Karoff, Lee Knefelkamp, Kevin Reilly, Cora Marrett, Dale Marshall, Richard Morrill, John Nichols, David Paris, Gregory Prince, Robert Shoenberg, and the late Edgar F. Beckham.The AAC&U Board of Directors played a key role both in framing the initiative and in supporting its revisionist views of liberal education. John Casteen, a past member of the AAC&U Board of Directors, also gave active support at crucial points.

Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U and a member of the LEAP National Leadership Council, translated the insights of council members and many other advisers into the analysis and recommendations included in the report. Bethany Zecher Sutton, Ross Miller, Nicole DeMarco, Ursula Gross, and Gretchen Sauvey provided invaluable assistance with research and in coordinating and recording the work of the council. AAC&U Vice Presidents Alma Clayton-Pedersen, Terrel L. Rhodes, and Caryn McTighe Musil contributed insights and editorial assistance.

Members of the AAC&U Office of Communications and Public Affairs and President’s Office brought their expertise to the preparation of the report for publication. Special thanks go to Debra Humphreys, Shelley Johnson Carey, Michael Ferguson, and Darbi Bossman for their tireless assistance in planning, editing, design, and production. David Tritelli was the ideal editor, working with dedication to shape the concepts as well as the language. Numerous additional readers reviewed earlier drafts of this report and provided invaluable feedback.

Finally, LEAP builds from AAC&U’s earlier initiative, Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College.We gratefully acknowledge the thousands of campus leaders who contributed to that work, and especially its key leaders: Andrea Leskes, now president of the Institute for American Universities, and Judith Ramaley, now president of Winona State University.

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U ix

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ollege Learning for the New Global Century is a report about the aims and outcomes of a twenty-ďŹ rst-century college education. It is also a report about the promises we need to makeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and keepâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to all students who aspire to a college education, especially to those for whom college is a route, perhaps the only possible route, to a better future.

With college education more important than ever before, both to individual opportunity and to American prosperity, policy attention has turned to a new set of priorities: the expansion of access, the reduction of costs, and accountability for student success.

These issues are important, but something equally important has been left off the table.

Across all the discussion of access, affordability, and even accountability, there has been a near-total public and policy silence about what contemporary college graduates need to know and be able to do.

This report ďŹ lls that void. It builds from the recognition, already widely shared, that in a demanding economic and international environment, Americans will need further learning beyond high school.

The National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise believes that the policy commitment to expanded college access must be anchored in an equally strong commitment to educational excellence. Student success in college cannot be documentedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as it usually isâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;only in terms of enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment. These widely used metrics, while important, miss entirely the question of whether students who have placed their hopes for the future in higher education are actually achieving the kind of learning they need for a complex and volatile world.

In the twenty-ďŹ rst century, the world itself is setting very high expectations for knowledge and skill.This reportâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;based on extensive input both from educators and employersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;responds to these new global challenges. It describes the learning contemporary students need from college, and what it will take to help them achieve it.

m3TUDENT SUCCESS IN COLLEGE CANNOT BE DOCUMENTEDqAS IT USUALLY ISqONLY IN TERMS OF ENROLLMENT PERSISTENCE AND DEGREE ATTAINMENT n

Preparing Students for Twenty-First-Century Realities In recent years, the ground has shifted for Americans in virtually every important sphere of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;economic, global, cross-cultural, environ-

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

m4HE POLICY COMMITMENT TO EXPANDED COLLEGE ACCESS MUST BE ANCHORED IN AN EQUALLY STRONG COMMITMENT TO EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE n

mental, civic. The world is being dramatically reshaped by scientiďŹ c and technological innovations, global interdependence, cross-cultural encounters, and changes in the balance of economic and political power.

These waves of dislocating change will only intensify. The context in which todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students will make choices and compose lives is one of disruption rather than certainty, and of interdependence rather than insularity. This volatility also applies to careers. Studies show that Americans already change jobs ten times in the two decades after they turn eighteen, with such change even more frequent for younger workers.

Taking stock of these developments, educators and employers have begun to reach similar conclusionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an emerging consensusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;about the kinds of learning Americans need from college. The recommendations in this report are informed by the views of employers, by new standards in a number of the professions, and by a multiyear dialogue with hundreds of colleges, community colleges, and universities about the aims and best practices for a twenty-ďŹ rst-century education.

The goal of this report is to move from off-camera analysis to public priorities and action.

What Matters in College?

American college students already know that they want a degree.

The challenge is to help students become highly intentional about the forms of learning and accomplishment that the degree should represent.

The LEAP National Leadership Council calls on American society to give new priority to a set of educational outcomes that all students need from higher learning, outcomes that are closely calibrated with the challenges of a complex and volatile world.

Keyed to work, life, and citizenship, the essential learning outcomes recommended in this report are important for all students and should be fostered and developed across the entire educational experience, and in the context of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; major ďŹ elds. They provide a new framework to guide studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative progressâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as well as curricular alignmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from school through college.

The LEAP National Leadership Council does not call for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;onesize-ďŹ ts-allâ&#x20AC;? curriculum. The recommended learning outcomes can and should be achieved through many different programs of study and in all collegiate institutions, including colleges, community colleges and technical institutes, and universities, both public and private.

AAC&U | Executive Highlights

THE ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES Beginning in school, and continuing at successively higher levels across their college studies, students should prepare for twenty-ďŹ rst-century challenges by gaining:

KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN CULTURES AND THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL WORLD

m4HE ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES PROVIDE A NEW FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE STUDENTSl CUMULATIVE PROGRESS FROM SCHOOL THROUGH COLLEGE n

â&#x20AC;˘ Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts &OCUSED by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring

INTELLECTUAL AND PRACTICAL SKILLS, INCLUDING â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

Inquiry and analysis Critical and creative thinking Written and oral communication Quantitative literacy Information literacy Teamwork and problem solving

0RACTICED extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, INCLUDING â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

Civic knowledge and engagementâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;local and global Intercultural knowledge and competence Ethical reasoning and action Foundations and skills for lifelong learning

!NCHORED through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges

INTEGRATIVE LEARNING, INCLUDING â&#x20AC;˘ Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies $EMONSTRATED through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

Liberal Education and American Capability ReďŹ&#x201A;ecting the traditions of American higher education since the founding, the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberal educationâ&#x20AC;? headlines the kinds of learning needed for a free society and for the full development of human talent.

Liberal education has always been this nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature educational tradition, and this report builds on its core values: expanding horizons, building understanding of the wider world, honing analytical and communication skills, and fostering responsibilities beyond self.

However, in a deliberate break with the academic categories developed in the twentieth century, the LEAP National Leadership Council disputes the idea that liberal education is achieved only through studies in arts and sciences disciplines. It also challenges the conventional view that liberal education is, by deďŹ nition, â&#x20AC;&#x153;nonvocational.â&#x20AC;?

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

4HE 0RINCIPLES OF %XCELLENCE OFFER BOTH CHALLENGING STANDARDS AND Ä&#x152;EXIBLE GUIDANCE FOR AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM AND RENEWAL

The council deďŹ nes liberal education for the twenty-ďŹ rst century as a comprehensive set of aims and outcomes that are essential for all students because they are important to all ďŹ elds of endeavor. Today, in an economy that is dependent on innovation and global savvy, these outcomes have become the keys to economic vitality and individual opportunity. They are the foundations for American success in all ďŹ eldsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from technology and the sciences to communications and the creative arts.

The LEAP National Leadership Council recommends, therefore, that the essential aims and outcomes be emphasized across every ďŹ eld of college study, whether the ďŹ eld is conventionally considered one of the arts and sciences disciplines or whether it is one of the professional and technical ďŹ elds (business, engineering, education, health, the performing arts, etc.) in which the majority of college students currently major. General education plays a role, but it is not possible to squeeze all these important aims into the general education program alone. The majors must address them as well.

A New Framework for Excellence The LEAP National Leadership Council recommends, in sum, an education that intentionally fosters, across multiple ďŹ elds of study, wide-ranging knowledge of science, cultures, and society; high-level intellectual and practical skills; an active commitment to personal and social responsibility; and the demonstrated ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges.

The council further calls on educators to help students become â&#x20AC;&#x153;intentional learnersâ&#x20AC;? who focus, across ascending levels of study and diverse academic programs, on achieving the essential learning outcomes. But to help students do this, educational communities will also have to become far more intentional themselvesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both about the kinds of learning students need, and about effective educational practices that help students learn to integrate and apply their learning.

In a society as diverse as the United States, there can be no â&#x20AC;&#x153;onesize-ďŹ ts-allâ&#x20AC;? design for learning that serves all students and all areas of study. The diversity that characterizes American higher education remains a source of vitality and strength.

Yet all educational institutions and all ďŹ elds of study also share in a common obligation to prepare their graduates as fully as possible for the real-world demands of work, citizenship, and life in a complex and fast-changing society. In this context, there is great value in a broadly deďŹ ned educational framework that provides both a shared sense of the aims of education and strong emphasis on effective practices that help students achieve these aims.

To highlight these shared responsibilities, the council urges a new compact, between educators and American society, to adopt and achieve new Principles of Excellence (see p. 26).

Informed by a generation of innovation and by scholarly research on effective practices in teaching, learning, and curriculum, the Principles of Excellence offer both challenging standards and ďŹ&#x201A;exible guidance for an era of educational reform and renewal.

AAC&U | Executive Highlights

Taken together, the Principles of Excellence underscore the need to teach students how to integrate and apply their learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;across multiple levels of schooling and across disparate ďŹ elds of study. The principles call for a far-reaching shift in the focus of schooling from accumulating course credits to building real-world capabilities.

A Time for Leadership and Action The Principles of Excellence build from a generation of innovation that is already well under way. As higher education has reached out to serve an ever wider and more diverse set of students, there has been widespread experimentation to develop more effective educational practices and to determine â&#x20AC;&#x153;what worksâ&#x20AC;? with todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college students.

Some of these innovations are so well established that research is already emerging about their effectiveness. This report provides a guide to tested and effective educational practices (see appendix A).

To date, however, these active and engaged forms of learning have served only a fraction of students. New research suggests that the beneďŹ ts are especially signiďŹ cant for students who start farther behind.

But often, these students are not the ones actually participating in the high-impact practices.

With campus experimentation already well advancedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on every one of the Principles of Excellenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it is time to move from â&#x20AC;&#x153;pilot effortsâ&#x20AC;? to more comprehensive commitments. The United States comprehensively transformed its designs for learning, at all levels, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Now, as we enter the new global century, Americans need to mobilize again to advance a contemporary set of goals, guiding principles, and practices that will prepare all college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not just the fortunate fewâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for twentyďŹ rst-century realities.

What will it take?

As a community, we should â&#x20AC;˘ make the essential learning outcomes and the Principles of Excellence priorities on campus; â&#x20AC;˘ form coalitions, across sectors, to advance all studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; longterm interests; â&#x20AC;˘ build principled and determined leadership, including â&#x20AC;˘ high-proďŹ le advocacy from presidents, trustees, school leaders, and employers â&#x20AC;˘ curricular leadership from knowledgeable scholars and teachers â&#x20AC;˘ policy leadership at multiple levels to support and reward a new framework for educational excellence; â&#x20AC;˘ put employers in direct dialogue with students; â&#x20AC;˘ reclaim the connections between liberal education and democratic freedom.

!MERICAN EDUCATION CALLS FOR A FAR REACHING SHIFT IN THE FOCUS OF SCHOOLING FROM ACCUMULATING COURSE CREDITS TO BUILDING REAL WORLD CAPABILITIES

While recognized leaders can make higher achievement a priority, faculty and teachers who work directly with students are the only

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

ones who can make it actually happen. At all levels—nationally, regionally, and locally—they will need to take the lead in developing guidelines, curricula, and assignments that connect rich content with students’ progressive mastery of essential skills and capabilities.

Equally important, those responsible for educating future teachers and future faculty must work to ensure that they are well prepared to help students achieve the intended learning.

Liberal Education and America’s Promise With this report, the LEAP National Leadership Council urges a comprehensive commitment, not just to prepare all students for college, but to provide the most powerful forms of learning for all who enroll in college.

Working together, with determination, creativity, and a larger sense of purpose, Americans can fulfill the promise of a liberating college education—for every student and for America’s future.

AAC&U | Executive Highlights

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his is a pivotal moment for higher education, a time when we must work together for the kind of learning graduates need for an interdependent and volatile world. And it is also a precarious moment when short-sighted educational choices may prove permanently limiting to Americansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; prospects.

Americans have long placed great value on higher education, but for most of our history, a college education was a privilege reserved only for the few. Today, that situation has changed fundamentally. Far-reaching global, economic, and technological developments have converged to make postsecondary learning an imperative for almost everyone. Both this countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future economic growth and individual opportunity are now closely tied to the attainment of high levels of knowledge and skill, and to the ability to continue learning over a lifetime.

Responding to this new environment, 75 percent of high school graduates already are enrolling in college within two years of graduation;1 67 percent of students matriculate immediately after completing high school.2 An even higher numberâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;94 percent of current high school studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;say they want to attend college after high school.3 Policy leaders also are responding. Reading the numbers, they see the jarring disconnect between aspiration and actual achievement. Of students who begin high school at age fourteen, fewer than three in ten will hold a baccalaureate degree twelve years later, while one in ďŹ ve will still not have ďŹ nished high school.4 At the same time, both college enrollment and degree attainment remain stubbornly stratiďŹ ed by income and race.5 And so there is new pressure to expand college access, especially for those from low-income backgrounds; strengthen college preparation for all students; make higher education more affordable; and increase graduation rates. In 2005, the federal government gave added impetus to these policy priorities by forming the Commission on the Future of Higher Education and charging it to propose new directions for access, affordability, and accountability.6 Stunningly, however, American society has yet to confront the most basic and far-reaching question of all. Across all the work on access, readiness, costs, and even accountability, there has been a near-total public silence about what contemporary college graduates need to know and be able to do.

m4HERE HAS BEEN A NEAR TOTAL PUBLIC SILENCE ABOUT WHAT CONTEMPORARY COLLEGE GRADUATES NEED TO KNOW AND BE ABLE TO DO n

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

FIGURE 1 FINDINGS ON SELECTED LIBERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES -ATH • Eight percent of college seniors are “proficient” at level 3 math, up from 5 percent of freshmen 7RITING • Eleven percent of college seniors are “proficient” at level 3 writing #RITICAL 4HINKING • Six percent of college seniors are “proficient” in critical thinking, 77 percent are “not proficient” 'LOBAL +NOWLEDGE AND 3KILLS • Less than 13 percent of college students achieve basic competence in a language other than English • Less than 34 percent of college students earn credit for an international studies class; of those who do, only 13 percent take more than four classes • Less than 10 percent of college students participate in study abroad programs • Between 5 and 10 percent of college students achieve basic competence in a language other than English, take more than four international studies classes, and participate in study abroad programs 3OURCES Academic Profile, Educational Testing Service (2003–04); Clifford Adelman, “‘Global Preparedness’ of Pre-9/11 College Graduates: What the U.S. Longitudinal Studies Say,” 4ERTIARY %DUCATION AND -ANAGEMENT 10 (2004): 243.

!!# 5 \ )NTRODUCTION ! $ANGEROUS 3ILENCE

Yet off the public radar screen, evidence is mounting that Americans can no longer afford to ignore these questions (see fig. 1).

Former Harvard University President Derek Bok has summarized a wealth of separate studies on student learning in his 2006 book, Our Underachieving Colleges.7 As he reports, college students are underperforming in virtually every area of academic endeavor, from essential intellectual skills such as critical thinking, writing, and quantitative reasoning to public purposes such as civic engagement and ethical learning. Other research concludes that less than 10 percent of today’s college graduates have the knowledge and experience to make them globally prepared.8 Confirming this portrait of underachievement, less than 25 percent of human resource professionals report that the recent college graduates they employ are well prepared for the workforce.9 Genuinely alarmed by their own international scanning, business leaders have added another compelling layer of critique. In one urgent report after another,10 they warn about Americans’ dangerous loss of comparative advantage in the so-called STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (see fig. 2). And this, they point out, will inevitably mean a loss of economic advantage as well.

Elementary and secondary schools play a big role in this pattern of underachievement,11 and calls are mounting for “new alignment” between high school and college curricula. But there is no set of overarching goals for students’ cumulative learning that can reliably guide educational reform and strengthen student accomplishment from school through higher education. In the absence of such goals, two systems—each in need of significant change—are being patched awkwardly together.

In principle, policy efforts to develop new forms of accountability for higher education would seem to require an answer to the question of what college students need to learn. In practice, that question has been avoided. Leaders in many states, as well as members of the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education, have urged that states and colleges adopt standardized testing as a way to spur educational reform. But none of the policy efforts has provided an answer to the most basic question: what do students need to know?

This public silence about what matters in college is dangerous.

To students, it can send the self-defeating message that the diploma itself—rather than the quality of learning it represents—is the key to the future. Many students, in fact, speak of college in just that way, and they view the degree as a ticket to be stamped before they can move forward. “It’s just a piece of paper. But that piece of paper will get you the interview at whatever job you want.”12 Contemporary students need and deserve better guidance. The majority no longer follow a traditional path through college. Nearly 60 percent of those who earn a baccalaureate degree now enroll in two or more institutions before they finish their studies.13 Most students work, many attend part-time, and since 40 percent are twenty-four or older, many are raising families as well.14 These trends will accelerate as higher education reaches out with new vigor to increase college

access for those who have historically been underserved: low-income students and racial and ethnic minorities. In a demanding world, a first-rate education is plainly more important than ever. But today’s students need greater clarity about the meaning of that goal as they move across multiple colleges and universities on what is often an extended journey toward a degree.

To faculty and staff, countless numbers of whom are already working to reverse the pattern of underachievement in college, the public silence about what matters in college is discouraging, even demoralizing. There have been widespread efforts throughout higher education for over a generation to design and advance new forms of active and engaged learning—practices that ask students to apply their learning to complex, unscripted problems and projects. There is mounting evidence that some of these innovations in teaching and learning can now be described as “effective educational practices” (see appendix A) because they result in higher levels of achievement.15 The benefits are especially striking for minority and low-income students.16 But the public—including college-bound students—knows almost nothing about these emerging innovations. Moreover, with funds for expanding the reach of such reforms in sparse supply,these effective educational practices still serve only a fraction of today’s college students—with the students who could benefit most still losing out.

To markets, the silence about what matters in college has already sent the strong message that, if you just call it “college,” anything goes.

The label now applies to every possible form of postsecondary activity, from campuses where faculty engage even first-year students with the emerging frontiers of knowledge to the more than four thousand commercial or “career” colleges whose mission is to prepare students only for a specific occupation (see appendix B). Policy leaders often recommend career colleges as an efficient way to expand access for students who, in an earlier era, would not have attended college at all.

With Congressional blessing, these institutions are now eligible for tax-supported student aid dollars.

While there is certainly a value in targeted training, students and the general public deserve help in seeing the difference between a comprehensive college education—whether at a community college or a university—and a program designed to provide a much more limited form of preparation. School reformers are currently working all over the United States to dismantle the inequitable systems of academic versus vocational “tracking” that became common in American high schools during the twentieth century and to replace them with a rigorous preparatory curriculum for all high school students. Yet differential tracks of the same kind are multiplying in postsecondary education. In higher education, as in the high schools, these tracks are stratified by income and race.

The LEAP National Leadership Council strongly supports current efforts throughout American society to expand college access and degree attainment, especially for students from underserved communities (see fig. 3). The analysis and recommendations presented in this

FIGURE 2 SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DEGREE ATTAINMENT BY COUNTRY Percentage of twenty-four-year-olds with first university degrees in natural sciences or engineering, 2000 or most recent year Finland France Taiwan South Korea United Kingdom Sweden Australia Ireland Spain New Zealand Japan Netherlands Canada Switzerland Georgia Italy Iceland Israel Germany 5NITED 3TATES Kyrgyzstan Norway Czech Republic Belgium Hungary Austria

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3OURCE National Science Board, 2004. 3CIENCE AND %NGINEERING )NDICATORS . Two volumes, Arlington, VA; National Science Foundation (volume 1, NSB, 04-1; volume 2: NSB 04-1A). Appendix Table 2-35.

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

FIGURE 3 BACHELOR’S DEGREE ATTAINMENT BY RACE AND INCOME Twenty-five- to twenty-nine-year-olds by race, 2005 40

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AAC&U | Introduction: A Dangerous Silence

report draw extensively on a generation of experimentation that was spurred in large part by the need to educate these recently arrived students far more effectively.

But the commitment to expanded college access needs to be anchored in an equally strong commitment to educational excellence. Student success in college cannot be defined only in terms of enrollment, persistence, and degree completion. These metrics, while important, miss entirely the question of whether students who have placed their hopes for the future in higher education are actually achieving the kind of learning they need.

The public and policy inattention to the aims, scope, and level of student learning in college threatens to erode the potential value of college enrollment for many American students.

College Learning for the New Global Century is a report about the aims and outcomes of a twenty-first-century college education. It is also a report about the promises American society needs to make—and keep—to all college students, especially those for whom college is a route, perhaps the only possible route, to the American dream.

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n releasing this report, the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise breaks the prevailing silence on the important aims and outcomes of a twenty-ďŹ rst-century college education. College Learning for the New Global Century calls on American society to give new priority to a set of educational outcomes that all students need from higher learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;outcomes that are closely calibrated with the realities of our complex and volatile world.

The council urges a new recognition that, in this global century, every studentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not just the fortunate fewâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;will need wide-ranging and cross-disciplinary knowledge, higher-level skills, an active sense of personal and social responsibility, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge to complex problems. The learning students need is best described as a liberalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and liberatingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;education.

In a deliberate break with the academic categories developed in the last century, liberal education is deďŹ ned in this report not as a discrete set of disciplinesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberal arts and sciencesâ&#x20AC;? aloneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but rather as a comprehensive set of aims and outcomes that are essential both for a globally engaged democracy and for a dynamic, innovation-fueled economy (see p. 12). ReďŹ&#x201A;ecting the traditions of American higher education since the founding, the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberal educationâ&#x20AC;? is not used in any partisan sense, but rather as a description of the kinds of learning needed to sustain a free society and to enable the full development of human talent.

The educational aims and outcomes recommended here are needed in every area of human endeavor. These outcomes can and will be achieved in many different ways, across highly diverse institutional contexts and ďŹ elds of study. But the forms of learning depicted on page 12 are important for all students and should be fostered across the entire educational experience.

Further, this report calls on policy leaders to expand substantially the investment in active, hands-on, collaborative, and inquiry-based forms of teaching and learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;making full use of new educational technologiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to ensure that all students have rich opportunities to fully achieve the intended learning outcomes.The use of effective and engaging educational practices will be the key to higher achievement for contemporary college students.

4HE EDUCATIONAL AIMS AND OUTCOMES RECOMMENDED HERE ARE NEEDED IN EVERY AREA OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

The Essential Learning Outcomes Beginning in school, and continuing at successively higher levels across their college studies, students should prepare for twenty-first-century challenges by gaining:

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World • Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring

Intellectual and Practical Skills, including • • • • • •

Inquiry and analysis Critical and creative thinking Written and oral communication Quantitative literacy Information literacy Teamwork and problem solving

Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance

Personal and Social Responsibility, including • • • •

Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global Intercultural knowledge and competence Ethical reasoning and action Foundations and skills for lifelong learning

Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges

Integrative Learning, including • Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

Note: This listing was developed through a multiyear dialogue with hundreds of colleges and universities about needed goals for student learning; analysis of a long series of recommendations and reports from the business community; and analysis of the accreditation requirements for engineering, business, nursing, and teacher education. The findings are documented in previous publications of the Association of American Colleges and Universities: Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College (2002), Taking Responsibility for the Quality of the Baccalaureate Degree (2004), and Liberal Education Outcomes: A Preliminary Report on Achievement in College (2005).

The essential learning outcomes recommended in this report reďŹ&#x201A;ect an important emerging consensusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;among educators and employersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;about the kinds of learning needed for a complex and volatile world. This new consensus reďŹ&#x201A;ects a dawning awareness that Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future will depend on an unprecedented determination to develop human talent as broadly and fully as possible: â&#x20AC;˘ In an era when knowledge is the key to the future, all students need the scope and depth of learning that will enable them to understand and navigate the dramatic forcesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;physical, cultural, economic, technologicalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that directly affect the quality, character, and perils of the world in which they live. â&#x20AC;˘ In an economy where every industryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the trades to advanced technology enterprisesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is challenged to innovate or be displaced, all students need the kind of intellectual skills and capacities that enable them to get things done in the world, at a high level of effectiveness. â&#x20AC;˘ In a democracy that is diverse, globally engaged, and dependent on citizen responsibility, all students need an informed concern for the larger good because nothing less will renew our fractured and diminished commons. â&#x20AC;˘ In a world of daunting complexity, all students need practice in integrating and applying their learning to challenging questions and real-world problems. â&#x20AC;˘ In a period of relentless change, all students need the kind of education that leads them to ask not just â&#x20AC;&#x153;how do we get this done?â&#x20AC;? but also â&#x20AC;&#x153;what is most worth doing?â&#x20AC;?

With organizations constantly reinventing their products and their processes, and with questions about public and life choices more complex than ever, the world itself is setting higher expectations for knowledge and skill. The essential learning outcomes respond to this reality.

Liberal Education and American Capability In 1947, the Truman Commission on Higher Education assigned liberal education to general education courses taken in the ďŹ rst two years of college. Its report provided federal sanction for the view that liberal/general education addresses the â&#x20AC;&#x153;nonvocationalâ&#x20AC;? aspects of learning.17 That view has been widely inďŹ&#x201A;uential. On many four-year campuses and at most community colleges, liberal education is now virtually synonymous with general education: broad courses that students usually take in the initial phase of college, before focusing on a major.

Research conďŹ rms that, in the wider society, many still see liberal education as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;nonvocationalâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;less marketableâ&#x20AC;? part of the curriculum.18 That twentieth-century view is now obsolete, and this report presents a very different vision for college learning.

In an economy fueled by innovation, the capabilities developed through a liberal education have become Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most valuable

m)N AN ECONOMY FUELED BY INNOVATION THE CAPABILITIES DEVELOPED THROUGH A LIBERAL EDUCATION HAVE BECOME !MERICAlS MOST VALUABLE ECONOMIC ASSET n

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

4HESE OUTCOMES CAN AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN DIFFERENT WAYS ACROSS VARIED ĂźELDS OF STUDY

AAC&U | Part 1: What Matters in College?

economic asset. The student learning outcomes recommended on page 12â&#x20AC;&#x201D;rich knowledge, higher-level skills and creativity, social responsibility, examined values, and the ability to apply learning to complex and unscripted problemsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are the keys to Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promise.

These forms of learning are now needed in every part of life, including the workplace, and in all ďŹ elds of study, including the professional and occupational ďŹ elds. Because of their importance, these outcomes are concerns for the entire educational experience, and not just for the ďŹ rst two years of college. The aims and outcomes of a liberal education are essential to our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.

These essential learning outcomes should become the guiding compass for student accomplishment in the twenty-ďŹ rst century.They provide a common framework both for new forms of accountability and for new and more productive educational alignments between high school and college.The outcomes also serve as a compass to help students connect general education and college majors.

These outcomes can and should be addressed in different ways across varied ďŹ elds of study. Engineers, for example, use quite different inquiry and communication skills than anthropologists. Intercultural preparation will mean one thing for an elementary school teacher and another for a graduate heading into global business. Even effective writing takes different forms in different ďŹ elds and settings. Because competence is always related to context, students need to work on the liberal education outcomes in their major ďŹ eld(s) as well as their precollegiate and general studies. This report does not recommend teaching â&#x20AC;&#x153;skillsâ&#x20AC;? apart from content and context.

This report is a call to ensure that students have every opportunity to really develop these essential capabilities, whatever they study and wherever they go to college.

The essential learning outcomes describe capacities that will be important to each studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future and to the vitality of our society. They provide a shared direction and framework for the entire continuum of learning, from school through college, and beyond.

College Learning for the New Global Century elaborates this vision for a twenty-ďŹ rst-century college education and recommends a course of action to achieve it.

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n recent years, the ground has shifted for Americans in virtually every important sphere of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;economic, global, cross-cultural, environmental, civic. The world around us is being dramatically reshaped by scientiďŹ c and technological innovations, global interdependence, cross-cultural encounters, and changes in the balance of economic and political power. Only a few years ago, Americans envisioned a future in which this nation would be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only superpower. Today it is clear that the United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and individual Americansâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;will be challenged to engage in unprecedented ways with the global community, collaboratively and competitively.

These seismic waves of dislocating change will only intensify. The world in which todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students will make choices and compose lives is one of disruption rather than certainty, and of interdependence rather than insularity. To succeed in a chaotic environment, graduates will need to be intellectually resilient, cross-culturally and scientiďŹ cally literate, technologically adept, ethically anchored, and fully prepared for a future of continuous and cross-disciplinary learning. Learning about cultures and social structures dramatically different from oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own is no longer a matter just for specialists. Intercultural learning is already one of the new basics in a contemporary liberal education, because it is essential for work, civil society, and social life. ScientiďŹ c and technological learning are equally fundamental and may well determine the difference between those who are prepared to deal with change and those who are buffeted by it.

4HE WORLD IN WHICH TODAYlS STUDENTS WILL MAKE CHOICES AND COMPOSE LIVES IS ONE OF DISRUPTION RATHER THAN CERTAINTY AND OF INTERDEPEN DENCE RATHER THAN INSULARITY

Narrow Learning Is Not Enough The general publicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and many college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;continue to believe that choosing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;marketableâ&#x20AC;? college major is the key to future economic opportunity. Guided by this conviction, many students see study in their major ďŹ eld as the main point of college, and actively resist academic requirements that push them toward a broader education. Many policy makers hold a similar view of career preparation, evidenced by their support for occupational colleges and programs that promise initial job readiness but not much else.

Those who endorse narrow learning are blind to the realities of the new global economy. Careers themselves have become volatile.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

EMPLOYERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; VIEWS â&#x20AC;&#x153;At State Farm, only 50 percent of high school and college graduates who apply for a job pass the employment examâ&#x20AC;Ś.

Our exam does not test applicants on their knowledge of ďŹ nance or the insurance business but it does require them to demonstrate critical thinking skills and the ability to calculate and think logically. These skills plus the ability to read for information, to communicate and write effectively, and to have an understanding of global integration need to be demonstrated. This isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just what employers want; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also what employees need if they are to be successful in navigating the workplace.â&#x20AC;? q%DWARD " 2UST *R CHAIRMAN AND #%/

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;To be successful in global companies like Siemens, business managers must be able to navigate local market differences, seek opportunities for collaboration between businesses, and promote cooperation across functions. A solid foundation in the liberal arts and sciences is necessary for those who want to be corporate leaders.â&#x20AC;? q'EORGE # .OLEN PRESIDENT AND #%/

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5SING A BUSINESS RATHER THAN AN ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

EMPLOYERS ARE URGING MOREqAND BETTERqLIBERAL EDUCATION NOT LESS n

Studies already show that Americans change jobs ten times in the two decades following college, with such changes even more frequent for younger workers.19 Moreover, employers are calling with new urgency for graduates who are broadly prepared and who also possess the analytical and practical skills that are essential both for innovation and for organizational effectiveness: â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Employers do not want, and have not advocated for, students prepared for narrow workforce specialties. . . . Virtually all occupational endeavors require a working appreciation of the historical, cultural, ethical, and global environments that surround the application of skilled work.â&#x20AC;? (Roberts T. Jones, president, Education Workforce Policy, LLC)20 â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Intel Corp. Chairman Craig Barrett has said that 90 percent of the products his company delivers on the ďŹ nal day of each year did not exist on the ďŹ rst day of the same year.To succeed in that kind of marketplace, U.S. ďŹ rms need employees who are ďŹ&#x201A;exible, knowledgeable, and scientiďŹ cally and mathematically literate.â&#x20AC;?

(Norman R. Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corporation)21 â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;[The] curriculum needs to help students develop . . . leadership, teamwork, problem solving, time management, communication and analytical thinking.â&#x20AC;? (Business-Higher Education Forum)22 â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Business leaders are] frustrated with their inability to ďŹ nd â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;360 degree peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. . . .â&#x20AC;? (Findings from 2006 focus groups among business executives)23 â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Integrated capabilities are the key to this industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.â&#x20AC;?

(Keith Peden, senior vice president of human resources, Raytheon Company, 2006)24 Using a business rather than an academic vocabulary, employers are urging moreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and betterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;liberal education, not less. Because employers view innovation as their most important comparative advantage, they seek to hire graduates who can think beyond the routine, and who have the ability not just to adapt to change, but to help create it.

Responding to employer concerns, the engineering community is already pioneering the approach to a twenty-ďŹ rst-century liberal education recommended in this report. The engineersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; goal is to graduate what some are calling â&#x20AC;&#x153;T-shaped students,â&#x20AC;? with the vertical part of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tâ&#x20AC;? representing the traditional parts of an engineering degree, and the crossbar pointing to competencies traditionally identiďŹ ed with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberal artsâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;including ethics, global knowledge, intercultural literacy, and strong communication and collaborative skills (see ďŹ g. 4).The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tâ&#x20AC;? itself shows that these different capabilities need to be integrated so that students can apply them in work and community settings.

Humanists may see similar potential in the letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;H,â&#x20AC;? where the crossbar represents ďŹ eld-speciďŹ c knowledge and skills and the vertical bars represent capacities related to context and community. Whatever the model, the message to students is the same. Employers do not want â&#x20AC;&#x153;toothpickâ&#x20AC;? graduates who have learned only the technical skills and

AAC&U | Part 2: From the American Century to the Global Century

EMPHASIS ON LIBERAL EDUCATION AS THE PORTAL TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THE PUBLICqAND SO MANY STUDENTSqHAVE BEEN TOLD JUST THE OPPOSITE

FIGURE 4 WHAT SIEMENS ADVISES FOR SUCCESS: BUILD A T-SHAPED PROFILE â&#x20AC;˘ General management skills e.g., Analytics, Communication, Teaming

â&#x20AC;˘ Personal Traits

Industry Experience

Second Language

Mechanical Engineering

e.g., Self-discipline, Civil courage, Faith, Always gives his/her best, Continuous improvement, Positive thinking, Questions the given, Untiring endurance, Social responsibility, Keeps healthy and ďŹ t, Loyalty (But not a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes-personâ&#x20AC;?), Enjoys life, Balance (work/private)

Specialties

The World Is Changing and Liberal Education Must Change Too This report recommends, in sum, a challenging and liberating education that develops essential capacities, engages signiďŹ cant questionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both contemporary and enduringâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in science and society, and connects

4HIS REPORT PLACES SPECIAL

General Capabilities

who arrive in the workplace deep but narrow. These workers are sidelined early on, employers report, because they cannot break out of their mental cubicles.25 Broad capabilities and perspectives are now important in all ďŹ elds, from the sciences to business to the humanities. The new economic reality is that narrow preparation in a single areaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether that ďŹ eld is chemistry or information technology or historyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is exactly the opposite of what graduates need from college. Study-in-depth remains an important part of the overall pattern for college learning. But students deserve to know that focusing only on one specialty is far from enough.

By now, readers who value liberal education may be actively protesting: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about the economy! And we agree. The aims and beneďŹ ts of liberal education go far beyond work to enrich every sphere of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;environmental, civic, cultural, imaginative, ethical.

These important topics are addressed in later pages.

But this report places special emphasis on liberal education as the portal to economic opportunity because so much of the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and so many studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;have been told just the opposite. Today, powerful social forces, reinforced by public policies, pull studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially ďŹ rst-generation and adult studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;toward a narrowly instrumental approach to college. This report urges educators to resist and reverse that downward course. It is time to guide students away from limiting choices and toward a contemporary understanding of what matters in college.

The way forward is to make a new commitment to provide a horizon-expanding liberal education for all college students, not just for some.Through much of the twentieth century, liberal education was identiďŹ ed only with selected academic ďŹ eldsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the arts and sciencesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and, more recently, with the most selective colleges and universities.26 The net effect has been to position liberal education as an elite option, the expected form of learning at The University of Chicago, Pomona College, or the University of Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and in all campus honors programsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but hardly necessary for everyone.

In this new global century, these older views stand in the way of needed change. Liberal education has been Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier educational tradition since the founding, and the recommendations in this report build on its core strengths: broad knowledge, strong intellectual skills, personal and social responsibility. But in a democratic society, the goal must be to extend opportunity and excellence to everyone, and not just to a fortunate minority.

The way to achieve this goal is to make the essential learning outcomes a shared priority for all students, whatever their chosen areas of study, and wherever they enroll in college.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

FIGURE 5 REMAPPING LIBERAL EDUCATION

How

Where

What

Liberal Education in the Twentieth Century

Liberal Education in the Twenty-ďŹ rst Century

â&#x20AC;˘ an elite curriculum â&#x20AC;˘ nonvocational â&#x20AC;˘ an option for the fortunate

â&#x20AC;˘ a necessity for all students â&#x20AC;˘ essential for success in a global economy and for informed citizenship

â&#x20AC;˘ liberal arts colleges or colleges of arts and sciences in larger institutions

â&#x20AC;˘ all schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities; across all ďŹ elds of study (recommended)

â&#x20AC;˘ through studies in arts and sciences ďŹ elds (â&#x20AC;&#x153;the majorâ&#x20AC;?) and/or through general education in the initial years of college

â&#x20AC;˘ through studies across the entire educational continuum: school through college (recommended)

m)N A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

THE GOAL MUST BE TO EXTEND OPPORTUNITY AND EXCELLENCE TO EVERYONE AND NOT JUST TO A FORTUNATE MINORITY n

analytical skills with practical experience in putting knowledge to use.

In doing so, this report also calls on educators to adapt liberal education to the needs of our time. Certain aims of liberal education are enduring through every era, to be sure. Helping students master the arts of inquiry, analysis, and communication is the signature strength of a liberal education and a core reason why it is the best and most powerful preparation both for the economy and for democracy.

But the key to continued national vitality is the ability of citizens to adapt creatively to new challenges. Liberal education in the United States did transform its practices, dramatically, just a century ago.

Starting about 1870 and continuing into the next century, the rise of new disciplines and a new role for the United States in the world led to revolutionary change in the organization of the undergraduate curriculum. A comparably dramatic change in the approach to liberal education is needed today to better prepare college graduates for the complex realities of this new global century (see ďŹ g. 5).

The ďŹ rst step toward a contemporary approach to liberal education is to remap the educational landscape so that all parts of the academy and all ďŹ elds of study addressâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in ways appropriate to their subjectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the essential learning outcomes recommended in part 1 (see p. 12).

To take this step, higher education will also need to break out of the academic categories and silos that were established in the last curriculum revolution, and that still organize the division of labor across most campuses, from community colleges to research universities.

As a result of the last curricular revolution, liberal or liberal arts education is conventionally deďŹ ned as study in selected academic ďŹ elds: the humanities, the social sciences, the sciences, and, by the last quarter of the twentieth century, the arts as well.The many professional and applied ďŹ eldsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including engineering, business, education, and healthâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;have not traditionally been seen as part of a liberal education.

The resulting lines of demarcation guide studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; educational choices to this day on thousands of campuses. Because of these inherited dividing lines, millions of college students are routinely compelled to choose either a liberal arts and sciences pathway or a professional pathway just to ďŹ ll out their college applications.The message sent by this forced choice is exactly the opposite of what students need to know.

The traditional boundaries between the liberal arts and the professional ďŹ elds are not just a bureaucratic inconvenience. In practice, they have created academic silos that impede faculty and staff efforts to foster a more holistic and integrative approach to college learning. It is in everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest to create new crosswalks and communal spaces that support educational collaboration across the traditional academic dividing lines between the liberal arts and sciences and the professional ďŹ elds. But if collaborations are to succeed, they need to be based in shared goals. The essential learning outcomes, which place strong emphasis on teaching students to integrate and apply their learning, provide this larger sense of shared interests.

Within this altered educational landscape, many different path-

AAC&U | Part 2: From the American Century to the Global Century

ways to a liberal education are possible. Students will continue to be able to choose among a variety of educational settings: universities, colleges, community colleges, faith-based institutions, technical institutes. Students will still concentrate in selected ďŹ elds because, while not sufďŹ cient, studies in depth are important. They will certainly need a rich mix of arts and sciences courses in order to learn about the wider world. The key change is that, whatever and wherever they elect to study, each college student will be helped to achieve, in ways appropriate to his or her educational interests, a high level of integrative learning and demonstrated accomplishment across the full range of essential learning outcomes.

Movement toward this needed remapping has already begun. The long-standing boundaries between the professional ďŹ elds and the arts and sciences have started to blur. Engineering and technology ďŹ elds have forged the way. The Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology now looks for evidence that programs are teaching students to integrate their liberal arts competencies with their technical studies.27 Similar developments are emerging across many professional ďŹ elds, and on many campuses.

Simultaneously, many arts and sciences departments are placing new emphasis on â&#x20AC;&#x153;practical experienceâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;applied learningâ&#x20AC;? through internships, service learning, student projects, and community-based research. Many campuses also are inventing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;verticalâ&#x20AC;? or four-year framework for general education, with the explicit goal of fostering new connections between studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; specialized studies and their broader learning about science, cultures, and society.

Students themselves are adding to this remapping by choosing double majors or majors and minors that freely span the â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberal arts/ professionalâ&#x20AC;? divide.

These forward steps notwithstanding, many of the most imaginative efforts to forge new connections between the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies still hover on the margins. Higher education needs new leadership and new determination to move these promising developments from the margins to the center.

"ECAUSE OF THESE INHERITED DIVIDING LINES MILLIONS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE ROUTINELY COMPELLED TO CHOOSE either A LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES PATHWAY or A PROFESSIONAL PATHWAY JUST TO ĂźLL OUT THEIR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

Engaging Twenty-First-Century Realities Breaking out of the academic silos is a good beginning, but much more needs to be done in order to align teaching and learning practices with the realities of the new global century. In the twentieth century, both school and college studies were organized, reďŹ&#x201A;ecting the sensibilities of the industrial age, in terms of modular parts: disciplines, subjects, courses, credit hours. But this modular curriculum, organized a century ago and still largely intact, has become increasingly dysfunctional. The disciplines are taught as ends in themselves, and so too are most courses.Yet students are taking courses in many different disciplines, and often at two or more institutions. For many, the result is a fragmented and incoherent educational experience rather than steady progress toward deeper and more integrated understandings and capacities.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

FIGURE 6 A FRAGMENTED CURRICULUM: MANY COURSES, FEW CONNECTIONS Core Subjects in the Schools The National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) made influential recommendations for the four years of high school. Most states are still working to meet these goals for all students.

4 years 3 years 3 years 3 years ½ year 2 years

English Social studies Science Mathematics Computer science Foreign language (for college-bound students)

Statewide Guidelines for General Education Distribution Requirements at the College Level Forty states provide guidelines for general education for all public institutions in the state, for a system within the state, and/or to guide student transfer.

Almost all conform to the following general pattern: 1–2 courses 3–4 courses 2–3 courses 2 courses 1 course

Writing Arts and Humanities Social Sciences Science Mathematics

Five states have made global and/or intercultural studies a requirement, and several others specify particular disciplines.

3OURCES: The National Commission on Excellence in Education, ! .ATION AT 2ISK 4HE )MPERATIVE FOR %DUCA TIONAL 2EFORM ! 2EPORT TO THE .ATION AND THE 3ECRETARY OF %DUCATION (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1983); Robert Shoenberg, ed., 'ENERAL %DUCATION AND 3TUDENT 4RANSFER &OSTERING )NTENTIONALITY AND #OHER ENCE IN 3TATE 3YSTEMS (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2005).

The expected curriculum is usually defined, often with enabling state regulation, in terms of specific “core” subjects in school and specific general education categories in college (see fig. 6). State “distribution” requirements for students’ general education courses are the far-reaching legacy of the mid-twentieth-century view that equated liberal education with general education, and assigned it to the first two years of college.

But the frontiers of knowledge, both in scholarship and the world of work, now call for cross-disciplinary inquiry, analysis, and application. The major issues and problems of our time—from ensuring global sustainability to negotiating international markets to expanding human freedom—transcend individual disciplines. The core subjects provide a necessary foundation, but they should not be taught as ends in themselves. From school through college, students also need rich opportunities to explore “big questions” through multifaceted perspectives drawn from multiple disciplines.

Even in terms of the old modular curriculum, where each subject has been implicitly defined as a self-contained area of learning, the curricular pathways from school to college have become chaotic and redundant. Thanks to the vigorous promotion of Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment (college courses for high school students), as many as three million students are already taking “college-level” courses before finishing the twelfth grade.28 At the same time, because of the shortcomings of school preparation, at least 40 percent of all college students have to take at least one remedial course in college, essentially revisiting material that they should have learned in high school.29 Calls for aligning high school outcomes with college-level skills abound. But the learning students need for this new global era cannot be achieved simply by rearranging the existing patchwork of “core courses” at the school level and “general education requirements” at the college level. To help students achieve the essential learning outcomes, it will be necessary to spend time, across all levels of school and college education, revisiting the larger purposes of education and rethinking the kinds of connections across disciplines and levels of learning that will best prepare graduates for a complex and fast-paced world.

Key Questions to Guide School–College Planning The following questions, keyed to twenty-first-century challenges, are intended to spark the needed school–college dialogues—among educators, across disciplines, with employers and policy leaders, and with the wider public. Ultimately, these questions call for the mapping of more purposeful curricular pathways, from school through college and across the disciplines.

How can we ensure that graduates are well prepared to participate in an interdependent global community?

“The Global Situation: The benefits of development are not shared equitably…. Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict are widespread and the cause of great suffering…. The foundations of global security are threatened. These trends are perilous—but not inevitable.”

—The Earth Charter

AAC&U | Part 2: From the American Century to the Global Century

Global integration is now our shared context. The potential beneďŹ ts of global interdependence are extraordinary, but so too are the challenges. Wealth, income, and social power are dramatically unequal within and across international boundaries. We are reminded daily of the clash of cultures, histories, and worldviews. The globe itself is fragile and vulnerable as are our shared civic spaces. These global challenges will be with us for the foreseeable future. Yet today, less than 10 percent of four-year graduates are leaving college globally prepared.30 The United States is a world power. But it provides most of its students with a parochial education.

In this new era of interdependence, how should Americans prepare to contribute to a shared and sustainable future? What should Americans learn about the global economy and its changing dynamics? About world ecosystems and our capacity to sustain them?

About the United States as a world power? About the realms of human heritage, cultures, religions, and laws, as well as the continuing quests to advance human dignity and justice? And, in this era of fundamentalisms and competing certainties, how will students engage and learn with people whose worldviews, histories, beliefs, and aspirations may be different in crucial ways from their own?

4HE 5NITED 3TATES IS A WORLD POWER "UT IT PROVIDES MOST OF ITS STUDENTS WITH A PAROCHIAL EDUCATION

How can we prepare graduates for a global economy in which change and innovation are constants? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The way forward is to become more open, more experimental, and to embrace the unknownâ&#x20AC;Ś.The bar for innovation is rising. And simply running in place will not be enough.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Council on Competitiveness

Innovation is widely touted as Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important competitive advantage and the key to continued prosperity. But the currently dominant educational practices in American education were forged over a century ago, in an era that placed high value on broad understanding, reasoning, and abstract analysis and that gave only passing educational attention to collaboration, problem solving with external communities, and learning from experience.

In the context of a global economy that demands innovation, technological savvy, entrepreneurship, and risk taking, what kinds of educational practices will prepare graduates to get things done in the world? How do we teach them to critically evaluate the quality of information and convert this information into knowledge and action?

How will students learn to solve problems effectively in collaboration with people from very different backgrounds and cultures? How will we teach students to combine entrepreneurial creativity and technological know-how with humanistic values and vision?

How can we prepare all graduates for a world shaped by scientiďŹ c and technological advances and challenges? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Together, we must ensure that U.S. students and workers have the grounding in math and science that they need to succeed and that mathematicians, scientists and engineers do not become an endangered species in the United States.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Business Roundtable

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

Americans have grown accustomed to world leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the STEM ďŹ elds). As a society, we take for granted the unprecedented prosperity that this world leadership provides. But the majority of Americans are scientiďŹ cally illiterate.31 What progression of studies, beginning in school and continuing in college, will dramatically raise the level of STEM preparation and literacy for all students? How do we reverse the alarming trends that show Americans falling steadily behind both in the percentage of college graduates who prepare in STEM ďŹ elds and in the actual numbers of Americans who go on to successful careers in science and technology?32 How can we persuade all Americans that STEM literacies are essential rather than a special option reserved for the gifted? What will be required to dramatically change the way STEM ďŹ elds are taught so that the majority of Americans will no longer be left behind?

What kinds of learning are needed for knowledgeable and responsible citizenship? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Robert Maynard Hutchins

JUSTICE RESPONSIBILITY AND

Americans live in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most powerful democracy. But democracy, as the founders recognized, is much more than a design for government and lawmaking. Rather, it is a framework for a special kind of society in which citizens must take mutual responsibility for the quality of their own communities and their shared lives. Democracies are founded on a distinctive web of values: human dignity, equality, justice, responsibility, and freedom. The meanings and applications of these values are rarely self-evident and frequently contested. Moreover, most students never actually study such issues in any formal way, either in school or in college. Many students, the research shows, do not think that civic engagement is even a goal for their college studies.33 What are the complementary roles of school and postsecondary education in educating citizens? What is the particular role of college in preparing graduates to contribute to the greater good, both at home and abroad? What should Americans learn about the history and prospects for democracy, in our own society and in other parts of the world? How do we cultivate what Martha Nussbaum has called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;narrative imaginationâ&#x20AC;? so that graduates are better able to engage diverse communities and other societies?34 How do we prepare citizens to address the growing and destabilizing divisions between those with hope and those who still live on the margins of our own and other societies?

FREEDOM -OST STUDENTS NEVER

How do we help graduates compose lives of meaning and integrity?

ACTUALLY STUDY SUCH ISSUES

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is difďŹ cult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day / for lack / of what is found thereâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;William Carlos Williams

$EMOCRACIES ARE FOUNDED ON A DISTINCTIVE WEB OF VALUES HUMAN DIGNITY EQUALITY

IN ANY FORMAL WAY EITHER IN SCHOOL OR IN COLLEGE

Throughout history, liberal educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and especially the arts and humanitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;have been a constant resource, not just for civic life but for the inner life of self-discovery, values, moral inspiration,

AAC&U | Part 2: From the American Century to the Global Century

spiritual quests and solace, and the deep pleasures of encountering beauty, insight, and expressive power. Ultimately, it is this dimension— serious engagement with questions of values, principles, and larger meanings—that marks the essential difference between instrumental learning and liberal learning. For communities and individuals that are denied social power and voice, the arts and humanities make possible what Azar Nafisi calls “the Republic of the Imagination,” a space where those who have been marginalized and persecuted can draw courage and hope from stories, language, culture, and example.35 For all human beings, the arts and humanities invite exploration of the big and enduring questions about what it means to be human. They also foster the crucial human and civic capacity of empathy, the ability to care about and even identify with perspectives and circumstances other than one’s own.The moral power of the arts and humanities has been one of the secrets of their lasting influence; those who experience these sources of inspiration readily see their importance, both for the human spirit and for community.

In this new century, the dizzying pace of change and the unabated prospects for social and environmental disruption will continue to place enormous strains on individuals as well as communities. Each individual will need sources of inner fortitude, self-knowledge, and personal renewal. Taking time for reflection on one’s own values will be crucial.

Everyone will need to consider not just how to pursue a course of action, but the value and integrity of alternative courses of action.

How, in this kind of environment, do we prepare students to cultivate their own inner resources of spirit and moral courage? How do we enable them to engage moral and social dilemmas with clarity about their own values as well as the capacity to hear and respond to others’ deeply held commitments? How do we prepare graduates to make difficult ethical choices in the face of competing pressures? And how, without proselytizing, do we foster students’ own development of character, conscience, and examined values?

LIBERAL EDUCATION AND VALUES “Liberally educated students are curious about new intellectual questions, open to alternative ways of viewing a situation or problem, disciplined to follow intellectual methods to conclusions, capable of accepting criticism from others, tolerant of ambiguity, and respectful of others with different views.

They understand and accept the imperative of academic honesty.

Personal development is a very real part of intellectual development.” q!!# 5 "OARD OF $IRECTORSl 3TATEMENT ON !CADEMIC &REEDOM AND %DUCATIONAL 2ESPONSIBILITY

Fulfilling the Promise of College in the Twenty-first Century In college and university classrooms, in think tanks, in business organizations, and in government and corporate offices across the country, thoughtful people have begun to discuss the key questions with a new sense of urgency. Commissions have formed; reports are starting to multiply; resolve is growing. And, on many college campuses, one can find substantial centers of innovation where dedicated groups of faculty and staff already are responding creatively to just these kinds of questions. Many have invented impressive interdisciplinary curricula that engage learners brilliantly with every one of the questions outlined above.There are dozens of active reform movements across every facet of collegiate learning—from the first to the final year, and between the curriculum and student life.

To date, however, both these emerging discussions and the educational changes inspired by them are too preliminary, too fragmented,

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

m4HE MOST SIGNIĂźCANT REFORMS ADVANCE WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ONE ANOTHER AND THERE IS NO SHARED SENSE OF THE WHOLE n

and far too limited. New approaches are emerging. (For a list of effective educational practices, see appendix A.) But these are too often relegated to the margins of institutional life. Many of the most signiďŹ cant reforms advance without reference to one another, and there is no shared sense of the whole. As a result, the impact on student learning is fragmented and diluted.

These discussions do not yet include the public, nor have they had much impact on education policy at the state and national levels. In fact, for the public universities and community colleges that educate over 75 percent of college students,36 state requirements concerning â&#x20AC;&#x153;general educationâ&#x20AC;? are locked into an old system of required credits in speciďŹ c areas of study (a few courses each in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and sciences) that functions today as a resistant barrier to the innovative curricula many faculty members want to create (see ďŹ g. 6 on p. 20).

The twentieth-century legacy of relegating liberal/general education to the ďŹ rst two years of college alone was codiďŹ ed across the nation. But that code has become a stranglehold on educational creativity and needs revision.

Students, for the most part, have been left entirely out of the debates about their own long-term educational interests. It is the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst-generation and less advantaged studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;young and old alikeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;who are the most likely to enroll in institutions and programs that provide narrow training. First-generation students also are less likely than others to take courses in mathematics, science, social studies, humanities, history, foreign languages, or even computer science.37 First-generation students are ďŹ&#x201A;ocking to college. But many are missing out on a twenty-ďŹ rst-century education.

Because the prospects for American society are dependent on the quality of learning, insider discussions and educational reforms that mainly serve the most fortunate are inadequate. It is time to create a genuinely inclusive national dialogue about higher learning in the twenty-ďŹ rst century, and to embrace a vision for the future that is worthy of a great democracy.

And it is time to mobilize new determination and new leadership commitmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on the part of educators, policy makers, and the public as a wholeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to advance substantially our national investment in educationally effective practices that can help all students understand, prepare for, and achieve the important outcomes of a twenty-ďŹ rstcentury liberal education.

AAC&U | Part 2: From the American Century to the Global Century

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he aims and outcomes described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;essentialâ&#x20AC;? in part 1 of this report (see p. 12) call for students to become â&#x20AC;&#x153;intentional learnersâ&#x20AC;? who focus, across ascending levels of study, on achieving these learning outcomes. But to help students do this, educational communities will also have to become more intentional both about these essential outcomes and about effective educational practices that help students integrate their learning and apply it to complex questions.

The principles and recommendations presented here are intended to give impetus to this new intentionality about the aims and quality of college learning, and about the complementary roles of school and college in preparing graduates for twenty-ďŹ rst-century realities.

In shaping the principles, the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise has drawn from many sources: active reform movements on many campuses and in a broad array of disciplines; recommendations from academic leaders; analyses from the business community; new standards in the accrediting communities; and dialogues held across the United States with campus, business, and community leaders.

The council believes that higher education can and should play a crucial role in fulďŹ lling Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promise in this new global century: tapping potential, creating opportunity, fueling an innovative economy, reducing inequities, solving problems, and inspiring citizens to create a more just, humane, and sustainable world.

Toward these ends, the LEAP National Leadership Council calls for a new compactâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;between educators and American societyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to adopt and enact the following seven Principles of Excellence.

4HIS NEW ERA CALLS ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO SET SIGNIĂźCANTLY HIGHER STANDARDS FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WHILE AVOIDING THE DISADVANTAGES OF STANDARDIZATION

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

Uif!Qsjodjqmft!pg!Fydfmmfodf Qsjodjqmf!Pof Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive Make the Essential Learning Outcomes a Framework for the Entire Educational Experience, Connecting School, College, Work, and Life

Qsjodjqmf!Uxp Give Students a Compass Focus Each Student’s Plan of Study on Achieving the Essential Learning Outcomes— and Assess Progress

Qsjodjqmf!Uisff Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation Immerse All Students in Analysis, Discovery, Problem Solving, and Communication, Beginning in School and Advancing in College

Qsjodjqmf!Gpvs 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

Qsjodjqmf!Gjwf Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action Prepare Students for Citizenship and Work through Engaged and Guided Learning on “Real-World” Problems

Qsjodjqmf!Tjy Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning Emphasize Personal and Social Responsibility, in Every Field of Study

Qsjodjqmf!Tfwfo 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

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

Principle One

Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive Make the Essential Learning Outcomes a Framework for the Entire Educational Experience, Connecting School, College, Work, and Life

Americans have entered a global century that presents “greater expectations” for knowledge in every area of life. This new era calls on higher education to set significantly higher standards for student achievement while avoiding the disadvantages of standardization. The essential learning outcomes (see p. 12) provide a common framework and a shared sense of direction for student accomplishment across school and college. These outcomes are not intended as a checklist of courses and requirements to—in the current campus vernacular—“get out of the way.” Nor do they dictate a particular set of courses that all students should take.

Rather, these aims and outcomes are intended to build students’ working understanding of the world and to foster capacities that will be practiced in school and used beyond school. The essential learning outcomes provide an inclusive framework for a contemporary liberal education by defining it not as a selected set of disciplines, but as a set of resources for all aspects of life: work, citizenship, and personal fulfillment.

Contemporary students compose their education across many different institutions and from many different academic fields and courses. Of those who complete a bachelor’s degree, nearly 60 percent take courses at more than one college or university and nearly 25 percent at more than two institutions.38 The essential learning outcomes set a common framework that provides a sense of purpose and direction to guide student progress across the many different parts of the academic system. The outcomes can be used for P–16 planning in the states, articulation between two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and accreditation standards for institutions and academic fields. At every level, a clear and constant focus on these essential outcomes can help systems, institutions, academic programs, and students themselves become more intentional.

These forms of learning can and should be fostered through many different curricular pathways. But to ensure their achievement, each institution and each program will need to be certain that students have multiple opportunities and appropriate academic support to work toward the intended outcomes. To reach high levels of success, each system, each institution, and each academic program will need to set standards and guidelines for the expected level of student accomplishment.

Within higher education, many will see these aims and outcomes as goals for the general education program alone. That is not the intention. General education plays a role in their fulfillment. But it is not feasible to assign to general education programs alone the breadth and scope of learning described in the essential learning outcomes. The majors also have a crucial role to play in fostering rich knowledge, strong intellectual and practical skills, an examined sense of personal

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive 4HE 3TATE #OUNCIL OF (IGHER %DUCATION FOR 6IRGINIA (SCHEV) has identified a set of competencies that all students should achieve from their college studies. The competencies are similar to the “intellectual and practical skills” that the LEAP National Leadership Council defines as “essential.” SCHEV requires public institutions to submit “reports of institutional effectiveness” that include assessments of student learning in written communication, technology/information literacy, quantitative reasoning, scientific reasoning, critical thinking, and oral communication. Each individual campus defines the outcomes, establishes expected achievement levels, creates or chooses assessment methods, and reports on results. The SCHEV framework creates public and transparent reports of institutional learning outcomes while maintaining institutional autonomy to define and assess student learning outcomes in relation to institutional mission and priorities.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive Faculty at )NDIANA 5NIVERSITYp0URDUE 5NIVERSITY )NDIANAPOLIS (IUPUI) have agreed to six Principles of Undergraduate Learning that define important learning outcomes for each IUPUI student. These include communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptiveness; integration and application of knowledge; understanding society and culture; and values and ethics. These principles apply to the entire educational experience and to the departmental programs as well as general education courses. Most students take a first-year learning community that explores these core goals and helps students begin work on them. To document and assess students’ achievement, IUPUI faculty are developing e-portfolios that set standards for the outcomes and make the basis for their assessments visible. IUPUI has provided extensive support for faculty development as well as student orientation as it encourages this shift toward goals across the entire educational experience.

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Aim Highâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and Make Excellence Inclusive -IAMI $ADE #OLLEGE is one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest and most diverse community colleges. In 2006, Miami Dade organized student focus groups to better understand college learning goals from studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perspectives. The questions posed in these groups, adapted from a focus group discussion guide used in AAC&Uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student research for LEAP, asked students their reasons for attending college, what college outcomes would lead to a successful life, and how their education helps them achieve these outcomes. The responses of the focus group students indicate that liberal education is valued and that students view college as more than accrued vocational beneďŹ ts. Moreover, three-quarters of the focus group students reported that liberal education was important to their education and that liberal education provides the necessary preparation for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workforce.

and social responsibility, and the ability to integrate and apply knowledge from many different contexts. If the majors neglect these shared goals, students are unlikely to achieve them.

Recommendation 1 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT A NATIONAL COM MITMENT BE MADE TO FOSTER THE AIMS AND OUTCOMES OF A TWENTY ĂźRST CENTURY LIBERAL EDUCATION FOR ALL COLLEGE STUDENTS NOT JUST THOSE ATTENDING ELITE INSTITUTIONS AND NOT JUST THOSE STUDYING IN WHAT TRADITIONALLY HAVE BEEN CALLED mARTS AND SCIENCES DISCIPLINES n

This call is extended to each college, community college, and university; to state systems; and to the ďŹ elds of study within colleges and universities. Every institution and system should develop for itself a vision of intended learning outcomes that addresses, in ways appropriate to mission, the multiple goals for college. This vision should be expressed in a public document that is accessible to everyone and frequently consulted by faculty, staff, and students alike. In state systems, the educational outcomes should become shared responsibilities, applicable across institutional boundaries.

Every ďŹ eld should be taught as part of liberal education, and every ďŹ eld should audit, clarify, and strengthen its own practices for fostering the knowledge and capacities identiďŹ ed as essential outcomes of a twenty-ďŹ rst-century education.

Recommendation 2 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT TWO YEAR COLLEGES

TOGETHER WITH THE SENIOR INSTITUTIONS THAT SERVE LARGE NUMBERS OF TRANS FER STUDENTS FOCUS ON THE AIMS AND OUTCOMES OF A TWENTY ĂźRST CENTURY LIBERAL EDUCATION

Nearly half the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college students, and the majority of students from low-income families, begin their studies in two-year institutions.39 It should be a national priority to ensure that these students, whatever their career choices and preparation, become richly prepared for a changing economy, for the option of further study, and for a lifetime of continuous learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as employees and as citizens.

This recommendation neither requires nor anticipates that community college students should study only, or primarily, what are conventionally known as arts and sciences or â&#x20AC;&#x153;general educationâ&#x20AC;? courses. Rather, it calls on two-year and four-year institutions, in every state and region, to collaboratively remap the curriculum so that arts and sciences and professional or â&#x20AC;&#x153;careerâ&#x20AC;? courses can work together, from ďŹ rst to ďŹ nal years, to foster the broad knowledge, sophisticated skills, personal and social responsibility, and demonstrated achievement that every student needs and deserves.

Faculty and staff who teach remedial/developmental courses should take an active part in this remapping, so that these courses help students prepare successfully for the expectations and standards of the regular curriculum.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

Principle Two

Give Students a Compass Focus Each Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Plan of Study on Achieving the Essential Learning Outcomesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and Assess Progress

American college students already know that they want a degree.

The challenge is to help students become highly intentional about the forms of learning and accomplishment that the degree should represent In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s academy, many students are not following any comprehensive academic plan at all. Rather, many are working to cobble together a sufďŹ cient number of courses that will enable them to meet the required number of creditsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;typically 60 at the associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level and 120 at the bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s levelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;necessary to earn a degree.

Setting goals for educational accomplishment based on the essential learning outcomes can change this haphazard approach to academic study. Each student will know what is expected, and each student can construct a plan of study that simultaneously addresses his or her own interests and assures achievement in the essential learning outcomes.

Students will know before they enter college, for example, that they are expected to bring their communication skillsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;written and oralâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to a high level of demonstrated accomplishment. As they work with mentors to plan a course of study, they will learn to seek out, rather than avoid, courses in which extensive writing and/or oral presentations are required. The same principle applies to all the outcomes. By clarifying the intended forms of learning and their signiďŹ cance, and by helping students connect these broad outcomes with their own individual goals and areas of study, educators will help all students become more intentional about their learning and more likely to reach high levels of accomplishment.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Give Students a Compass 4HE #ALIFORNIA 3TATE 5NIVERSITY SYSTEM has begun educating high school students about the essential skills they are expected to bring to college. For the last six years, it has produced a â&#x20AC;&#x153;How to Get to Collegeâ&#x20AC;? poster and distributed it to middle and high schools in California.

This poster, available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese, gives students and their families a compass for essential learning outcomes needed for success in college as well as a roadmap for the application process.

With sections such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;What Classes Should I Take in High School?â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why Are These Classes Important?â&#x20AC;? the poster clariďŹ es important skills and their signiďŹ cance in college. To provide further guidance, the system also gives an early diagnostic testâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;keyed to its own placement standards in mathematics and Englishâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to eleventh graders.

Recommendation 3 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT THE ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES BE USED TO GUIDE EACH STUDENTlS PLAN OF STUDY AND CUMULATIVE LEARNING AND FURTHER THAT THEIR ACHIEVEMENT BE THE SHARED FOCUS OF BOTH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

Students should begin intensive work in each of these areas of learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;knowledge, skills, responsibilities, and integrative learning â&#x20AC;&#x201D;as early as middle school. And they should understand that they will be expectedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;wherever they enroll, whatever their intended career, and no matter how far they go in collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to attain progressively higher levels of competence in each of these key areas.Teachers, faculty members, and student life professionals should work together to help students understand why these outcomes are important, and how they are applied in work settings, civil society, and studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own lives.

m3ETTING GOALS FOR EDUCATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT BASED ON THE ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES CAN CHANGE THIS HAPHAZARD APPROACH TO ACADEMIC STUDY n

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

Recommendation 4 THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Give Students a Compass The curriculum at "ARD #OLLEGE is designed to encourage students to play an active and intentional role in shaping their education. Rather than selecting from traditional departmental majors, students at Bard major in programs that cross disciplinary boundaries. This program-based approach is combined with core curricular experiences that develop broad capacities and allow for milestone assessments of learning.

New students begin their studies with the Workshop in Language and Thinking, an intensive summer program that serves as an introduction to college-level learning, and continue in the ďŹ rst-year seminar, where they explore many of the intellectual ideas that will form the basis of their subsequent study. In the second semester of the sophomore year, students undertake â&#x20AC;&#x153;moderation,â&#x20AC;? a process that requires them to reďŹ&#x201A;ect on their academic experiences, assess their performance, and plan in consultation with faculty advisers the work they will pursue in their major ďŹ eld.

This culminates with the senior project, which serves as the capstone to a Bard education. Together, these elements of the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curriculum help students to integrate their learning and follow a purposeful course of study as they chart a path through their undergraduate education.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT TEACHERS AND FACULTY SET HIGH AND EXPLICIT STANDARDS FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THAT THE CURRICULUM BE ORGANIZED TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH AMPLE OPPORTUNI TIES TO MEET THE STANDARDS AND THAT STUDENTS BE PROVIDED WITH REGULAR FEEDBACK ON THEIR PROGRESS

The expected standards should be made public, and should periodically be reviewed by external experts to ensure appropriate quality. While in high school, students should receive periodic feedback about their progress, as well as guidance on the connections between the expected outcomes and future success in both work and college. Diagnostic assessments in the ďŹ rst year of college, and milestone assessments upon completion of community college and/or the second year of college, can help students evaluate their own achievement to date and identify areas of needed improvement. Each studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan of studyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;informed by the assessmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;should clearly connect expected outcomes to the institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s required studies, studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; major ďŹ eld(s), and their elective choices. Where todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students frequently see curricular requirements as a set of obstacles to get â&#x20AC;&#x153;behind themâ&#x20AC;? as early as possible, the students of tomorrow will know that learning is cumulative and that continuous progress is both expected and supported.

Principle Three

Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation Immerse All Students in Analysis, Discovery, Problem Solving, and Communication, Beginning in School and Advancing in College

In a complex world, there is no way that students can master everything they â&#x20AC;&#x153;need to know.â&#x20AC;? The scope is too broad, and the frontiers of knowledge are expanding far too rapidly. The key to educational excellence, therefore, lies not in the memorization of vast amounts of information, but rather in fostering habits of mind that enable students to continue their learning, engage new questions, and reach informed judgments. Helping students master analytical capacities has been one of the most enduring commitments of a liberal education.

Since this nation was founded, American leaders have emphasized the value of these capacities to a free society; today, we see their value for an innovation-fueled economy as well.

Given their importance, the foundations for inquiry, investigation, and discovery should be laid early and reinforced across the educational system. A good education should provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in â&#x20AC;&#x153;inquiry-based learning,â&#x20AC;? both independently and in collaborative teams. Through inquiry projects, students should learn how to ďŹ nd and evaluate evidence, how to consider and assess competing interpretations, how to form and test their own analyses and interpretations, how to solve problems, and how to communicate persuasively.

Fifty years ago, it would not have been feasible to emphasize

inquiry and discovery in many ďŹ elds and institutions. Today, however, the advent of new technologies has created unprecedented opportunities for students to take part in collaborative inquiry, creative projects, and research.The need and the opportunity are there.Yet most schools and colleges have barely tested the waters. Faculty members who supervise student research and/or teach â&#x20AC;&#x153;capstoneâ&#x20AC;? courses to advanced college students frequently are frustrated by studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; poor preparation for tackling complex inquiry and creative projects. That is because few departments and institutions have developed curricula and pedagogies that incrementally foster and assess studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills in inquiry and innovation as they advance through a course of study.

Fundamental change is needed, at all levels of education, to help students develop the intellectual and practical skills basic to inquiry, innovation, and effective communication.

Recommendation 5 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT THE POWER OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES BE HARNESSED IN ORDER TO GIVE ALL STUDENTS EXTENSIVE EXPE RIENCE IN RESEARCH EXPERIMENTATION PROBLEM BASED LEARNING AND OTHER FORMS OF CREATIVE WORK ESPECIALLY BUT NOT ONLY IN THEIR MAJOR ĂźELDS

Undergraduates today, even ďŹ rst-year students, can learn how to use tools of research, analysis, design, and creation that are more powerful than those available to professionals a generation ago.Whether the challenge is studying classical Greece, designing semiconductors, analyzing elections, or extending access to the arts, the technological tools available to students are extraordinary. The Internet and other communications technologies also make it possible for students to take part in creative problem solving with partners outside of the classroomâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;community agencies, arts organizations, corporations, schools, and people in other parts of the world. Technology-assisted inquiry should be carefully woven into the expected academic experience and emphasized in the college majors.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation With the support of a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant, the 5NI VERSITY OF 2OCHESTER is striving to make entrepreneurshipâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the skills that accompany it such as problem solving, continuous learning, and innovationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; a basic component of undergraduate education by infusing it into all academic disciplines. The University of Rochester has created the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), which brings together faculty, students, and community members from a variety of academic disciplines to encourage and enhance the culture of entrepreneurship at the university and within the Rochester community.

As a result, there are now courses at the University of Rochester available for students wishing to focus speciďŹ cally on entrepreneurship as it relates to any major, and the CFE holds a variety of workshops, seminars, and conferences for faculty as well. The University of Rochester is one of several dozen liberal arts colleges and research universities that are connecting entrepreneurship with teaching, learning, and research in arts and sciences disciplines.

Recommendation 6 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WORK WITH THE SCHOOLS TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF INQUIRY AND PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN PRECOLLEGIATE EDUCATION AND TAKE VIGOROUS STEPS TO BUILD THESE SKILLS FURTHER ONCE STUDENTS ENTER COLLEGE

The best public and private schools and many of the most successful charter schools have long made analysis and inquiry central to their programs of high school preparation and learning. But in many schools, students write very little and receive no preparation in critical inquiry and research skills. When this foundation is lacking, colleges must play catch-up when it should be their primary task to move studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills in analysis and application to a much higher level. New emphasis on the skills essential to inquiry and innovation is needed â&#x20AC;˘ in the preparation of teachers and faculty; â&#x20AC;˘ in the design of curriculum and assessments in the schools;

m4HE KEY TO EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE LIES NOT IN THE MEMORIZATION OF VAST AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION BUT RATHER IN FOSTERING HABITS OF MIND THAT ENABLE STUDENTS TO CONTINUE THEIR LEARNING ENGAGE NEW QUESTIONS AND REACH INFORMED JUDGMENTS n

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE TEACH THE ARTS OF INQUIRY AND INNOVATION Curricular strategy

Transparency

Classroom practices

Example

3TEP In high school, students enroll in a themebased academy of three or four linked courses that promote synthesis through projects.

Advisers and teachers stress the goals of answering questions and justifying the answers, framing new questions, and relating raw data to the questions.

Teachers provide guiding questions, prompts, models, frameworks, and suggested sites for information. They use direct observation, case studies, simulations, and role playing.

3IR &RANCIS $RAKE (IGH 3CHOOL 3AN !NSELMO #ALIFORNIA Students study the election process by creating video campaign ads for candidates or issues in an upcoming election. They also make â&#x20AC;&#x153;processâ&#x20AC;?

Web sites that lead them to reďŹ&#x201A;ect upon their learning and thinking.

3TEP In college, ďŹ rst-year seminars and selected courses in general education introduce inquiry and analysis through speciďŹ c problems/ projects/assignments.

Professors make explicit the outcomes of further developing powers of observation, synthesis, and problem posing as well as expectations in reďŹ&#x201A;ection and analysis. Critical thinking is stressed as a goal of the ďŹ rst-year seminars/ courses and of the entire institution.

Writing assignments and/or oral presentations ask students to identify a problem/issue and devise ways to resolve it. Professors provide guidelines and format. Techniques might include journals, brainstorming, teamwork, or demonstrations.

)NDIANA 5NIVERSITYp0URDUE 5NIVER SITY )NDIANAPOLIS A ďŹ rst-year learning community for students in engineering includes an investigation of reverse engineering, instruction on creating a Web page, an introduction to engineering careers, and a look at professional organizations. It also includes a group research paper, teamwork topics, and a PowerPoint presentation.

3TEP Across the college curriculum, problem-based learning occurs in disciplinary courses as students begin their majors.

Professors discuss critical observation, problem posing and problem solving, analysis, synthesis, and interpretation of complex issues in the discipline.

At the institutional level, facilities support problem-based learning and inquiry is stressed as an institutional priority for all majors.

Projects based on complex issues/problems of the ďŹ eld ask students to draw on their speciďŹ c content knowledge as well as on their developing powers of analysis, synthesis, and interpretation. Students pose their own questions and devise ways of answering them. Active, hands-on learning could alternate with lectures that provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;just-in-timeâ&#x20AC;? information that students can apply immediately.

3AMFORD 5NIVERSITY "IRMINGHAM

!LABAMA A junior-year, foundational nursing course includes a problem-based learning model for each key concept.

Progressing through the course involves advancing from simple to complex concepts. A module, which might last from several days to one month, could focus, for example, on nutrition and hygiene issues in nursing patients from diverse cultural and religious traditions. Students form groups early in the course to work through the problems posed.

3TEP At the senior level, a capstone project or thesis in the major (or in general education) culminates the inquiry approach to learning by asking students to draw on the knowledge and skills acquired in the major, general education, electives, and cocurricular experiences.

Course catalogs and departmental information about the senior capstone experience clearly state that the capstone requires advanced critical analysis, evidence, synthesis, conceptualization, interpretation, and evaluation.

Formative assessments during the experience provide reminders of the need for insightful use of data, logic, and diverse resources.

Under faculty guidance, students or teams choose a signiďŹ cant problem/ project to research/carry out over a semester or two. The professor could provide guiding questions but the emphasis is on student initiative. The work could be made public through publishing an article or presenting it to community and industry experts.

3OUTHERN )LLINOIS 5NIVERSITY %DWARDSVILLE All seniors must complete a capstone that, for computer science majors, consists of a team project that spans two semesters. Ideas for real programming needs are solicited from the university and local community. Students are responsible for all aspects, from establishing initial requirements to implementation and deployment; they need to ďŹ gure out how to interact with and design products for non-specialist users.

Adapted from Andrea Leskes and Ross Miller, 0URPOSEFUL 0ATHWAYS (ELPING 3TUDENTS !CHIEVE +EY ,EARNING /UTCOMES (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2006), 37.

â&#x20AC;˘ as students progress from year to year; â&#x20AC;˘ in the college admissions process, which ought to attend more closely to student experience in inquiry- and project-based learning; â&#x20AC;˘ in the careful design of ďŹ rst-year and second-year experiences geared to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; differing levels of preparation and skill; â&#x20AC;˘ in the careful design of advanced studies that emphasize inquiry, analysis, and the application of knowledge to complex problems.

In recalibrating school and college curricula, and the connections between them, educators need to ensure that every student experiences the excitement and intellectual growth that follows from working to solve real problems. In doing so, they will also provide students with the forms of preparation they need both for a dynamic and innovative economy and for a vibrant democracy.

Principle Four

Engage the Big Questions Teach through the Curriculum to Far-Reaching Issuesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Contemporary and Enduringâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in Science and Society, Cultures and Values, Global Interdependence, the Changing Economy, and Human Dignity and Freedom

Study in the arts and sciences remains an essential and integral part of a twenty-ďŹ rst-century liberal education. But it is time to challenge the ideaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;tacitly but solidly established in American educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that simply taking a prescribed number of courses in liberal arts and sciences ďŹ elds is sufďŹ cient. Rather, new steps must be taken to ensure that study in these core disciplines prepares students to engage with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;big questions,â&#x20AC;? both contemporary and enduring. Study in the arts and sciences should provide students with opportunities to explore the enduring issues, questions, and problems they confront as human beingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;questions of meaning, purpose, and moral integrity.

These studies should also teach students to look beyond themselves, by considering their obligations to others, and to look beyond the classroom, by applying their analytical skills and learning to signiďŹ cant issues and problems in the world around them.

The research on this point is compelling. All studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including those least preparedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;learn best when they can see the point of what they are doing. Illuminating real-world implications can help students discover the excitement and the beneďŹ ts of powerful learning.40 By engaging students with complex issues, questions, and problems where there are real consequences at stake, and by teaching students how to draw and assess knowledge from many sources, this problemcentered approach to liberal education will prepare students both for the challenges of a dynamic global economy and for the responsibilities of citizenship.

To achieve this vision, it will be necessary to revisit the chaotic and redundant practices that currently subvert powerful learning in both school and college. Millions of college students are presently repeat-

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Engage the Big Questions In addition to core general education requirements, 3AN *OSE 3TATE 5NIVER SITY (SJSU) has implemented SJSU Studies, which are intended to foster studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; advanced, integrative learning as citizens and thoughtful people.

Each SJSU undergraduate must take one upper-level class in each of four topic areasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Earth and Environment; Self, Society, and Equality in the United States; Culture, Civilization, and Global Understanding; and Written Communication. These courses connect the curriculum to larger, complex issues in society as a way of preparing students to become better global citizens and educated adults. Like many campuses in the California State University system, San Jose State University serves many transfer students who have taken all or many of their core general education requirements at other institutions. By framing distinctive upper-level goals for general education, SJSU afďŹ rms its commitmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;ofďŹ cially endorsed by the Faculty Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to liberal education for all students. It also creates its own â&#x20AC;&#x153;signatureâ&#x20AC;? approach to that goal.

)T IS TIME TO CHALLENGE THE IDEA THAT SIMPLY TAKING A PRESCRIBED NUMBER OF COURSES IN LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES ĂźELDS IS SUFĂźCIENT

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

m)LLUMINATING REAL WORLD IMPLICATIONS CAN HELP STUDENTS DISCOVER THE EXCITEMENT AND THE BENEĂźTS OF POWERFUL LEARNING n

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Engage the Big Questions One of seven colleges in the Dallas County Community College system, 2ICHLAND #OLLEGE serves nearly twenty thousand students who collectively speak seventy-nine different ďŹ rst languages. Richlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s several academic enrichment programs reinforce the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emphasis on educating students to build sustainable communities, both at home and abroad. The Global Studies program, for example, challenges students to search for solutions to issues such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;peace, ecological balance, social and economic justice, intercultural understanding, democratic participation, and the impact of technology.â&#x20AC;? By design, Global Studies intersects with other academic enrichment programs, including Richlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campuswide service-learning program, learning communities (two courses that address a common topic from different disciplinary perspectives), peace studies, and several ethnic studies programs. To earn a Global Studies CertiďŹ cateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which complements other majorsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;students take ďŹ fteen hours of Global Studies courses, including a learning community, and also complete an academically based service-learning project. Students who take one year of a second language and earn honors grades are named Global Studies Scholars. With a strong emphasis on integrative planning and continuous educational improvement, Richland College became in 2006 the ďŹ rst community college to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest presidential recognition for quality and organizational excellence.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

ing work they should have accomplished in high school, and paying college tuition to do so. At the same time, three million students are now taking â&#x20AC;&#x153;early college coursesâ&#x20AC;? that give them a leg up on college-level requirements, especially in arts and sciences ďŹ elds.41 Often, however, students can use these early college credits to avoid further learning in core disciplinesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as science, mathematics, history, or languagesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;once they are enrolled in college. With the demand for advanced knowledge expanding exponentially, it is self-defeating to let todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college students opt out of key disciplines before they even begin their higher education. It is equally self-defeating to cover essentially the same content in both high school and college survey courses.

Therefore, a coordinated effort is needed to ensure that all Americans reach high levels of knowledge and skillâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;begun in school and advanced in collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in the following areas of twenty-ďŹ rst-century learning: â&#x20AC;˘ science, mathematics, and technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including a solid grasp of the methods by which scientiďŹ c knowledge is tested, validated, and revised â&#x20AC;˘ cultural and humanistic literacyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including knowledge of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s histories, American history, philosophical traditions, major religions, diverse cultural legacies, and contested questions â&#x20AC;˘ global knowledge and competenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including an understanding of economic forces, other cultures, interdependence, and political dynamics, as well as second-language competence and direct experience with cultural traditions other than oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own â&#x20AC;˘ civic knowledge and engagementâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including a rich understanding of the values and struggles that have established democratic institutions and expanded human freedom and justice, and direct experience in addressing the needs of the larger community â&#x20AC;˘ inquiry- and project-based learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including multiple opportunities to work, independently and collaboratively, on projects that require the integration of knowledge with skills in analysis, discovery, problem solving, and communication This is not a menu of course categories. Rather, it is a proposal to move beyond the fragmented modular curriculum that students already take in the arts and sciences, in both school and college (see p. 20, ďŹ g. 6). The list above speciďŹ es core areas of twentyďŹ rst-century learning and invites fresh consideration of the way study within and across different disciplinesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from school through collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;can be organized to develop deep knowledge and strong competence in each of them.

Self-evidently, four years of study is not enough time to achieve such breadth and depth of knowledge. But students are spending at least sixteen yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if they complete a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degreeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in the combination of school and college. If educators map goals for learning in these core areas across this extended sequence of study, the goals become attainable.

Recommendation 7 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT FACULTY AND TEACHERS IN ALL THE RELEVANT DISCIPLINES BE INVOLVED IN NEW NATIONAL EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY THE GOALS FOR COLLEGE LEVEL ACHIEVEMENT IN EACH OF THESE CORE AREAS OF TWENTY ĂźRST CENTURY LEARNING AND TO CREATE PURPOSEFUL CURRICU LAR PATHWAYS FROM HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH COLLEGE THAT ENSURE STUDENTSl CUMULATIVE LEARNING IN THESE CORE AREAS

The task goes well beyond identifying needed knowledge in such basic disciplines as literature, history, or biology. Rather, educators should revisit the overarching goals for student learning in the arts and sciences, and create disciplinary and cross-disciplinary patterns of learning that build deep understanding of the world in which students live and work. Because these broad areas of learning illuminate the context for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; specialized interests, the core areas should be addressed across the several years of college, and not just in the ďŹ rst two years.

Recommendation 8 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT NEW EFFORTS BE MADE TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THESE CORE AREAS OF LEARNING IN BOTH THE ĂźNAL YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL AND THE INI TIAL PHASE OF COLLEGE

The transition from school to college should be the joint responsibility of schools and higher education, and should be carefully planned to ensure that students meet high standards in each of the core areas of expected learning. Standards should be set for needed levels of achievement in these essential areas of learning at the point of college entrance, and the ďŹ nal years of high school should be designed to ensure that students meet the expected entrance standards.

Colleges should provide diagnostic feedback to their students on their actual level of preparation and achievement in these expected areas of twenty-ďŹ rst-century learning, and on what they need to accomplish further to meet the institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own expectations for graduation-level knowledge and competence. At all points along the way, educators should work with external partners to help students understand why and how these core areas of learning are important to success in the economy and to the responsibilities of citizenship.

Principle Five

Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action Prepare Students for Citizenship and Work through Engaged and Guided Learning on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Real-Worldâ&#x20AC;? Problems

Both democracy and the economy depend on creative problem solving, bold experimentation, and the capacity to learn from the results of experimentation. As they move through their studies, students should have multiple opportunities to grapple with and prepare for these â&#x20AC;&#x153;real-worldâ&#x20AC;? demands. Assignments should compel them to deďŹ ne the task, explain its signiďŹ cance, test alternative

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action The â&#x20AC;&#x153;practical liberal artsâ&#x20AC;? are deeply embedded in 7AGNER #OLLEGEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prizewinning college curriculum. The Wagner Plan requires students to complete issue-centered integrative learning communities (LCs) during the ďŹ rst year, the intermediate years, and the senior year. The LCs are organized around a big theme or problem and include experiential as well as academic learning. In the ďŹ rst year, students take two courses from different disciplines related to the overarching theme and complete an experiential ďŹ eld placement related to the LC theme in the New York metropolitan area. Students also complete a â&#x20AC;&#x153;reďŹ&#x201A;ective tutorialâ&#x20AC;? which emphasizes writing and teaches them to evaluate and integrate their learning from different disciplines and from the ďŹ eld placement. A senior-year LC is linked to the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major and acts as a capstone course, connecting knowledge from the major with practical applications in the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chosen ďŹ eld. At graduation, Wagner students are already practiced in integrating knowledge learned inside and outside the classroom in the context of real-world problems and settings.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action Long a pioneer in education for women, 3MITH #OLLEGE has recently become a pioneer once again in integrating engineering education within a liberal arts education. Smith College’s Picker Engineering Program encourages students to set their engineering studies in a larger social and global context.

It also teaches the social, ethical, and professional responsibilities essential to successful practice in the field. The program’s stated outcomes include the fundamentals of engineering disciplines, but also prioritize the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with diverse audiences, lifelong learning, and the value a contemporary and historical perspective can give to science. A senior design project challenges students to address broad societal aspects of their work as well as technical skills. The Picker Program tells students that, “as critical thinkers and socially responsible decision makers, they will help engineer a sustainable future for our global community.”

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

solutions, and take actions based on their own judgment. Some of these learning experiences can take the form of independent study; others should be carefully designed experiences in collaborative learning with diverse partners. Every student should prepare for both life and citizenship by working frequently on unscripted problems, and by building capacities to function as part of an effective team. Fostering this kind of informed practical judgment should be a priority for every academic field.

Students today have many opportunities for “learning in the field,” including service-learning courses, internships, cooperative education, and community-based research. Some majors routinely include apprenticeship assignments, such as student teaching. Many students do projects with diverse communities and/or in other parts of the world as part of their formal study. And 90 percent of college students work while they are in school.42 While all these experiences present rich opportunities for connecting knowledge with choices and action, too many are essentially “add-ons” in which students are left to their own devices for any insights gained. Students perform service on their own time; they find jobs and even internships independently of their academic studies.

Study abroad, another form of experiential learning, is powerful for students, but any educational “debriefing” on what they learned by living in another culture frequently goes on quite apart from their home institutions and departments. Work—especially off-campus employment—is too often considered a distraction rather than a potentially rich venue for applying what one is learning in the academic program.

To build students’ preparation for both work and citizenship, higher education needs to give new emphasis to fostering practical judgment and problem solving “in the field.” Community-based learning should be integrated into the curriculum, and efforts to strengthen the quality of students’ learning from such experiences should become an integral part of a contemporary liberal education.

In fostering these kinds of practical judgment and problem solving, there is much to be learned from the professional fields and from the performing arts. As Lee Shulman and his colleagues at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have demonstrated, many of the signature practices of professional education are designed to help individuals develop their capacities for effective judgment in contexts where the right course of action is uncertain.43 They do this by making the learner’s thinking and assumptions public in the presence of knowledgeable mentors and peers and by subjecting these to intense discussion and challenge. Similarly, both in the professions and in the performing arts, the learner’s performance itself is public, and students work closely with mentors on ways to improve the quality of their work. Learning to give and receive feedback is already part of both professional and artistic development; it ought to become expected practice in all fields of study.

To apply knowledge productively in field-based settings, all

students should experience in-depth questioning from faculty, staff, and other mentors about their assumptions, analyses, conclusions, and actions. Learners also need both guidance and feedback, from mentors and peers, as they probe the facets of a complex issue and test their own insights against both theory and the experiences of others.

And to prepare for the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diversity, all students need frequent opportunities to engage in collaborative interaction with people whose assumptions and life experiences are different from their own.

Recommendation 9 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT EVERY STUDENT ENGAGE IN SOME FORM OF ĂźELD BASED LEARNING AND THAT FACULTY AND STAFF CREATE OPPORTUNITIES REÄ&#x152;ECTIVE FORUMS FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN COLLABORA TIVELY AND SYSTEMATICALLY FROM THEIR ĂźELD BASED EXPERIENCES

These opportunities can take many different forms to serve different educational ďŹ elds and student learning goals. Models for good practice in experiential learning have already been developed in many professional and performing arts ďŹ elds, in the service-learning community, and in some global studies programs. These models should be more widely studied and adopted. Each institution and program should review and strengthen its standards for supervising, supporting, and evaluating studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ďŹ eld-based learning.

Recommendation 10 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN FACULTY AND STUDENT LIFE PROFESSIONALS BE STRENGTHENED IN ORDER TO INTEGRATE AND DOCUMENT THE LEARNING STUDENTS GAIN FROM INVOLVEMENT WITH A CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Some of the most powerful learning in college occurs in activities undertaken as part of the cocurriculum, both on campus and through campus outreach to community partners. The essential learning outcomes can be fostered through intentional integration of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in-class and out-of-class activities.There should be far more systematic attention paid to fostering these opportunities for guided experiential learning and to documenting, through expanded forms of assessment, the gains students make on the essential learning outcomes through these cocurricular experiences.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning In 1994, 0ORTLAND 3TATE 5NIVERSITY faculty adopted University Studies, a four-year general education program for all students. The program is organized around four broad goals: inquiry and critical thinking, communication, the diversity of human experience, and ethics and social responsibility. The culminating senior experience is a community-based learning course designed to provide interdisciplinary teams of students with the opportunity to apply what they have learned in their major and in their other University Studies courses to a real challenge emanating from the metropolitan community. These partnershipsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;designed to engage diverse communities for common purposesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; are mutually beneďŹ cial ventures, as the organizations help students place their academic learning in a real-world context, and students assist organizations in meaningful projects such as grant writing, designing curriculum and educational materials, and serving as advocates for underserved populations and issues. Assessments show that the community work helps students become more aware of their own biases and prejudices and deepens studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of sociopolitical issues.

Students also develop a better understanding of how to make a difference in their own communities.

Principle Six

Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning Emphasize Personal and Social Responsibility, in Every Field of Study

Since the founding of the United States, Americans have recognized the close connections between education and the sustainability of our democratic experiment. Traditionally, however, the role of producing an educated citizenry was assigned to the public schools, which enrolled almost everyone, rather than to higher education, which until recently served only a small fraction of the population.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning "OWLING 'REEN 3TATE 5NIVERSITY places strong emphasis on educating graduates who demonstrate ethical integrity, reflective thinking, and social responsibility. To introduce these goals, the university has developed the BGeXperience (BGeX), a program designed to ease the transition from high school to college while, at the same time, engaging firstyear students with the core values that inform the university’s vision statement.

BGeX begins with a three-day orientation and continues into the first semester with a “values” course—a class that provides conventional instruction in a discipline and also encourages students to reflect upon values questions in that field. An introductory course in geology, for example, covers the essential content of a geology survey but also considers how values shape debates about global warming and the theory of evolution. By asking students to think critically about values questions without prescribing a specific set of conclusions, BGeX aspires to educate more ethically aware and thoughtful citizens. Those who are interested can also pursue service learning, take upper-division courses that explore values in the disciplines, and even become BGeX peer facilitators later in their undergraduate careers.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

Reflecting this inherited division of labor, higher education is poised ambivalently between the past and the future concerning its appropriate role in fostering democratic values and responsibilities.

Mission statements proclaim education for citizenship as central.They testify to the role of the academy in fostering personal and social responsibility, at home and abroad; in preparing graduates to contribute to the community; and more recently, in building communities that acknowledge and value difference.44 But the faculty members who actually teach students rarely are asked to think deeply about their own responsibilities for educating engaged and ethical citizens.

In practice, many assume that teaching students to think critically is the academy’s main contribution to the public good.

During the last two decades, higher education has embarked on new efforts to foster civic engagement. A “service-learning movement” has gained strong traction on all kinds of campuses—large and small, two-year and four-year. Simultaneously, many faculty members have worked to make diversity studies and intercultural learning a new basic for student learning in college. Both service learning and experiences with diversity are powerful catalysts for deeper engagement and insight. They teach students to engage, respect, and learn from people with worldviews that are very different from their own. They involve students with many of society’s most urgent unsolved problems. They challenge individuals to consider, at a deep level, the responsibilities of a democratic society to its citizens, and their own responsibilities as human beings and citizens. And these forms of learning have significant effects on students’ ethical awareness, challenging learners to confront alternative beliefs and values, and to think more deeply about their own. Research studies show that service and diversity experiences have positive effects both on students’ civic commitments and on their overall cognitive development.45 As with so many other “high-impact” educational innovations, these efforts to prepare students for active citizenship in diverse communities still hover on the margins of the mainstream academy.

Some students participate and benefit; large numbers do not. Less than half of college seniors report that their college experience significantly influenced their capacity to contribute to their communities; only half report significant gains in learning about people from different backgrounds.46 Moreover, there is searing evidence that study in many majors actually depresses students’ interest in active citizenship.47 This is a warning note indeed for a democracy that depends on civic responsibility and commitment.

The higher education community needs to match its commitment to educating responsible and ethical citizens with learning practices, in both the curriculum and cocurriculum, that help all college students engage their responsibilities to self and others. Further, vigorous efforts are needed to build new understanding that civic development—in all the forms described here—is an essential rather than an elective outcome of college.

Recommendation 11 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT STUDENTS BE PROVIDED WITH RECURRING OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE ISSUES OF CIVIC INTERCULTURAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR BROAD STUDIES OF SCIENCE

CULTURES AND SOCIETY AND FURTHER THAT THESE TOPICS BE CONNECTED TO DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE

Questions about the relationship between individuals and societies, about major developments in human histories, and about cross-cultural encounters are classic themes for the shared curriculum, whether in a ďŹ rst-year experience, or a general education sequence, or in advanced capstone courses that provide a larger context for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; specialized studies. First-year and general education courses should intentionally help students grapple with the kinds of â&#x20AC;&#x153;big questionsâ&#x20AC;? they will inevitably face both as human beings and as citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;about science and society, cultures and values, global interdependence, the changing economy, and human dignity and freedom. The general education curriculum is also a place where students can explore the values, institutions, and aspirations that are basic to democracy, examining these complex questions through multiple and cross-disciplinary lenses: philosophical, empirical, historical, cross-cultural.

The foundations for such studies need to be laid in the schools, through a course of study that builds rich understandings both of world histories and of American history, and of the relationships between them (see recommendation 7). Building on these precollegiate experiences, college courses can help students explore the difďŹ cult issues of our world, the ones where both the nature of the problem and the range of solutions are actively contested. Equally important, college forums can model and teach the kinds of respectful deliberationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;across difďŹ cult differencesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that are crucially important to a sustainable democracy.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning Hundreds of colleges, community colleges, and universities now encourage students to take part in community service. But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, 4ULANE 5NIVERSITY has taken service learning and civic engagement to another level. Tulane requires all students to make public service an integral part of their college studies, both in the core curriculum and in their advanced studies. To meet the public service graduation requirement, students must take one service-learning class during their ďŹ rst two years.

During this time, students also create and maintain an e-portfolio that charts their progress and reďŹ&#x201A;ects on their service learning. In their later college years, students choose a second public service experience. This may be another service-learning course, a service-learning internship, a public service research project or honors thesis project, a service-based study abroad program, or a capstone experience that includes a public service component. The Center for Public Service sustains partnerships with community organizations that provide a context for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; public service commitments.

Recommendation 12 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT STUDENTS BE PROVID ED WITH GUIDED OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE CIVIC ETHICAL AND INTERCULTURAL ISSUES IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR CHOSEN ĂźELDS

Every ďŹ eld of study, no matter how â&#x20AC;&#x153;technical,â&#x20AC;? is a community of practice. For this reason, no ďŹ eld is â&#x20AC;&#x153;value-free.â&#x20AC;? Every community of practice is framed by communal values and ethical responsibilities; these expectations need to be made explicit and fully explored among students and faculty. Similarly, every ďŹ eld is rife with contested questions whose resolution may have far-reaching human consequences. In every community of practice, there are some people with power and others who lack and/or seek power. Often, questions of power are further complicated by legacies of racial, ethnic, gender, and other disparities.When students choose a ďŹ eld of study, they need and deserve the opportunity to explore openly all of the issues basic to their community with their fellow students and with guidance from mentors. They should have many occasions to clarify and apply their own sense of ethical, professional, and civic responsibilities as they move forward in their chosen course of study.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

Principle Seven THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Assess Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems 0ACE 5NIVERSITY, a large multi-campus metropolitan university in New York, has made a comprehensive commitment to assessment as a way of strengthening both teaching and learning. Pace works to provide evidence of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; actual learning over time as a counter to rankings that look mainly at reputation and resources. One strand in its approach is a strong emphasis on senior capstone courses and projects designed to integrate and evaluate studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning in the major. Over 70 percent of the senior class completes capstones, and Pace wants to make this requirement universal. Balancing locally designed assessments with national measures, Pace also uses the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which assesses studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and written communication abilities using performance tasks and writing rather than multiple-choice questions.

m4HE RIGHT STANDARD FOR BOTH ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL IS STUDENTSl DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO APPLY THEIR LEARNING TO COMPLEX

UNSCRIPTED PROBLEMS n

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

Assess Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems Use Assessment to Deepen Learning and to Establish a Culture of Shared Purpose and Continuous Improvement

As afďŹ rmed throughout this report, the essential learning outcomes provide a shared framework for both intentionality and accountability, across the entire educational system, within the various sectors of higher education, and in studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own educational planning. Recommendation 4 calls on educators to create diagnostic, interim, and capstone assessments in order to give individual students feedback on their progress in achieving the expected outcomes in the context of their chosen course of study.

Especially in light of the high-stakes-testing movement in the schools, many will want to act immediately to identify standardized tests that can be used to establish how well students are doing on the recommended learning outcomes. The 2006 report from the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education took this tack, recommending that every campus measure studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning with standardized tests, and that the states aggregate and compare the results of various standardized measures.48 For two reasons, a rush to adopt standardized testing for higher education would prove to be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;low-yieldâ&#x20AC;? strategy.49 First, the essential learning outcomes can be described in common, easily accessible language (see p. 12), but they areâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in practiceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;complex capacities that are fostered and expressed quite differently in different ďŹ elds. For example, both a teacher and a chemist will need skills in inquiry, information literacy, and writing, but their competence in applying these skills will be manifested in different ways. Thus, general tests of the recommended learning outcomes will not provide evidence about studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ďŹ eld-related achievement and competence. Field-speciďŹ c tests, while available in many disciplines, do not generally assess studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mastery of higher-level intellectual, problem-solving, collaborative, and integrative abilities. The broad area of assessing civic, intercultural, and ethical capacities languishes even farther behind in terms of test development.50 Yet we cannot afford to neglect these essential outcomes just because there are no standardized measures to assess them.

Second, standardized tests that stand outside the regular curriculum are, at best, a weak prompt to needed improvement in teaching, learning, and curriculum. Tests can, perhaps, signal a problem, but the test scores themselves do not necessarily point to where or why the problem exists or offer particulars as to solutions. In practice, it takes a combination of valid, reliable instruments and local, grassroots assessments, across a broad array of curricular, pedagogical, and campus activities, to determine the precursors and particulars of academic shortfalls and to determine whether intended interventions are achieving real results.

The right standard for both assessment and accountability at the

college level is studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demonstrated ability to apply their learning to complex, unscripted problems in the context of their advanced studies. Far-reaching change is needed to ensure that students work consistently over time on the kinds of higher-order learningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; analytical and appliedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that prepare them to meet this standard. The best possible way to foster that needed change is to design â&#x20AC;&#x153;milestoneâ&#x20AC;? and culminating assessments within the expected curriculum that help students and faculty focus together on the intended level of accomplishment and on what students need to do to improve. These milestone assessments can be designed in ways that check studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; intellectual and practical skills as well as their knowledge in a given area. And they can also include dimensions that address social and ethical attentiveness.

Curriculum-embedded assessment, when carefully done, is itself a potential â&#x20AC;&#x153;high-yieldâ&#x20AC;? educational reform because, by design, it focuses both faculty and student attention on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative progress and actual level of attainment. Many campuses already are experimenting with locally designed assignments that show whether students are developing the expected knowledge and skills, and especially, whether they can apply their knowledge to complex problems.

This grassroots approach is the most promising way to focus student effort, to engage faculty with evidence about studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative progress, and to inform institutional decisions about needed change.

Standardized tests, administered periodically, can supplement such grassroots approaches. They can, for example, provide useful warning signals when a campus is setting its sights too low. But standardized assessmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially those that stand outside the curriculum and that rely on a sample of students onlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are much too distant from student and faculty attention to serve by themselves as a forceful catalyst for signiďŹ cant educational change.

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Assess Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems Every student at 3OUTHERN )LLINOIS 5NI VERSITY %DWARDSVILLE completes a senior assignment in the major. The projects vary across different academic ďŹ elds, but each is designed to ensure that all students have mastered the skills required for their discipline as well as key liberal education outcomesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as critical thinking, effective writing, and problem solvingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that all graduates should possess. Designed by department faculty to â&#x20AC;&#x153;make visibleâ&#x20AC;? the learning required for the degreeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; whether it occurs in the major program or in general educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the capstone projects are assessed using rubrics aligned with the intended learning outcomes and probed for several different kinds of evidence. Individual students receive feedback on their accomplishments while faculty review the assessment evidence at the program level to shape curricular and pedagogical improvements. Over time, the process of collectively designing and scoring senior assignments has encouraged a culture of faculty collaboration.

Recommendation 13 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT ASSESSMENTS BE LINKED TO THE ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES IDENTIĂźED IN THIS REPORT THAT ASSESSMENTS BE EMBEDDED AT MILESTONE POINTS IN THE CURRICULUMq INCLUDING WITHIN STUDENTSl MAJOR ĂźELDSqAND THAT ASSESSMENTS BE MADE PART OF THE OVERALL GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Students should know from the time they enter college that they will be expected to complete milestone and culminating projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;authentic performancesâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;to demonstrate both their progress in relation to the essential outcomes and their ability to use the learning outcomes in the context of their chosen ďŹ elds.These assessments may consist of portfolios showing a range of student work, or they may center on required student experiencesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as a senior project or supervised student teachingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that are integral to their chosen area of focus.They may include comprehensive examinations in the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; chosen major.

However the assessments are constructedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and this will vary, appropriately, across different ďŹ eldsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the framework for accountabil-

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

THE PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE Assess Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ability to Apply Learning to Complex Problems #ARLETON #OLLEGE uses writing portfolios to ensure that undergraduates can write competently in a range of styles and contexts. By encouraging students to reďŹ&#x201A;ect onâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and reviseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;their writing, the portfolios themselves constitute an important educational experience.

To meet the portfolio requirement, students at the end of their sophomore year must submit three to ďŹ ve papers demonstrating their ability to write effectively in different rhetorical and disciplinary contexts; each portfolio must represent at least two of the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four curricular divisions (Arts and Literature, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Mathematics/Natural Sciences) and must include at least one paper from the â&#x20AC;&#x153;writing requirementâ&#x20AC;? course. Instructors then certify that the papers were written for their classes and indicate if they have since been revised. Finally, students write reďŹ&#x201A;ective essays about their writing to introduce the portfolios. Together, the papers must demonstrate mastery of each of several key writing skillsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ability to report on observation, to analyze complex information, to provide interpretation, to use and document sources, and to articulate and support a thesis-driven argument. The writing portfolios have led Carleton faculty to talk about using the portfolios to assess other liberal education outcomes such as quantitative literacy and critical thinking.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

ity should be studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demonstrated ability to apply their learning to complex problems. Standards for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expected level of achievement also will vary by ďŹ eld, but they should all include speciďŹ c attention to the quality of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge, their mastery of key skills, their attentiveness to issues of ethical and social responsibility, and their facility in integrating different parts of their learning.

The National Survey of Student Engagement reports that 60 percent of graduating seniors do some kind of culminating work in college.51 These culminating activitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether courses or projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;already are embedded in the expected curriculum; they already are part of the teaching and learning budget. These activities can be structured to show how well students can integrate their knowledge and apply it to complex problems, and studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; level of performance on them can be aggregated and made public.

Making studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; actual performance the framework for accountability would require, of course, new attention to the 40 percent of college students who do not do culminating work and who earn their degrees by passing the requisite number of courses. But if the intention is to raise the level of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preparation for twenty-ďŹ rstcentury challenges, there is no better place to begin.

Recommendation 14 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT EACH CAMPUS ANA LYZE ITS ASSESSMENT ĂźNDINGS TO ENSURE THAT ALL GROUPS OF STUDENTS ARE PROGRESSING SUCCESSFULLY TOWARD THE EXPECTED LEARNING GOALS

This report calls for a new approach to fostering and promoting student success. But in moving toward this needed shift, it is important to attend to lessons already learned with existing metrics of student achievement. Almost everywhere, â&#x20AC;&#x153;college successâ&#x20AC;? is currently documented through reports on enrollment, persistence, degree completion, and sometimes, grades. Probed in more detail, these metrics for success make it indisputably clear that college attainment is stratiďŹ ed by income level, and that there are also signiďŹ cant disparities in attainment between white students and speciďŹ c groups of racial and ethnic minorities: African Americans, Latinos, and American Indians/ Alaskan Natives. Asian American students run the gamut, with some subgroups forging ahead on the traditional measures of success, and others clearly lagging.

As they devise more educationally productive ways of deďŹ ning and assessing student achievement, educators also need to study closely how different groups of students are progressing within these new standards for success. This will require two levels of analysis. First, each campus can study whether different groups of students are participating equitably in programs and practicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as ďŹ rst-year experiences, writing-intensive courses, learning communities, and capstone experiencesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that have been designed to enrich and strengthen studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic achievement. On many campuses, such programs disproportionately serve students from more advantaged backgrounds.

By studying the data, campuses can move toward more equitable participation in what they determine to be their most effective educational practices.

Second, as assessments focus more centrally on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; milestone and culminating performances, faculty and staff should also ask whether all groups of students are reaching the expected level of attainment on the essential learning outcomes. By disaggregating emerging data, colleges and universities can hone in on the patterns and likely causes of achievement problems and do a much better job of identifying needed changes in curriculum, teaching quality, academic support, and the larger educational environment.

Recommendation 15 4HE .ATIONAL ,EADERSHIP #OUNCIL RECOMMENDS THAT BROAD BASED LEADERSHIP BE DEVELOPED IN ORDER TO CREATE CAMPUS CULTURES MARKED BY AN UNWAVERING FOCUS ON THE QUALITY OF STUDENT LEARNING

BY AN ETHIC OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND BY STRUCTURES AND REWARDS THAT SUPPORT FACULTY AND STAFF LEADERSHIP ON THESE ISSUES

Faculty and staff on hundreds of campuses are already implementing elements of the Principles of Excellence outlined above. But too often their work touches limited numbers of students or is concentrated in a few areas of the curriculum. Those experimenting with innovative, engaging pedagogical practices are often isolated from one another, unaware that there are kindred spirits just around the corner. Existing reward systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;geared almost exclusively to faculty scholarship and the quality of individual teachingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are incompatible with the scope of collaborative change and organizational learning that will be needed to raise the quality of all studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; educational achievement.

A contemporary framework for educational excellence and its assessment requires new leadership structures and incentives to advance the intended changes. In particular, new organizational practices are needed to both support and reward faculty and staff efforts to foster studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative progress across different parts and levels of the college experience.

Drawing from work by Pat Hutchings and Mary Huber of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,52 we propose that each campus create its own version of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Teaching and Learning Commonsâ&#x20AC;? where faculty, administrators, and student life professionals can come togetherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;across disciplinary linesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to create a culture of shared purposes, to audit the extent to which the educational environment is successfully advancing the expected learning for all groups of students, and to beneďŹ t from existing and new efforts to foster student engagement and high achievement.

To foster shared purposes, each campus needs to develop its own vision of the expected learning outcomes (see recommendation 1).

By making good use of assessment evidence from many sources, by building widely shared knowledge about successful educational innovations within the community, and by creating a culture of continuous attention to these matters, the Teaching and Learning

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

Commons can probe the relations between what is intended and what is actually happening. The commons also can serve as a continuing catalyst for effective practices and far-reaching change. In addition, participation in this commons can become an important way of helping new faculty and staff translate the broad aims described in the essential learning outcomes to their particular disciplines and roles.

The commons, in short, can play a far-reaching role, creating a culture that consistently “aims high” and that steadfastly focuses—across divisional lines—on campus progress toward making excellence inclusive.

AAC&U | Part 3: A New Framework for Excellence

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he educational vision presented here is a call to prepare all students for the challenges and complexities of this new global era. The vision builds from a widely shared recognition that in this demanding economic and international environment, almost everyone will need further learning beyond high school, both to expand personal opportunity and to ensure this nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continuing prosperity.

The LEAP National Leadership Council takes that recognition to a higher level, asking: What kinds of learning? To what ends? Beyond access to college, how should Americans deďŹ ne â&#x20AC;&#x153;successâ&#x20AC;? in college achievement?

In answering these questions, the council urges a strong commitment to provide all studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whatever their choice of institution or careerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with a liberal and liberating college education. This report deďŹ nes liberal education not in terms of speciďŹ c disciplines studied, but rather as a coherent framework for learning that intentionally fosters, across multiple ďŹ elds of study, wide-ranging knowledge of science, cultures, and society; high-level intellectual and practical skills; an active commitment to personal and social responsibility; and the demonstrated ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges.

The council further urges the need for a new compact between educators and American society that focuses simultaneously on essential learning outcomes, effective educational practices, and the integration of learning at increasingly higher levels of accomplishment.The Principles of Excellence articulate this broadly deďŹ ned educational compact.

Informed by a generation of innovation and scholarly research on effective practices in teaching and learning, the Principles of Excellence offer both challenging standards and ďŹ&#x201A;exible guidance for an era of far-reaching educational reform and renewalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in higher education, in the schools, and in the connections between them. And they provide a framework for assessing student learning that both spurs and documents higher levels of student accomplishment.

With campus experimentation already well advancedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on every one of the Principles of Excellenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it is time to move from â&#x20AC;&#x153;pilot effortsâ&#x20AC;? to full-scale commitments. Just as the United States comprehensively transformed designs for learning, at all levels, in the

7ITH CAMPUS EXPERIMENTATION ALREADY WELL ADVANCEDqON EVERY ONE OF THE 0RINCIPLES OF %XCELLENCEqIT IS TIME TO MOVE FROM PILOT EFFORTS TO FULL SCALE COMMITMENTS

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

m4HE 0RINCIPLES OF %XCELLENCE DESCRIBE KEY STEPS THAT EVERY CAMPUS CAN TAKE TO ACCELERATE THE SPEED AND SCOPE OF NEEDED CHANGE n

late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, educators can act now to advance a contemporary set of goals, guiding principles, and practices that will prepare all college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not just the fortunate fewâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to reap the full beneďŹ ts of an engaged and empowering liberal education.

But providing a twenty-ďŹ rst-century education for all college students cannot be done with a few adjustments on the margin.

Vigorous and concerted leadership will be needed at many levels to build support for a more contemporary framework for college learning and to accelerate the scope and pace of educational change.

What It Will Take Make the Principles of Excellence a Campus Priority

Colleges, community colleges, and universities stand at the center.

Ultimately, it is their role to articulate aims and outcomes for their degrees that both enact their mission and resonate with twentyďŹ rst-century realities, to provide rich opportunities for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diverse students to achieve the essential learning outcomes, and to assure the quality, scope, and level of each studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actual achievement.

Responding to a changing environment, many institutions have already begun to make far-reaching changes, both in deďŹ ning their core educational purposes and in adopting more engaging and effective educational practices. The vision for twenty-ďŹ rst-century learning presented in these pages reďŹ&#x201A;ects and draws on their pioneering leadership and innovation.

But across higher education as a whole, progress in deďŹ ning robust educational purposes and matching vision with intentional practice has been fragmented at best. The goal now should be to move from partial efforts and islands of innovation to an enterprise-wide focus that embraces the multiple parts of the undergraduate experience.

The Principles of Excellence (see p. 26) describe key steps that every campus can take to accelerate the speed and scope of needed change.

Form Coalitions, across Sectors, for All Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Long-Term Interests

While the value of strong educational leadership on each individual campus cannot be overstated, raising the quality of student learning across the board will ultimately require concerted and collective actionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;between educators and society, and across the various levels of education. Collaborative action is needed because the impediments to educational excellence are systemic rather than isolated. Many high school graduates are underprepared for college, and so higher education is forced to play catch-up. Students need to develop higherlevel intellectual and practical skills, but the curriculum in both school and college has been deďŹ ned, often by state regulation, in terms of course titles and categories, with much too little attention to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; development of important capabilities.

Democracy, global and intercultural learning, active citizenship,

AAC&U | Part 4: A Time for Leadership and Action

and even the skills and knowledge essential to economic innovation remain low priorities at all levels of the educational system because of regulatory and assessment frameworks that largely ignore these crucial areas of learning (see p. 20, fig. 6). Faculty reward systems almost invariably emphasize individual rather than collaborative excellence in both scholarship and teaching, which results in systemic disincentives for faculty members to spend their time in the collaborative redesign of undergraduate education.

The other great systemic impediment to educational reform is the marketplace. When a single college or university independently raises its entrance requirements, or holds students to more rigorous graduation standards in, say, science, mathematics, languages, or global learning, students remain entirely free to take their tuition dollars to another institution that has set less taxing standards.Very few institutions are in a position to stand forth—alone—against these market realities.

For all these reasons, leaders will need to work collectively across institutional boundaries as well as within them to create a market environment that expects educational excellence and that both supports and rewards collaborative work to achieve it.

Many campus leaders already are working at a local level with partner schools to raise the level of college readiness and achievement.

But like so much else in the contemporary educational landscape, these are piecemeal, “add-on” efforts that have not yet resulted in far-reaching systemic change. The next step is to move toward collective efforts to broaden public and student understanding about essential learning and to establish higher operative standards across the board for college readiness and college accomplishment. By taking an active role in systemic change efforts at all levels—national, state, and local—colleges and universities can better serve both their students and society, and advance their own institutional interests in educational excellence as well.

Build Principled and Determined Leadership

Because the barriers to excellence are systemic, educating American students for today’s challenging environment will require proactive and determined leadership as well as coordinated efforts across all parts of American society and all parts of the educational system. While everyone has a role to play in this effort, three forms of enabling leadership will be absolutely essential to champion, support, guide, and reward the hard work of fostering higher levels of achievement across the board: (1) high-profile advocacy from presidents, trustees, school leaders, and employers; (2) curricular leadership from knowledgeable scholars and teachers; and (3) policy leadership at multiple levels to support and reward a new framework for educational excellence.

1. High-profile advocacy from presidents, trustees, school leaders, and employers. Recognized leaders who can command public respect and attention must step forward to explain the value and importance of liberal education—in twenty-first-century terms—both to democ-

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

m7HILE RECOGNIZED LEADERS CAN MAKE HIGHER ACHIEVEMENT A PRIORITY FACULTY AND TEACHERS WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN MAKE IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN n

AAC&U | Part 4: A Time for Leadership and Action

racy and the economy, and to deploy needed resources to support educational change. Traditionally, presidents, trustees, and school leaders have focused on the needs and priorities of their own institutions. But today, these highly visible and inďŹ&#x201A;uential leaders need to situate both their public statements and their institutional priorities in a much larger educational context. By using their public pulpits effectively, these inďŹ&#x201A;uential leaders can build new commitment to a liberating education for all students and new understanding of what will be required to achieve that goal.

Presidents, school leaders, trustees, and leading employers, more than anyone else, are in a position to make the essential learning outcomes a shared national priority and to promote the value of more purposeful connections at all levels of the educational system. And, as campus and school leaders cultivate new public understanding of what matters in college, they can also turn a much-needed spotlight on the public value and signiďŹ cance of their own campus efforts to raise the quality of student accomplishment.

2. Curricular leadership from knowledgeable scholars and teachers.

While recognized leaders can make higher achievement a priority, faculty and teachers who work directly with students are the only ones who can make it actually happen.

Scholar-teachers who have standing within the educational community will need to take the leadâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in partnerships across school and collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to develop guidelines and curricula that connect rich content with studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; progressive mastery of essential skills and competencies.

There is already a strong policy interest in creating â&#x20AC;&#x153;seamless alignmentsâ&#x20AC;? between school and college and in setting higher standards for â&#x20AC;&#x153;college readiness.â&#x20AC;? Building on these existing efforts, faculty and teachers can work together, across the usual schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;college dividing lines, to deďŹ ne ascending levels of expected student achievement and to map more purposeful curricular pathways, across different disciplines, that support the expected levels of learning.

Some of this work has already begun, often off the public radar screen. National and state efforts to move from pilot projects to systemic change can draw from countless examples of good practice, in the schools and in higher education.The challenge now is to bring disparate efforts togetherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;nationally, regionally, and locallyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;around a shared vision for essential learning outcomes that encompasses diverse ďŹ elds and ascending levels of learning. Equally important, we need to ensure that future teachers and future faculty are well prepared to teach in ways that help students reach a higher level of knowledge and capability.

3. Policy leadership at multiple levels to support and reward a new framework for educational excellence. Leaders in the states, in accreditation agencies, in Pâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;16 initiatives, in educational associations, and on individual campuses have already launched noteworthy (if partial) efforts to foster the learning needed for the twenty-ďŹ rst century. But very few of them have recognized that the Truman-era determination to squeeze all the goals for liberal education into a dozen or so college-level general education courses is an unworkable strategy that now

stands in the way of a more productive focus on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative and integrative learning across the curriculum. Breaking free of this inherited educational cul-de-sac, policy leaders should act together to support faculty and teacher efforts to map the broad aims and outcomes of an empowering liberal education across the entire educational experience, from school through collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including community collegesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and across majors as well as general education. By supporting twenty-ďŹ rst-century expectations for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative accomplishment and by crafting policies that support and reward needed change, policy leaders can create a far more productive environment for new educational creativity and for the integration of learning at all levels.

Put Employers in Direct Dialogue with Students

Employers have an especially inďŹ&#x201A;uential role to play in changing student and public understanding about what matters in college.

Students already know that a college degree is a passport to expanded economic opportunity. What they need to hear now from their future employers is that narrow learning will limit rather than expand their opportunities. Within their own forums, employers have already championed the value and economic importance of the essential learning outcomes. But students arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in those forums and many have missed that message entirely.

Employers are already aligned with educators in their recognition that students need an expansive and versatile education rather than narrow training alone. Now, employersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;who may also be trustees and regents in both public and private higher educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;can join forces with educational leaders to put students in the loop as well.

Employers ought to become both visible and audible, explaining on campus Web sites, at career fairs, and even on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; iPods why the essential learning outcomes will prove important beyond college.

Employers already work in tandem with higher education through their campus recruiting efforts, their mentoring and internship programs, their advisory work with faculty and campus programs, and their philanthropic contributions. Employers can use each of these venues to signal their preference for liberal rather than narrow education and the practical value of the essential learning outcomes.

If senior executives, human resources leaders, and campus recruiters insist on the importance of cross-cutting knowledge and versatile intellectual skills, then students will have much stronger incentives to work toward their achievement.

3TUDENTS NEED TO HEAR FROM THEIR FUTURE EMPLOYERS THAT NARROW LEARNING WILL LIMIT RATHER THAN EXPAND THEIR OPPORTUNITIES

Reclaim the Connection between Liberal Education and Democratic Freedom

Americans are a practical people who understand very well the connection between prosperity and democratic freedom. But as a society, we need to reclaim the insightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;well explained by our foundersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that freedom is not self-perpetuating. Democracy may be a birthright, but citizens need to be educated about what is involved in sustaining that birthright.

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

m,IBERAL EDUCATION HAS NEVER LIVED UP TO THE FULL PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY BECAUSE THIS SOCIETY HAS NEVER BEFORE ATTEMPTED TO PROVIDE A LIBERATING EDUCATION FOR ALL !MERICANS n

The ďŹ rst lesson in that education should be new clarity about the root meaning of liber, the Latin word for a free person. In American society, liberal education has evolved as the kind of education necessary to a free people: to self-governance and democracy. But liberal education has never lived up to the full promise of democracy because this society has never before attempted to provide a liberating education for all Americans.

Moving forward in this new global century, we have a historic opportunity to redeem that promise by making educational excellence newly inclusive. The essential learning outcomes described in these pages are important to the economy, certainly. But they are even more important to American democracy. As Americans mobilize determined leadership for educational reformâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from presidents, trustees, school leaders, faculty, teachers, staff, employers, policy makers, and everyone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;we need to put the future of democracy at the center of our efforts.

An educational program that is indifferent to democracy will ultimately deplete it. But a democracy united around a shared commitment to excellence for everyone is this nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best investment in our shared future.

Liberal Education and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise While college has become a gateway to opportunity in American society, it is not a magic carpet. Ultimately, it is the quality of learning, not the possession of a diploma, that will make all the differenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to individuals, to an economy dependent upon innovation, and to the integrity of the democracy we create together.

The proposals offered here build on the historic strengths of higher education in the United States, especially the academyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to inclusion and excellence, its sense of responsibility to the larger society, its embrace of democratic principles and values, and its record of achievement in advancing innovative solutions to important problems.

With this report, the LEAP National Leadership Council urges a comprehensive commitment, not just to prepare all students for college, but to provide the most powerful forms of learning for all who enroll in college.

Working together, with determination, creativity, and a larger sense of shared purpose, Americans can fulďŹ ll the promise of a liberating college educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for every student and for Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.

AAC&U | Part 4: A Time for Leadership and Action

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Dpnnvojuz!Dpmmfhft-!! boe!Vojwfstjujft!Dbo!Ep Vision The institution—through dialogue with the wider community—articulates a vision for student accomplishment that addresses the essential learning outcomes and the Principles of Excellence in ways appropriate to mission, students, and educational programs.

Resources Campus leaders—including presidents, trustees, and senior leaders—advance this vision through their strategic planning, fundraising, resource allocation, and staffing.

Integrative Learning The institution creates an intellectual commons where faculty and staff work together to connect the essential outcomes with the content and practices of their educational programs, including general education, departmental majors, the cocurriculum, and assessments.

Intentional Students The institution teaches students how to integrate the essential learning outcomes within a purposeful, coherent, and carefully sequenced plan of study.

Accomplishment Faculty and staff work to develop student knowledge and capabilities cumulatively and sequentially, drawing on all types of courses—from general education and the majors to electives—as well as non-course experiences.

Evidence Faculty and staff members work together—across courses and programs—to assess students’ cumulative progress, to audit the connections between intended learning and student accomplishment, to share findings about effective educational practices, and to advance needed change.

Recognition Faculty and staff reward systems are organized to support collaborative work—“our work”—as well as individual excellence, and to foster a culture of shared focus and collaborative inquiry about students’ progress and cumulative learning across the multiple parts of the college experience.

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Fevdbujpobm!Qsbdujdft The following teaching and learning practices have been widely tested and have shown benefits for college students, especially those from historically underserved backgrounds.53 Because they feature various forms of active learning, these innovative educational practices also are especially well suited for assessing students’ cumulative learning. However, on almost all campuses, these practices remain optional rather than essential.

First-Year Seminars and Experiences Many schools now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis.Typically, first-year experiences place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students’ intellectual and practical competencies. First-year seminars can involve students with cutting-edge questions in scholarship and with faculty members’ own research.

Common Intellectual Experiences The older idea of a “core” curriculum has evolved into a variety of modern forms such as a set of required common courses, or a vertically organized general education program that includes advanced integrative studies and/or required participation in a learning community (see below). These programs often combine broad themes—e.g., technology and society, or global interdependence—with a variety of curricular and cocurricular options for students.

Learning Communities The key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with “big questions” that matter beyond the classroom. Students take two or more linked courses as a group and work closely with one another and with their professors. Many learning communities explore a common topic and/or common readings through the lenses of different disciplines. Some deliberately link “liberal arts” and “professional courses”; others feature service learning (see below).

Writing-Intensive Courses These courses emphasize writing at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum, including final-year projects. Students are encouraged to produce and revise various forms of writing for different audiences in different disciplines.The effectiveness of this repeated practice “across the curriculum” has led to parallel efforts in such areas as quantitative reasoning, oral communication, information literacy, and on some campuses, ethical inquiry.

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

Collaborative Assignments and Projects Collaborative learning combines two key goals: learning to work and solve problems in the company of others, and sharpening one’s own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others, especially those with different backgrounds and life experiences. Approaches range from forming study groups within a course, to team-based assignments and writing, to cooperative projects and research.

“Science as Science Is Done”/ Undergraduate Research With strong support from the National Science Foundation and the research community, scientists are reshaping their courses to connect key concepts and questions with students’ early and active involvement in systematic investigation and research. The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical observation, cutting-edge technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions. These reforms are part of a broader movement to provide research experiences for students in all disciplines.

Diversity/Global Learning Many colleges and universities now emphasize courses and programs that help students explore cultures, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own. These studies—which may address U.S. diversity, world cultures, or both—often explore “difficult differences” such as racial, ethnic, and gender inequality, or continuing struggles around the globe for human rights, freedom, and power. Frequently, intercultural studies are augmented by experiential learning in the community and/or by study abroad.

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning In these programs, field-based “experiential learning” with community partners is an instructional strategy—and often a required part of the course.

The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.

Internships Internships are another increasingly common form of experiential learning. The idea is to provide students with direct experience in a work setting—usually related to their career interests—and to give them the benefit of supervision and coaching from professionals in the field. If the internship is taken for “course credit,” students complete a project or paper that is approved by a faculty member.

Capstone Courses and Projects Whether they’re called “senior capstones” or some other name, these culminating experiences require students nearing the end of their college years to create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they’ve learned.

The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of “best work,” or an exhibit of artwork. Capstones are offered both in departmental programs and, increasingly, in general education as well.

AAC&U | Appendix A: A Guide to Effective Educational Practices

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Dpnnfsdjbm!Dpmmfhft Although only about 5 percent of students attend for-proďŹ t or commercial colleges and universities, these types of schools make up 47 percent of the postsecondary institutions in the United States.54 Much like businesses, these colleges can be bought and sold, and their proďŹ tsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which are about 15 percent55â&#x20AC;&#x201D;are taxed like those of other proďŹ t-making entities. Most for-proďŹ ts operate at less than $50 million a year, though a few notable names have revenues of more than $100 million: Kaplan; University of Phoenixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parent company, the Apollo Group; and about ten other such companies. There are more than four thousand commercial colleges in the United States.

About half of the students enrolled in commercial colleges come from minority communities. Many are adults who did not begin a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program immediately after high school. As Guilbert Hentschke from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California observes, because they â&#x20AC;&#x153;are motivated more by the market than by academics, for-proďŹ ts are likely to focus on the programs for employment sectors with high demand. . . . The traditional liberal arts education is not on the menu.â&#x20AC;?

The number of for-proďŹ t colleges has grown very rapidlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;particularly from 1990 to 2000, when there was a more than 100 percent increase in for-proďŹ t campuses. And from 1995 to 2000, enrollment increased by 52 percent. Much of this growth can be attributed to the largest of the for-profits, but all these schools are growing, in part as a result of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;short-cycleâ&#x20AC;? degrees they offer and the strong focus on job placement after graduation.

Because of this focus on job placement, much of the curriculum at for-proďŹ t institutions is driven by how â&#x20AC;&#x153;in-demandâ&#x20AC;? a given employment sector or job is at that time. Most commercial colleges, as a result, offer a relatively small number of programs that give students speciďŹ c skills for a predetermined career choice.

The average cost of attendance at commercial colleges is relatively high compared to public two-year and four-year institutions. One source of funding is the Pell Grant program, which provides need-based grants to lowincome students. In 2000â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2001, 1,918 for-proďŹ t institutions participated in the Pell Grant program, comprising approximately 35 percent of the total number of participating institutions. In the same year, for-proďŹ t institutions received 14 percent of the total Pell Grant funds available to low-income students,56 while enrolling about 5 percent of students in the United States.

In 2003â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4, students in commercial colleges in New York State made up 4.3 percent of all college students, but received about 25 percent of federal and state tuition assistance grants and about half of federally guaranteed student loans.57

COMMENTARY â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proprietary colleges often do not require much general education. In fact, they often promote themselves by emphasizing that students do not have to take courses in the social sciences or humanities. The institutions may require applied communications and mathematics courses, but the operative word is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;applied.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? q+ENT ! &ARNSWORTH FORMER PRESI DENT OF #ROWDER #OLLEGE PROFESSOR OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP STUDIES AND DIRECTOR OF THE #ENTER FOR )NTERNATIONAL #OMMUNITY #OLLEGE %DUCATION AND ,EADERSHIP 5NIVER SITY OF -ISSOURIp3T ,OUIS

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

AAC&U | Appendix B: A Guide to Commercial Colleges

Opuft 1.

The Education Trustâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;West, 4HE (IGH 3CHOOL $IPLOMA -AKING )T -ORE 4HAN AN %MPTY 0ROMISE (Oakland, CA: The Education Trustâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;West, 2002), 5.

2.

National Center for Education Statistics, 4HE #ONDITION OF %DUCATION (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2006), 66.

3.

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, 4HE 3TATE OF /UR .ATIONlS 9OUTH, 2005â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2006 (Alexandria, VA: Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, 2005), 17.

4.

Clifford Adelman, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Propaganda of Numbers,â&#x20AC;? 4HE #HRONICLE OF (IGHER %DUCATION, October 13, 2006. Adelman takes issue with the widely publicized ďŹ gure that shows bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree attainmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;ten years after beginning high schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;languishing at 18 percent. Adelman points to the congruence between ďŹ gures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the ďŹ ndings from a longitudinal study of eighth gradersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transcripts from 1988 through 2000 conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, which shows that 35 percent of that student cohort had attained either a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or an associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree by 2000, with 28 or 29 percent holding bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees. See also U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2006 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

5.

By age twenty-four, 75 percent of students from the top income quartile receive bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees, while less than 9 percent of those from the bottom quartile do so. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Family Income and Higher Education Opportunity 1970 to 2003,â&#x20AC;?

0OSTSECONDARY %DUCATION /PPORTUNITY, no. 156 (2005). For racial disparities in degree attainment, see U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, #ONDITION OF %DUCATION 3TATISTICS (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing OfďŹ ce, 2006), Table 31-3. For an overall analysis, see Kati Haycock, 0ROMISE !BANDONED (OW 0OLICY #HOICES AND )NSTITUTIONAL 0RACTICES 2ESTRICT #OLLEGE /PPORTUNITIES (Washington, DC: The Education Trust, 2006).

6.

In September 2005, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the formation of the Secretary of Educationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commission on the Future of Higher Education and charged it with developing a comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education. In September 2006, the commission issued its report, ! 4EST OF ,EADERSHIP #HARTING THE &UTURE OF 5 3 (IGHER %DUCATION (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2006).

7.

Derek Bok, /UR 5NDERACHIEVING #OLLEGES (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006).

8.

Clifford Adelman, â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Global Preparednessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of Pre-9/11 College Graduates: What the U.S. Longitudinal Studies Say,â&#x20AC;? 4ERTIARY %DUCATION AND -ANAGEMENT 10 (2004): 243â&#x20AC;&#x201C;60.

9.

The Conference Board, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management, !RE 4HEY 2EALLY 2EADY TO 7ORK %MPLOYERSl 0ERSPECTIVES ON THE "ASIC +NOWLEDGE AND !PPLIED 3KILLS OF .EW %NTRANTS TO THE ST #ENTURY 5 3 7ORKFORCE (New York: The Conference Board, 2006).

10. See, for example, Building Engineering and Science Talent, 4HE 4ALENT )MPERA TIVE -EETING !MERICAlS #HALLENGE IN 3CIENCE AND %NGINEERING !3!0 (San Diego, CA: BEST, 2003); Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science and Technology, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 2ISING ABOVE THE 'ATHERING 3TORM %NERGIZING AND %MPLOYING !MERICA FOR A "RIGHTER %CONOMIC &UTURE (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006); Council on Competitiveness, )NNOVATE !MERICA 4HRIVING IN A 7ORLD OF

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

#HALLENGE AND #HANGE (Washington, DC: Council on Competitiveness, 2005); and Duke University, &RAMING THE %NGINEERING /UTSOURCING $EBATE 0LACING THE 5NITED 3TATES ON A ,EVEL 0LAYING &IELD WITH #HINA AND )NDIA (Durham, NC: Duke University, 2005).

11.

The more rigorous the high school curriculum taken, the more likely students are to enroll in a four-year institution and ultimately achieve a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree. Clifford Adelman, 4HE 4OOLBOX 2EVISITED 0ATHS TO $EGREE #OMPLE TION FROM (IGH 3CHOOL 4HROUGH #OLLEGE (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2006). But many students do not take a strong college preparatory curriculum in high school. Probing this issue in more detail, scholars at the National Center for Educational Statistics identiďŹ ed three levels of high school curriculum taken by students enrolling directly in a four-year college or university in 1995â&#x20AC;&#x201C;96. The three levels of study included (1) #ORE #URRICULUM AND "ELOW four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and three years of social studiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one third of the study group took this or less; (2) -ID ,EVEL: includes all components of the Core but expands to include Algebra I and geometry, at least one year of a foreign language, and at least two of the science courses chosen from biology, chemistry, or physicsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;taken by half the students; (3) 2IGOROUS #URRICULUM includes all components of Mid-Level, a fourth year of mathematics (including precalculus or higher), biology, chemistry, and physics, and at least one Advanced Placement courseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;taken by 19 percent. Three years after enrolling in college, 79 percent of those who took the Rigorous Curriculum were continuously enrolled in their initial institutions, compared with 55 percent of those who took the Core Curriculum and 62 percent of those who took the Mid-Level. High school coursetaking patterns were stratiďŹ ed by income and by racial/ethnic background, but completing a rigorous curriculum predicted college success even with controls for background. The study did not include community college students. Laura J. Horn and Lawrence K. Kojaku, (IGH 3CHOOL !CADEMIC #URRICULUM AND THE 0ERSISTENCE 0ATH THROUGH #OLLEGE 0ERSISTENCE AND 4RANSFER "EHAVIOR OF 5N DERGRADUATES 9EARS !FTER %NTERING 9EAR )NSTITUTIONS (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001).

12. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, +EY &INDINGS FROM &OCUS 'ROUPS AMONG #OLLEGE 3TUDENTS AND #OLLEGE "OUND (IGH 3CHOOL 3TUDENTS (Washington, DC: Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2004), 6. This research was conducted for the LEAP initiative.

13. Ellen M. Bradburn, Rachael Berger, Xiaojie Li, Katharin Peter, and Kathryn Rooney, ! $ESCRIPTIVE 3UMMARY OF p "ACHELORlS $EGREE 2ECIPIENTS 9EAR ,ATER 7ITH AN !NALYSIS OF 4IME TO $EGREE (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003).

14. Laura Horn and Stephanie Nevill, 0ROĂźLE OF 5NDERGRADUATES IN 5 3 0OSTSECONDARY )NSTITUTIONS 2003â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2004 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2006), 87, table 3.3.

15. Research on the beneďŹ ts of active and engaged learning is voluminous.

Engagement as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;key to student successâ&#x20AC;? is summarized and grounded in campus case studies in George D. Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, John H. Schuh, Elizabeth J. Whitt, and Associates, 3TUDENT 3UCCESS IN #OLLEGE #REATING #ONDITIONS 4HAT -ATTER (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005). Results of a study testing the active learning ďŹ ndings in liberal arts education are reported by Ernest T. Pascarella, Gregory C. Wolniak, Tricia A. D. Seifert, Ty M. Cruce, and Charles F. Blaich in ,IBERAL !RTS #OLLEGES AND ,IBERAL !RTS %DUCATION .EW %VIDENCE ON )MPACTS, ASHE Higher Education Report vol. 31, no. 3 (San Francisco, CA: Josseyâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Bass, 2005). See also Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, (OW #OLLEGE !FFECTS 3TUDENTS 6OLUME ! 4HIRD $ECADE OF 2ESEARCH (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005). For research on the beneďŹ ts of speciďŹ c educational practices, see note 53.

AAC&U | Notes

16. George D. Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, Ty Cruce, Rick Shoup, and Robert M. Gonyea, “Connecting the Dots: Multi-Faceted Analyses of the Relationships Between Student Engagement Results from the NSSE, and the Institutional Practices and Conditions that Foster Student Success” (Indiana University, Bloomington, 2006); Kenneth I. Maton and Freeman A. Hrabowski III, “Increasing the Number of African American PhDs in the Sciences and Engineering: A Strengths-Based Approach,” !MERICAN 0SYCHOLOGIST 59, no. 6 (2004), 547–56. For an analysis of the extent of minority and low-income student participation, see Kathleen M. Goodman, Tricia A. Seifert, James D. Jorgensen, Ernest T. Pascarella, Gregory C. Wolniak, Charles F. Blaich, and Carol Geary Schneider, “How Do Race and Socioeconomic Background Influence Experiences of Good Practices in Undergraduate Education?” (Paper presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, November 4, 2006).

17.

President’s Commission on Higher Education, (IGHER %DUCATION FOR !MERICAN $EMOCRACY ! 2EPORT OF THE 0RESIDENTlS #OMMISSION ON (IGHER %DUCATION (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947), 49.

18. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2EPORT OF &INDINGS "ASED ON &OCUS 'ROUPS AMONG "USINESS %XECUTIVES (Washington, DC: Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2006); Peter D. Hart Research Associates, +EY &INDINGS FROM &OCUS 'ROUPS AMONG #OLLEGE 3TUDENTS AND #OLLEGE "OUND (IGH 3CHOOL 3TUDENTS (Washington, DC: Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2004). Both studies were conducted for the LEAP initiative. Focus group participants produced their own written definitions of the term “liberal education” prior to discussion of the topic.

19.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics . . . reports that even those born at the tail end of the baby boom held an average of 10.2 jobs between ages 18 and 38, from 1978 to 2002. A 2004 study by the Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit research group, polled Generation Y employees and found they were significantly more likely to leave their jobs than employees who were their comparable ages in 1977—70 percent, compared with 52 percent.” Anna Bahney, “A Life Between Jobs,” .EW 9ORK 4IMES, June 8, 2006.

20. Roberts T. Jones, “Liberal Education for the Twenty-first Century: Business Expectations,” ,IBERAL %DUCATION 91, no. 2 (2005): 32–37.

21. Norman R. Augustine, “Learning to Lose? Our Education System Isn’t Ready for a World of Competition,” 7ASHINGTON 0OST, December 6, 2005.

22. Business–Higher Education Forum, 3PANNING THE #HASM ! "LUEPRINT FOR !CTION (Washington, DC: Business–Higher Education Forum, 1999), 7.

23. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2EPORT OF &INDINGS "ASED ON &OCUS 'ROUPS AMONG "USINESS %XECUTIVES (Washington, DC: Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2006), 1.

24. Keith Peden, personal communication, 2006.

25. This point was made repeatedly by employers participating in focus groups convened for the LEAP initiative and also in the more than two dozen campus– community dialogues about goals for college learning that were convened by AAC&U and partner colleges and universities between fall 2002 and 2004.

26. Steven Brint, Mark Riddle, Lori Turk-Bicakci, and Charles S. Levy, “From the Liberal to the Practical Arts in American Colleges and Universities: Organizational Analysis and Curricular Change,” 4HE *OURNAL OF (IGHER %DUCATION 76, no.

2 (2005): 151–80. Reflecting the twentieth-century division of higher learning into liberal arts versus professional categories, analyses of liberal education usually take as a proxy the percentage of graduates who major in one of the arts and sciences disciplines and/or the percentage of students who attend institutions that offer an arts and sciences curriculum primarily. Using the former template, this study reviews American college students’ relative preference from 1915 to 2000 for “liberal arts” versus the occupational–professional majors. The study shows that, over the course of the century, majoring in the

Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U

liberal arts and sciences became increasingly concentrated in the “selective baccalaureate-granting institutions and other institutions with strong academic profiles, as measured by average SAT/ACT scores.” What was originally a functional divide between different kinds of learning “HAS BECOME LARGELY A STATUS DIVIDE” (emphasis added). Institutions enrolling students with lower test scores and family income generally emphasize occupational–professional studies. The longitudinal analysis shows that the arts and sciences fields began to slip from their dominant position in terms of degrees granted just before the Great Depression, then regained lost ground in the 1960s, rising to 55 percent of degrees granted, before slipping back again. In recent years, about 58 percent of baccalaureate degrees have been awarded in occupational– professional programs.

27. ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission, #RITERIA FOR !CCREDITING %NGINEERING 0ROGRAMS (Baltimore, MD: 2004). ABET, which accredits nearly two thousand engineering programs at more than 350 institutions, adopted an outcomes-based strategy for accreditation in 1996, with the publication of %NGINEERING #RITERIA .

28. “Among public high schools that year [2002–3], NCES [National Center for Education Statistics] estimated enrollments at 1.2 million for dual credit courses, 1.8 million for AP courses, and 165,000 for IB courses.” The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, !CCELERATED ,EARNING /PTIONS -OVING THE .EEDLE ON !CCESS AND 3UCCESS (Boulder, CO: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2006), 2.

29. Clifford Adelman, 0RINCIPAL )NDICATORS OF 3TUDENT !CADEMIC (ISTORIES IN 0OSTSECONDARY %DUCATION p (Washington, DC: Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2004), 87.

30. See note 8 above and figure 1 on page 8.

31. Jon D. Miller, “Civic Scientific Literacy: A Necessity in the 21st Century,” &!3 0UBLIC )NTEREST 2EPORT 55, no. 1 (2002): 3–6. A political scientist at Northwestern University, Miller has devised a measure of “civic scientific literacy” that includes three dimensions: (1) an understanding of basic scientific concepts and constructs, such as the molecule, DNA, and the structure of the solar system; (2) an understanding of the nature and process of scientific inquiry; and (3) a pattern of regular information consumption about scientific topics and developments. By 1999, studies using these measures concluded that approximately 17 percent of Americans demonstrate scientific literacy at this “civic” level, up from 10 percent a decade earlier. The strongest predictor of civic scientific literacy is the number of college-level science courses taken.

32. See note 10.

33. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, +EY &INDINGS FROM &OCUS 'ROUPS AMONG #OLLEGE 3TUDENTS AND #OLLEGE "OUND (IGH 3CHOOL 3TUDENTS (Washington, DC: Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2004).

34. Martha Nussbaum, #ULTIVATING (UMANITY ! #LASSICAL $EFENSE OF 2EFORM IN ,IBERAL %DUCATION (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998).

35. Azar Nafisi, “The Republic of the Imagination,” 7ASHINGTON 0OST, December 5, 2004.

36. National Center for Education Statistics, )NTEGRATED 0OSTSECONDARY %DUCATION $ATA 3YSTEM (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2005), table 213.

37. National Center for Education Statistics, &IRST 'ENERATION 3TUDENTS IN 0OSTSECONDARY %DUCATION ! ,OOK AT 4HEIR #OLLEGE 4RANSCRIPTS. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2005).

38. See note 13.

39. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

AAC&U | Notes

"EGINNING 0OSTSECONDARY 3TUDENTS ,ONGITUDINAL 3TUDY $ATA !NALYSIS 3YSTEM (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing OfďŹ ce). For beginning students of all ages, 45.4 percent start at community colleges and 4.5 percent at other two-year schools. For beginning students twenty years old and younger, 40.9 percent start at community colleges and 3.4 percent at other two-year schools.

40. John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds., (OW 0EOPLE ,EARN "RAIN -IND %XPERIENCE AND 3CHOOL (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 1999).

41. See note 28.

42. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over 90 percent of college students age 19 at the beginning of the 2000â&#x20AC;&#x201C;01 school year worked at an employee job at some time during that academic year and following summer, with the vast majority working during both the school year and the summer.â&#x20AC;? National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, www.bls. gov/nls.

43. Lee S. Shulman, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pedagogies of Uncertainty,â&#x20AC;? ,IBERAL %DUCATION 91, no. 2 (2005): 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;25.

44. Jack Meacham and Jerry G. Gaff, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Learning Goals in Mission Statements: Implications for Educational Leadership,â&#x20AC;? ,IBERAL %DUCATION 92, no. 1 (2006): 6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;13.

45. On the effects of service learning, see Alexander Astin, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Liberal Education and Democracy: The Case for Pragmatism,â&#x20AC;? in %DUCATION AND $EMOCRACY 2E IMAG INING ,IBERAL ,EARNING IN !MERICA, ed. Robert Orrill (New York: College Board, 1997); Maryann Jacobi Gray, et al. #OMBINING 3ERVICE AND ,EARNING IN (IGHER %DUCATION %VALUATION OF THE ,EARN AND 3ERVE !MERICA (IGHER %DUCATION 0ROGRAM (New York: The RAND Corporation, 1999). On the effects of diversity experiences, see Angelo N. Ancheta and Christopher F. Edley, Jr., â&#x20AC;&#x153;Brief of the American Educational Research Association, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the American Association for Higher Education as !MICI #URIAE in Support of Respondents,â&#x20AC;? in 'RUTTER V "OLLINGER (Washington, DC: United States Supreme Court, 2003). On the effects of diversity learning and civic engagement, see Patricia Gurin, Eric L. Dey, Sylvia Hurtado, and Gerald Gurin, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes,â&#x20AC;? (ARVARD %DUCATIONAL 2EVIEW 72 (2002): 330â&#x20AC;&#x201C;67.

46. Association of American Colleges and Universities, ,IBERAL %DUCATION /UTCOMES ! 0RELIMINARY 2EPORT ON !CHIEVEMENT IN #OLLEGE (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2005), 5.

47. Norman Nie and Sunshine Hillygus, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Education and Democratic Citizenship,â&#x20AC;? in -AKING 'OOD #ITIZENS %DUCATION AND #IVIL 3OCIETY, Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti, eds. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001).

48. U.S. Department of Education, ! 4EST OF ,EADERSHIP #HARTING THE &UTURE OF 5 3 (IGHER %DUCATION (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2006).

49. Lee S. Shulman, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Principles for the Uses of Assessment in Policy and Practice: Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Report to the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,â&#x20AC;? 2006, www.teaglefoundation.org/learning/ pdf/2006_shulman_assessment.pdf.

50. Richard J. Shavelson, 3TUDENT ,EARNING !SSESSMENT &ROM (ISTORY TO AN !UDACIOUS 0ROPOSAL (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, forthcoming).

51. National Survey of Student Engagement, %XPLORING $IFFERENT $IMENSIONS OF 3TUDENT %NGAGEMENT !NNUAL 3URVEY 2ESULTS (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005).

52. Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings, 4HE !DVANCEMENT OF ,EARNING "UILDING THE 4EACHING #OMMONS (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005).

53. An extensive literature has established the value for students of active, en-

Liberal Education & Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Promise | AAC&U

gaged, and collaborative forms of learning. The effective educational practices described in appendix A reflect more than two decades of work on campus to translate these broad research findings into curriculum and pedagogy.

The recommended practices, while not exhaustive, provide a “cornerstone to capstone” framing that potentially fosters active intellectual engagement and practice across the entire educational experience. Research findings on the benefits of first-year experiences, learning communities, diversity learning, service learning, undergraduate research, and collaborative/cooperative learning are summarized in Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, (OW #OLLEGE !FFECTS 3TUDENTS 6OLUME ! 4HIRD $ECADE OF 2ESEARCH (San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass, 2005). For the value of a common intellectual experience in general education, see Alexander W. Astin, 7HAT -ATTERS IN #OLLEGE &OUR #RITICAL 9EARS 2EVISITED (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1993), 331–32, 424–28. For the value of writing-intensive courses, see Richard J. Light, -AKING THE -OST OF #OLLEGE 3TUDENTS 3PEAK 4HEIR -INDS (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001), 54–62; Derek Bok, /UR 5NDERACHIEVING #OLLEGES (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006), 82–101. For experiential learning, see John D. Bransford, Ann. L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds., (OW 0EOPLE ,EARN "RAIN -IND %XPERIENCE AND 3CHOOL (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 1999); K. Patricia Cross, ,EARNING )S !BOUT -AKING #ONNECTIONS 4HE #ROSS 0APERS .UMBER (Phoenix, AZ: League for Innovation in the Community Colleges, June, 1999). For “science as science is done,” see Judith A. Ramaley and Rosemary R. Haggett, “Engaged and Engaging Science: A Component of a Good Liberal Education, 0EER 2EVIEW 7, no. 2 (2005), 8–12; Eugenia Etkina, Jose P. Mestre, and Angela M. O’Donnell, “The Impact of the Cognitive Revolution on Science Learning and Teaching,” in 4HE #OGNITIVE 2EVOLUTION IN %DUCATIONAL 0SYCHOLOGY, James M. Royer, ed. (Greenwich, CT: Information Age, 2005), 119–64. While the research on capstone experiences is scant, Pascarella and Terenzini report that “[intellectual development] is stimulated by academic experiences that purposefully provide for . . . integration.” (OW #OLLEGE !FFECTS 3TUDENTS &INDINGS AND )NSIGHTS FROM 4WENTY 9EARS OF 2ESEARCH (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1991), 619. See also (OW #OLLEGE !FFECTS 3TUDENTS 6OLUME

! 4HIRD $ECADE OF 2ESEARCH, 608. For two influential summaries that helped to accelerate campus-based work on engaged and active learning and its assessment, see Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education, )NVOLVEMENT IN ,EARNING (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1984); Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson, eds., !PPLYING THE 3EVEN 0RINCIPLES FOR 'OOD 0RACTICE IN 5NDERGRADUATE %DUCATION, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 47 (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1991). The National Study of Student Engagement provides a set of metrics that enables a campus to indicate the extent to which its students are participating in various forms of active practice, such as extensive writing, integrative learning assignments, and capstone/culminating projects.

54. Unless otherwise noted, all data presented in the appendix are drawn from Guilbert C. Hentschke, “U.S. For-Profit Postsecondary Institutions—Departure or Extension?” )NTERNATIONAL (IGHER %DUCATION no. 35 (Spring 2004): 15–16.

55. Blumenstyk, Goldie, “Why For-Profit Colleges Are Like Health Clubs,” #HRONICLE OF (IGHER %DUCATION, May 5, 2006.

56. Jacqueline E. King, 3TATUS 2EPORT ON THE 0ELL 'RANT 0ROGRAM (Washington, DC: American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis, 2003), 9.

57. Karen Arensen, “Report Calls for Tighter Rules on Profit-Making Colleges,” .EW 9ORK 4IMES, May 22, 2006.

AAC&U | Notes

Focus On: Men ’s Issues

September 1991

In Search Of The Missing Piece

Men’s Issues In Leadership by: Bernard Franklin

Presented at the 1991 SUmmER LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND-COLLEGE PARK

"The question that he frames in all but words is what to make of a diminished thing. " From the "Oven Bird," by Robert Frost.

"It was missing a piece. And it was not happy. So it set off in search of its missing piece. And as it rolled it sang this song -- Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece, Hi-dee-ho, here I go. Looking for my missing piece.“ From "The Missing Piece", by Shel Silverstein.

We need new thoughts regarding the contemporary socialization of boys and the further development of young men if we are to effectively develop male students for future leadership opportunities. In the discussions about new paradigms of leadership, building community on campus, and understanding and appreciating diversity, it is critical that we closely examine the process of boys becoming men. It is my belief that the young men of today are struggling with the attitudes and beliefs of their fathers, and they are having difficulty preparing for a new world. The intent here is to examine some of the issues, trends, and developments in the lives of young men to see if our current efforts are impacting their leadership development and to make some recommendations for the future.

This discussion has implications for most young men on our campuses. However, most of the focus is on white young men. The issues facing African-American young men are even more critical, and will require a separate presentation. The same will be required for Hispanic, Native American and Asian American men.

Higher education has made considerable strides toward redirecting women who have been socialized away from leadership. Still considerably more needs to be done. This discussion is not an attempt to alter that progress by focusing on men. It is, however, an opportunity for leadership educators and other higher education professionals to look at leadership development from another point of view, with a hope for' a holistic community perspective. As young women develop to take their places as leaders, we must ensure that young men also develop for the complex leadership issues of the future. These processes must be simultaneous, interconnected and comprehensive. Just as we have examined the current contemporary issues women face in their development, we must do the same for young men.

These observations are inductive and anecdotal results of nearly 10 years of observing young men on many different campuses. Iron John, a book about men by Robert Bly, articulates some of the issues of young men. There have also been several television specials and newspaper, magazine and journal articles written about the new "men's movement. " Based on this information, we make an attempt hereto articulate some relevant issues related to male speciñc leadership development.

I have sensed some unspoken concerns or issues among men. I have, on occasion, attempted to process some of their intemal fears and anxieties. On occasion, some issues would surface, but they were either not easily expressed or poorly thought out. It was apparent that there Was an underlying frustration, a lingering anger, a hazy, foggy uneasiness, and a great deal of insecurity among the community of young men.

It is as if many young men have had something, whether an image or a dream, crushed, reduced or diminished. For some there is something missing -- a piece, a part of themselves which prevents them from being whole. So they are off in futile Search of the fulfillment of this diminished dream and this missing piece.

Many men, especially young men, are at crossroads. They are trying to determine if they will follow the “road less traveled.” Bly (1990) says now that seme men are getting in touch with their grief and their longing for father and mentor connections. We are in the midst of a very real transition for men. However, many young men are strugglìng with many personal issues and not getting very far. They are bogged down and do not seem to understand that life is a process and one cannot go onto the next phase without taking care of the 61

issues at hand. On campuses across the country, developing young men must begin to confront many of these issues if they want to successfully meet the leadership challenge of the future.

television, advertising influences, and peer pressure. The socialization process, through which fathers and sons discuss the 5011’s future and career options, doesn’t happen that often these days.

Bloom (1987) reminds us that college students are lost in meaningless worlds of relativism and pop culture, in which intellectual and moral values cannot be formulated. Levine (1980) says it in another way, modern students are conservative, gray vocationalists who do not take the intellectual and political chances that undergraduates took back in the 19605 and early 1970s. These assumptions are probably more tnle for college men today. No matter how it is said the message is clear. Higher education must begin to deliberately intercede in the lives of young men or there will be a generation of men unable to embrace the leadership complexities of the future.

These diminished dreams are also the basis for much of the violatìons of community on our campuses. Unconsciously, and oven consciously, some developing men have hopes of înheriting dad’s world despite all of it‘s hypocrisy and human injustice. The notion that his dream is being threatened by proliñe changes in the future is, for some, terrifying and very difficult to accept.

Robert Frost, in Iron John, sums up the thoughts of these students: they “in all but words” are trying to decide “what to make of a diminished thing” (P. 82). Disappointment of this degree makes the heart sick, and clouds the mind to rational responses and behavior. This is probably the greatest developmental opportunity for change for the student affairs professional.

Many of today’s young college men are careerists; they are passive/ aggressive; they spend a great deal of time sulking; they are naive and pretty numb when it comes to true emotions and feelings.

These character issues are the results of pursìng diminished dreams and missing pieces.

MISSING PIECE Wfhen we discuss the missing piece, we see young men arriving on our campuses looking for the missing piece, the thing they believe will mal-:e them men. Most of these young men have lived happily in their mother’s world. It

DIMINISHED DREAMS The world is changing. A new civilization anxiously awaits its birth-. Much of the leadership discussion on college campuses is a result of higher education professionals sensing the contractions that precede a birth. Alvin Tofñer, in his book Future Shock: The Third Wave, said “blind men everywhere are trying to suppress it [the new civilization] ... Millions are already attuning their lives to the rhythms of tomorrow. Others, terrified of the future are engaged in a desperate and futile flight into the past and are trying to restore the dying world that gave them birth“ (pg. 9). I don‘t think he meant “men” literally. However, it is an appropriate statement, for it aptly describes where young developing men are today.

is here that we must begin to see more clearly the relevant point, accepted in New Guinea by men and women of more than eighty tribes, and described by Bly (1990): “A boy cannot change into a man without the active intervention of the older man” (p. 86).

We have not begun to understand fully the complete impact the dysfunctional family system is having on the development of our students, in particular the impact it is having on young men. Frances Hoffman (1989) says that “traditional conceptions of adolescent development need tobe revised” as a result of the formative experiences of many of our students (p. 3).

There is very real conflict today between the dreams of young men and reality. A young man in high school dreams he will: be a race car driver; a mountain climber; a professional basketball player; marry Miss America, or a magazine centerfold model; be a millionaire by 30; receive a Nobel Prize iu chemistry by 35; be au architect and create the wor1d’s first air-tight, bubble. community.

He hopes he will move from his home town and live in Orlando (FL), Dallas (TX), Atlanta (GA), Pittsburgh (PA), or Seattle (WA). He dreams of high profile friends and enjoying life on the edge. He arrives on campus and immediately he is hit with diversity, multicultural and politically correct language issues. Not able to process these issues carefully and thoughtfully, his dream begins to diminish and slowly burn up. To dull the gradually increasing pain, he smolders through nights until dawn at drinking parties, sexual escapades, madness, and over excitement.

Then, one day he notices that he is completely consumed, his pain intolerable, and he ca11’t put out the blaze (Bly, 1990). So he seeks to have others join his pain, especially those he thinks set his dream on fire -- women and multicultural students.

The unit most damaged by the Industrial Revolution has been the father-­son bond. Today many fathers work 30 to 50 miles from home. If they work closer, they are often very involved in their work, working late and traveling weekends. When they return home the children are often in bed, and they are too tired to do any active fathering (Bly, 1990).

If a young man is lucky enough to have his father come home from work, whether a blue collar or white collar worker, the father usually brings home his disposition or temperament. He usually displays irritability and remoteness, and not care, love or openness.

So, some father-hungry sons embody a secret despair, a missing piece, they cannot articulate to themselves or to their women.

Because they do not have the ability to process the father*s behavior, they fall hopelessly into a diminished idea of fathers as workaholics, weak, submissive, isolated, alcoholics, addicted, abusive, evasive and cowardly. They say to themselves “I am the son of defective male material, and I’ll probably be the same as he is” (Bly, p. 99). Then,they join the masses nf people who give up, collapse, live with a numb empty place inside. They lose the vigorous participation in life’s battles; they foei their opinions

These dreams are very often the product of many hours of 61

do not matter; they become secret underground people, and sometimes drown themselves in alcohol or drugs.

students is attributable to their inability to deal with the missing piece in their lives. For many aspiring leaders, Colleges are a good place to begin tu sort through and seek some resolve to the effects of the missing piece.

What happens to the son when he does not develop a significant relationship with his father? Bly (1990) quotes German psychologist Alexander Mitscherlich, author of Society Without the Father, who developed a metaphor after working 30 years with young German men who are as fatherless in their industrial society as young American men are today: “a hole appears in the son’s psyche” (p. 95). In other words, when a son cannot see his father interact with his environment, he can no longer imagine his father as a hero, a fighter for good, or a person to look up to and cherish. Instead, he has a piece missing, and Mitscherlich says demons move into that empty place (Bly, 1990).

The results of young, developing men pursuing diminished dreams and searching for missing pieces is seen in their behavior and how they function in life. \Vhat’s really important is how they function on campus and whether or not we can assist in the Search for their manhood.

CAREERISTS Katchadourian and Boli (1985) developed a topology of students based on their commitment to career preparation and liberal learning. This topology helps us further understand our male students and their interaction with our campus environment. The four academic orientations Katchadourian and Boli identified are Careerists, Intellectuals, Strivers, or Unconnected.

In the next decade we can expect these demons to cause, more and more damage to young n1en’s understanding manhood and masculinity. Between 20 and 30 percent of American boys new live in a house with no father present, and the demons in those empty places have full permission to rage. A police chief of a major city remarked that the young men he arrests not only don’t have any responsible Older man in the house, they have never met one (Bly, 1990).

The Careerists are especially likely to be young men. Careerists’ fathers have done well in their careers, and they feel strongly that career success is very important. This emphasis has a very significant influence on the Careerists.

Never being welcomed into the male World by older men, or never having a significant relationship with one’s father is like a deep wound in the chest. When the pain goes unresolved, the child will usually follow life down one of three paths. If the child takes the grandiose road, he will climb up above the wound and the shame. Perhaps he gets goed grades and is an overachiever, becoming the one in the family to be cheerful, becoming a sort of doctor of suffering, taking care of others. He can be very cheerful, but not very human (Bly, 1990).

In college, Careerists tend to pursue paths that maintain their established attitudes. They do not become as involved with the faculty as other students. They continue to be highly influenced by the work ethic influence of their families. They pay a great deal of attention to the job market in making decisions about their majors and careers. They therefore are especially likely to major in one of the four standard professions of business, law, medicine or engineering.

They engage in fewer extracurricular activities than other students, being particularly unlikely to undertake special academic projects, artistic endeavors, and volunteer service. In general, their social and political involvement is quite minimal.

In essence, these students are not on our campuses to learn from a liberal arts perspective, to learn about people orto interact with their environment. They are focused on getting a job after college and making lots of money in an attempt to maintain that diminished dream. Anything that adversely affects that dream appears as a threat, i.e. women, multicultural students, affirmative action, etc.

If the Child takes the depressed road, he will live inside the pain and the shame, but not necessarily more human. He accepts the crown of victimhood. Often, men with no fathers takes this road (Bly, 1990). Still others will take the road of paralysis, robot behavior, numbness, hollow at the center, no emotion upward or downward. They live life in an automated state (Bly, 1990).

In essence, these students have come to our campuses as wounded boys, in search of their missing piece. When men or Women are unable to reconcile their missing piece, or simply accommodate for the lost relationship with a father, they often remain wounded children. When this happens, the whole culture suffers and declines. The United States has undergone an unmistakable decline in values since 1950, and this decline may continue unless we help people find a fourth road. For man, we have

When these students leave our campuses to be leaders through this topology, they have not been educated. They leave possessing hard, cold, insensitive skills which will not prepare them for the complex leadership issues of the future. We must learn how to impact this trend.

the example of the grandiose road taken by junk-bond dealers, high rollers, owners of private jets, mayors and other politicians who flagrantly abuse the public trust. We also have the sexual offenders who, most often, are young men who grew up without the positive influences of a father (Bly, 1990).

PASSIVE/AGGRESSIVE Women, until recent times, have been asked to live in an enforced passivity. Women are coming out into activity just as the men are passing them going the other way, into passivity. Forces in

The alcohol and sexual abuse We see so often among male 62

contemporary society recentìy have encouraged women to be warriors, while discouraging warriorhood in boys and men. The outward warriors inside some women are today strong, sometimes stronger than those in men (Bly, 1990).

a sense of selfœonñdence that does not allow for this method of responding to behavior that is uncomfortable. This is an opportunity for mentors to guide a young man.

NAIVETE We see more and more naivete. The naive man feels a pride in being attacked. If his wife, or girlfriend, shouts that he is a “chauvinist” or a “sexist, “ he does11’t fight back. He opens his shirt so that she can clearly see where to put the lances. He ends up with three or four javelins sticking out of his body and blood running all over the floor. He feels, as he absorbs attacks, that he is doing the brave and progressive thing; he will surely be able to recover somewhere in isolation. To be attacked by someone you love -- what could be more wonderful?

Men who have no family tradition of lively arguments feel overwhelmed in such debates. Moreover, some young men do not enjoy this way of learning: the competitive mood, the aggression, the ñereeness of phrase with women does not please them.

When the fierce debates and playful verbal combats disappear, warriorhood is reduced to Wrestling, football, the martial arts, guerrilla warfare, and blood-and-guts movies.

When a man and a woman argue, the man wants the conflict to be over because he’s afraid. He doesn’t know how to fight a woman.

Ho never saw his mother and father fight in a fruitful way. A good fight gets things clear, and women long to fight and be with men who know how to fight fairly. However, if men and women have only shamed children inside, they will have to settle for damaging battles constantly.

Many male students fall victim to the notion that they must bear “men bashing. “ Because they are not responding with macho arrogance, they think the appropriate thing to do is to be strong and listen to this abuse. Besides, they appreciate the attention from a woman. Again, role models and assertiveness training wouid help young men know and understand the appropriate manner of responding to this behavior.

During the past few years men have been asked to learn how to “go with the flow, “ how to follow rather than lead, how to live in a matriarchal way, how to be vulnerable, how to adopt consensus decision-making. Combining the other issues discussed here with new ways of responding to women has confused some men -- they don’t know how to respond to women. If a culture does not deal with the warrior energy -- take it in consciously, discipline it, honor

NUMBNESS Numbness may be another characteristic of contemporary young men. In the absence of a father, a young boy he may develop a numb chest area and may remain numb up to and beyond high school. His head may be fiery and full of blood, and his genitalia may be fiery and curious, too. But the area in between is the problem (Bly, 1990).

r it -- it will manifest outside in the form of street gangs, wife beating, drug violence, brutality toward children, and aimless murder (Bly, 1990). In other words, when men don’t learn to express their emotions, feelings, frustrations, anxieties and when young men feel powerless because of the Strength displayed by young women, they are likely to be very destructive to human beings and other objects in their environment. We must help men learn to express themselves verbally, and teach them that, within reason, it is fine to do verbal battle with respect to the issues they are confronting.

In college, a young woman may ask him, “Do you love me?” He cannot answer. If he asks her the same question, she might replay “Wel1, I respect you, and I admire you. I’m fond of you, and ÍIIII even interested in you, but I don’t love you.” When she looked into her chest she was able to see a spectrum of affections and feelings.

She could easily articulate them. If the young man looked in his chest, he wou1dn’t see anything. He would then be silent or fake it. Some Women feel hurt when a young man will not “express his feeìings,” and they conclude tht he is holding back, or “telling them something” by such withholding; but it is more likely that when such a man asks a question of his chest, he gets no answer at all (Bly, 1990).

SULKING When a young boy fails to get free from his parents’ desire for control and change, he learns to sulk. As a young adult male, when he is baffled by a woman’s peculiar interpretation of his behavior, he goes into a gulk. During this time, he will probably refuse to speak about his hurt feelings, and he may not speak at all. In such a mood, screaming and shouting never appear -- they are too active. When a young man sulks, he becomes passive to his own hurts, and to the hurts he sends others.

INITIATIONS Ancient initiation practices would greatly affect the missing piece.

Bly (1990) said the initiation would tell young developing men what to do with their wounds.

In B1y’s book, he mentions initiation experiences in dozens of cultures around the World. Initation usually begins with two events: the first is a clean break with the parents, after which the novice goes to the forest, desert, or wilderness; the second is a Wound that the older men give the boy, which could be scarring of the skin, a cut with a knife, a brushing with nettles, a knocked out tooth.

Sulking is another way that a young man can say that he is not having life his way, not able to express himself, or do his own thing. In a developing young man, it is an example of some unresolved issues. It is also an indication ofthe child in this young man. Young men need to learn how to mature in their relationships with women. They need to gain 63

We must not leap to the assumption that the injuries are given sadistically. Initiators of young men in most cultures make sure that the injuries they give do not lead to meaningless pain. Rather, it reverberates from a rich center of meaning. An initiatory practice the aborigines of Australia followed is a goed example (Bly, 1990). Bly states that:

the Pacific say that before a boy can become a man, some infantile being in him must die. Contemporary young man may be said to be young men who have11’t put to death their little boys. Many are brutal boys, stuck in a developmental state. They are undone, unfinished, and dangerous (Bly, 1990).

Adolescence is the time of risks for boys, and that risk-taking is also a yearning for imitation. Something in the adolescent male wants risks, courts danger, goes out to the edge -- even to the edge of death. Since a father hasn’t been available and no older men have taken up the role as initiator, our male students are unconsciously seeking to satisfy their instinctive desire for this significant rite of passage. The fraternal initiation rites we have come to call “hazing” have their roots in initiation practices of the cultures from which American society developed. Even the African-American fraternities have traced their specific rituals and practices to specific African tribes and cultures. The branding that has become a popular underground ritual among some AfricanAmerican fraternities, has its roots in the a11cientAfioa11 tradition known as scarring (Moses, 1990; Hartshorn, 1991).

“The old men, having brought the young boy away form ’she community, tell the boys the story of the first man, Darwalla. The boys listen intently to this tale of the original man, their Adam. It turns out that Darwalla is Sitting in that tree over there. While the boys try to see Darwalla in the tree, an old man comes down the Hue, and knocks out a tooth from each boy’s mouth. The old men then remind the boys that Something similar happended to Darwalla. He lost a tooth. Their tongues for the rest of their lives associate the broken tooth with a living connection to Darwalla.

Most of us would give up a tooth for a living connection to Adam” (Bly, 1990).

Michael Ventura (1989), in a magniñcîent essay, speaks of adolescent Wildness. Their music, their fashions, their words, their codes, he says, announces that the initiatory moment has come. Those extravances are a request for a response. Ventura remarks:

When a child is permitted to take on the role of the mature adult when he is not emotionally prepared to, that in which he engages becomes corrupt. Because these boys feel the need to put their boyhood to death so deeply, so innately, they will go to great lengths to perform the rites despite repeated warnings and sanctions. When this happens, we force their immature responses to the seclusion and isolation of even more perverted behavior.

“Tribal people everywhere greeted the onset of puberty, especially in males, with elaborate and excruciating initiations -- a practice that plainly wouldn’t have been necessary unless their young were as extreme as ours ... The tribal adults didn‘t run from this moment in their children, as we do; they celebrated it. They would assault their adolescents with, quite literally, holy terror; rituals that had been kept secret from the young until that moment ... rituals that focused upon the young all the light and darkness of their tribe‘s collective psyche, all its sense of mystery, all its questions and all the stories told to both harbor and answer those questions ... The crucial word here is ‘focus.’ The adults had something to teach:stories, skills, magic, dances, vision, rituals. In fact, if these things were not learned well and completely, the tribe could not survive. Tribal cultures satisfìed the craving while supplying the need, and we call that ‘initiation’ This practice was so effective that usually by the age of 15 a tribal youth was able to take his or her place as a fully responsible adult” (Ventura, 1989, p. 180).

In our need to intellectualize everything, higher education officials have sought simply to do away with fraternity initiation rituals.

Because of the tremendous media attention fraternity initiation abuses have received, we have primarily focused on the Greek systenfs rites. We haven’t considered that students who live in the residence halls and oflïeampus have forms of attempting to pass through this rite. We may better serve our male students if we understood this important process of becoming a man and if we assisted them in developing acceptable rituals and initiation rites.

ROLE MODELS In ordinary life, a mentor or role model can guide the undeveloped inner-man through various disciplines and help to bring him out of boyhood into manhood. This is not associated with body building. However, it is associated with building an emotional body capable of containing more than one sort of ecstasy or exalted delight.

Ventura notices that for about 40 years, the young in our culture have generated forms -- music, fashions, behaviors -- “that prolong the initiatory moment -- as though hopingto be somehow intìated by chance somewhere along the way.” It doesn’t happen: Mick Jagger becomes middle-aged and still the adults offer no response to the opening. The prolongation of the initiatory moment -- and the lack of response to it from adults -- has everything to do, Ventura says, with the massive drug market in the United States (p. 180).

We know that our society produces a plentiful supply of boys, but we seem to produce fewer and fewer men. We seem to have no idea how to produce men. We let it all happen unconsciously While we look away to Wall Street and hope for the best. Old men initiators (in Australia, Africa, the Far East, South America,

Many men 35 to 45 have projected their undeveloped inner-man on Jack Kennedy, who spoke openly of Camelot, and un Martin Luther King Jr. and on Bobby Kennedy. The deaths of these three men were major catstrophes for the men of that generation. Some men have told Bly, in tears, “that they lost something then and have never gotten back on track” (p. 111). From this, we might say that leaders need to be strong enough to carry young men’s undeveloped inner-man and then live long enough that the young men can take them back, undamaged.

64

Young men coming into adulthood during the Reagan and Bush administrations have a different problem -- a difficulty with finding someone who can carry their undeveloped inner man.

Oliver North certainly could not do it, nor could John Poindexter, Edwin Messe, or any other men involved with the lies surrounding the Iran Contra Scandal. The betrayal of the country during the savings and loan scandal by Democratic and Republican senators makes the situation worse; not to mention the blatant misuse of privilege by Mayor Marion Berry and other politicians. If the younger men have no publie man to whom they can give their ilmer-man, how can they develop the man inside? To many men, addiction does not have much to do with the Colombian drug lords, but with seeking the absent quality mentors (Bly, 1990).

We have to be a little gentle here and allow men’s and Wome11’s issues to be discussed, and not be afraid of being imprisoned by them. We are all afraid of prisons, and rightly so. However, simply naming human attributes doesn’t help a boy develop into a man. We must name manly characteristics, just as we do for women, so that a man may become a conscious man instead of an unconscious man.

Our challenge is to discuss men’s issues in leadership in such a Way that it does not exclude the masculine in women, but strike a resonant string in the ma11’s heart. In the man’s heart, there is a low string that makes his whole chest tremble when the qualities of the masculine are spoken in the right way, and the same for women (Bly, 1990)

On our campuses, we have virtually left our developing boys completely alone. There are very few excellent role models advising fraternities, for example. Those alumni who do serve in some capacity are often themseîves stuck, high-paid boys who are not dealing with many of these issues. In fact, they play a significant role in supporting the undergraduate members in their inappropriate behavior. Often times, facuìty and staff members are struggling through their own issues, and they are not clear enough in their own convictions about many of these important issues. So, they bow to passivity, and even silence.

Leadership workshops for young developing men need to be occurring all over the country. We need to create programs which will begin to help men move into meaningful manhood.

Whether these programs are extensive mentoring programs, special initiation ceremonies, men’s leadership courses, or a n1en’s weekend wilderness retreat to discover “Iron John, “ We must be responsive to all of our student’s.

REFERENCES Bloom, A. The Closing ofthe American Mimi: How Higher Education Has’ Failed Democracy and Improvished the Souls of Today ’s Students. New York: Simon, 1987.

So, there are very few strong role models for young male students to emulate. There are not enough men on our campuses who have successfully embraced gender, diversity and community issues. There are very few who can articulate and demonstrate the integration of these issues in their lives. There are insufficient examples visible to whom young men can give their undeveloped inner-man. There has been an increase in women in student affairs and other professional positions. No matter how advanced they are in the healing process, they cannot adequately guard, guide and develop a struggling inner-man.

Bly, R. Iron John.’ A Book About Men. Reading, Mass: AddisonWesley, 1990.

Dalby, G. Healing the Masculine Soul. Waco: Word, 1988.

Downs, H. “What Is A Man?” ABC 20/20. May 17, 1991 Hartshorn, I. ’Z4 New Brand ofLoyaZly, “ The National College Newspaper, 1991.

If we want to truly impact the development of young male leaders, then higher education must have a surge in male role models.

This paper is a call for us to look at the ìssues surrounding the leadership development of our male students, and an opportunity to sound the call for professional men to stand in front of our developing young men as leaders, examples, guides and mentors.

Hoffman, F.L. ‘Developmental issues, college students and the 1990’s, “ Journal of College Szudent Psychotherapy, 1989.

Levin, A. When Dreams’ and Heros Died: A Portrait of Todays College Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987.

Moses, N. “Membershzp Intake.’ A Time for Decision, The Alpha Spirit (1990), p.1-2.

CONCLUSION Our work as leadership trainers and developers is not only to free ourselves from cages and collective mind sets, but to also release developing meu and women from imprisonment and trance. In se doing, We must seek common ground in creation of leadership paradigms for the future. However, we must also be sensitive to the issues our students bring with them to our communities, and we must be willing to engage ourselves beyond the traditional models to assist them in the freedom process.

Shandley, T.C. “The Use of Mentors for Leadership Development, “ National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Journal. 27 (1989), p. 59-66, Toffler, A. Future Shock: The Third Wave.. New York: Bantam, 1980.

Ventura, M. “The Age of Endorsement, “ Whale Earth-Review.

(Winter, 1989), p. 180.

It is important that we be able to discuss men’s issues without thinking that we are speaking of something sexist. Some say let’s just be human and not talk about the masculine or the feminine.

Bernard Franklin is the assistant dean of Student life at Kansas State University.

66

Take it Like a Man

Approaching Hazing Through the Lens of Masculinit y

By Zachary D. Nicolazzo and Megan P. Johnson “It’s time to abandon the claim that there are certain psychological or social traits that inherently come with being biologically male. If we can get past that, we have a chance to create a better world for men and women.”

– Robert Jensen Every day men receive messages dictating what it means to be a man. The men and boys who hear these messages gain an understanding of what the consequences are for acting outside the socially accepted norms of masculinity; most notably the ostracism and ridicule that accompany such behavior. In addition to the powerful and highly pervasive societal standards of masculinity, group affiliation – in this case the fraternal bond of brotherhood – can have an important role in whether such constricting views on what it means to be a man are reinforced or deconstructed. Unfortunately, far too many examples of the former exist, rather than the latter.

Emulating the current society in which these groups currently exist, fraternities have ways by which they ensure brothers will act and become the type of men the members in leadership positions believe they should be. An ominous and all too common way of doing this becomes manifest through the act of hazing. Whereas traditional values of what it means to be a man prescribe that men must be dominant, aggressive, emotionally stoic, and physically tough, hazing merely reinforces such values. Moreover, hazing rewards those who do not question these dangerous and sometimes humiliating practices by offering them the entrance into brotherhood they so greatly desire.

Given this basic framework, the question becomes: why is it that hazing is such an engrained part of our fraternal culture?

Taking it one step further, how does hazing, which perpetuates the negative and damaging standards of hegemonic masculinity, help fraternity men become better brothers, uncles, students, partners, and men, if creating better men is indeed an inherent goal of the fraternal movement? This simple answer is that hazing does not help. In fact, hazing eradicates all choice fraternity members and potential new members have regarding what sort of man they want to become. For example, rather than adhering to previously held values of showing outward compassion and not being violent, hazing teaches young men that to be a fraternity member they must be strong, tough, and deal with the physically and/or psychologically damaging effects of hazing without hesitation. It can be surmised that the men being hazed, believing it to be a rite of passage all members must submit to, will most likely go on to do the same thing to future new members, thus falling in line with the current social paradigm of what it means to be a man.

This harmful byproduct of hazing needs to end, as the blind adherence to the hegemonic standards of masculinity could well prove to be damaging not just to men and women, but also in reference to the validity of the overall fraternal movement as well as to society at large. Moreover, we as professionals and volunteers working with fraternity men need to take a critical look at what we are doing and/or not doing to address the issue of, and mitigating factors involved in, men hazing other men.

There are two main theoretical frameworks by which one can begin to make sense of the perpetual cycle of hazing as it related to the currently accepted social paradigm of what it means to be a man. The Patterns of Male Gender Role Conflict and Strain model developed by O’Neil (1981) clearly articulates that a major factor in the socialization process for young men is an overall fear of femininity, or the fear of being perceived by others, most notably their peers, as feminine. Given this foundational component to men’s introduction into understanding what it means to be a man, O’Neil further articulated the primary ways in which men are impacted the most, namely that they become consumed with achieving success, being in control, restricting their affectionate and emotional behaviors. Additionally, most men are also taught (either explicitly or implicitly) to be homophobic, as having a sexual orientation other than heterosexual is perceived as being overly feminine and is not accepted within today’s traditional view on masculinity. This is not to say some men do not act in accordance with the socially constructed views on masculinity, as they all most certainly do not.

However, it is important to think about the potential consequences, social and otherwise, for not adhering to such norms and standards; especially on college campuses where social capital can seem to be an overwhelmingly integral facet of student life. Given these consequences, it becomes easier to understand why a majority of men do not step out of the pre-established norms of what it means to be a man. Having O’Neil’s work as a backdrop, one can begin to comprehend why, when a group of men are together, it is socially unacceptable for any of them to show weakness and vulnerability in the form of emotion, to ask for help, or to easily relinquish control without argument. This can also go toward explaining why so few older or newer members speak up when their brothers are engaged in activities in which they are uncomfortable.

In a hierarchical organization, such as fraternities, the younger members will typically emulate their older fraternity brothers; hence the use of the phrase, “but we’ve always done it this way.” This is inextricably linked to the messages men hear about how to act in society. It is not surprising that college men imitate the behavior of their older peers, as it is natural to act in a similar manner to those around us, which leads to the cycle of hazing. Thus, chapters that tend to do well and do not haze their members attract men who act similarly. These chapters are the ones who set high standards for the other fraternities on college campuses. Conversely, the chapters that struggle and engage in hazing resist because the new members are merely perpetuating behaviors they witnessed and have been told were appropriate to continue from their older brothers. The fraternity members who haze their brothers have typically not been exposed to outside factors that would aid them in raising their standards or behaviors; however, if they have been exposed to anti-hazing 67

messages, they have not had such attitudes reinforced by their brothers. This cyclical behavior is rooted in what is commonly referred to as groupthink.

Groupthink occurs when individuals act in accordance with the group affiliations they have rather than acting in accordance with their own personal values. Groupthink is not unique to fraternity men, but when it is combined with false expectations of masculinity and what it means to be a man it is easy to see how activities, such as hazing, go unchallenged, even by those in leadership positions. In relation to fraternities and hazing, groupthink has the effect of silencing those being hazed rather than empowering them to speak out against the negative and dangerous behavior in which they are engaged. Moreover, those men who do speak out against hazing are not rewarded for doing so, even when these practices may be reinforcing the negative implications of what it means to be a man.

Given O’Neil’s Patterns of Male Gender Role Conflict and Strain (1981) and groupthink, it becomes understandable why hazing continues from generation to generation in some fraternities. Due to the fear of being perceived as being feminine as well as the fear of being ostracized by their brothers, the fraternity men who are not okay with hazing are dissuaded from speaking out against such practices. Even when activities are said to be optional, men will likely not feel comfortable speaking up due to the social stigma associated with acting outside of the traditional values of what it means to be a man.1 Additionally, many fraternity men are willing to endure hazing in order to be accepted into the group. Thus, students who are hazed are less likely to speak up because they want to gain access to the exclusive fraternal bond of brotherhood. Couple this with the traditional male mentality that those who speak out against hazing are labeled as weak as well as the complexities and difficulties associated with tackling groupthink and the problem of hazing within fraternities becomes much more layered and difficult to address and eradicate. However, the difficulty in taking on this challenge should not deter those within the fraternal movement of doing so, as this would only go toward reinforcing the social paradigm of what it means to be a man and could indeed prove to be very costly to men, women, and the entire fraternal movement.

As we gain a clearer picture of what factors go into fraternity men continuing to haze as well as why much of this hazing will go unchallenged by college men within the organizations themselves, we can turn to effective ways to interrupt these traditions and challenge the restricting current social paradigm defining what it means to be a man. Below is a list of practical applications for a wide array of constituency groups related to fraternity men and eliminating the practice of hazing.

New and Potential New Fraternity Members • Think about what you want your fraternity experience to be – what sorts of activities are you willing/not willing to participate in?

• Take time to assess your own personal values and the values of the group(s) you are interested in joining – do these values align?

If not, are you willing to give up values which you had previously espoused? Why/why not?

• Make connections with older fraternity members and professionals in your fraternity/sorority affairs office – these individuals can be great advisors and mentors, and can also help you process much of what you are experiencing as a fraternity member.

Senior Fraternity Members/Fraternity Members in Leadership Positions • Review your fraternity practices and traditions – what are the outcomes of your new member process? How can you improve your traditions to be meet the same ends while providing a positive fraternity environment/experience?

• Consider how you interact with younger brothers – do they have genuine choice and say in the organization or are there expectations (either said or unsaid) for how they should act?

• Use your position/status within the fraternity to create change – you have more power and authority as an older member, utilize this privilege to make positive change for those who may not feel comfortable or be able to do the same.

• Consult with your inter/national headquarters, chapter advisors, and on campus fraternity/sorority professionals – these individuals are great resources and can help you pinpoint effective strategies to make lasting change.

Fraternity Chapter Advisors • Empower the fraternity men with whom you work to make strong decisions – do not allow negative traditions to continue because “it’s the way things have always been.” Support the men who want to make changes, as this will likely be an uphill battle for them.

• Work to overcome a “boys will be boys” mentality – embracing this attitude will only lead to furthering the dangerous attitudes and behaviors implicit in hazing. On the other end of the spectrum, working to overcome a “boys will be boys” mentality must also be balanced with purely scolding fraternity men for engaging in hazing, as this is also not an effective way of helping them understand why hazing is wrong or how to change their behavior.

• Continue the conversation – taking a critical look at hazing and masculinity on a continual basis will help fraternity men keep these issues on their radar screen. Additionally, making sure all members of the fraternity are heard will help deconstruct the power dynamic that could exist between new members and those with leadership positions.

• Role model positive behavior – give serious consideration to what messages you are sending about what it means to be a man

It should also be noted here that hazing is not contingent upon hazed members being coerced to act certain ways. On the contrary, hazing can occur even when members consent to engaging in such behavior.

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and work to interrupt the messages that limit the reality that there are multiple modes of masculinity. 2 Inter/National Headquarters Staff & Volunteers • Work to overcome a “boys will be boys” mentality – see above description.

• Continue to recognize positive achievements in a highly transparent fashion – one way to discourage hazing is to widely publicize the great chapters around the country that are flourishing.

• Assess what needs to be done to make a difference – think about what needs to start being done, stop being done, and continued in order to change the culture of hazing that exists in fraternities. Also give serious consideration to how you are diminishing and/or promoting traditional views on masculinity through your daily work.

• Take a student centered approach – one of our collective goals within the fraternal movement should be the development of great men; do not let mitigating factors divert your attention from this overarching goal.

• Include the notion of multiple modes of masculinity in your programming efforts – Leadership Institutes, New Member programs, educational sessions, etc.

On Campus Professionals working with Fraternities • Work to overcome a “boys will be boys” mentality – see above description.

• Listen to and engage in conversations with fraternity men – provide venues in which fraternity men are heard without judgment on the issues of hazing and masculinity. You do not need to agree with them, but allowing their voices to be heard is a great first step toward working on deconstructing faulty logic and working toward creating more positive traditions.

• Assess what needs to be done to make a difference – see above description.

• Take a student centered approach – see above description.

• Promote values congruence and integrity – although this is a lifelong process, continue to reinforce the importance of values and having integrity as a fraternity man. This should also be mirrored in your daily work and life.

References O’Neil, J. M. (1981). Patterns of Gender Role Conflict and Strain: Sexism and Fear of Femininity in Men’s Lives. The Personnel and Gudiance Journal, 60, 203-210.

Jensen, R. (2006). The high cost of manliness. Retrieved from www.alternet.org (8 September 2006).

Women must also provide positive role models for fraternity men and should give thought to whether or not they are promoting or diminishing traditional views on masculinity.

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An Overlooked Opportunity

Addressing Men’s Issues with Fraternit y Men and in Fraternal Programming

By Megan P. Johnson For three years I have coached a youth swim team. On multiple occasions, I have said to the boys on the team, “Oh, you look so strong!” or “You can do it, be brave.” Each time these comments slip out of my mouth, I cringe because I realize these kids hear messages about being strong or brave all the time. Boys are frequently told “boys don’t cry” or, the ultimate insult, “you play like a girl!” As I stand on the pool deck, I wonder how my words, combined with other similar messages they receive, affect the overall development of the boys. The more I learn about the socialization of men, the more I wonder how much of a service or disservice we are doing to the thousands of fraternity men across the country. Do we, as campus-based professionals, chapter advisors, and inter/national organization personnel, try to understand the actions of college men or are we punishing them for behavior that we have come to expect? Do we shame men when they act in manners that are consistent with messages they receive from the media, their peers, and society (Laker, 2003)? At a recent conference, a colleague stated that most professionals know very little about men as gendered beings. When have any of us had formal training about men’s identity development? Where do we learn about men’s identity or the socialization of men? It is challenging to identify specific opportunities when professionals are not taught to understand men’s issues. Although men are considered a privileged group, this fact is rarely discussed. Capraro states that, “men as a group have power over women as a group; but… men as individuals do not feel powerful” (2000, p. 192).

When I reflect on my work with men, I recognize my own missteps and disappointments. It is easy to lose the commitment to addressing men’s issues when the office is flooded with reports of drunken behavior and men who have sexually assaulted women during or after a fraternity party. Research suggests that a minority of men are perpetrating the majority of assaults, but that does not make the information easier to digest (Lisak & Miller, 2002). I realize that I need to change my approach to working with men, and all educators and advisors need to be more intentional about how we engage men regarding significant issues.

Relevant Theories Familiarizing yourself with identity development helps you understand how masculinity is an aspect of identity that needs fostering during the college years. Jones and McEwen (2000) created the multiple dimensions of identity model which provides a theoretical framework on how different aspects of identity, such as gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, culture, and class, shape an individual’s overall identity. As we help students understand aspects of their identities, this model allows us to understand that students are in different places regarding the development of their overall identity. Students make sense of themselves when they understand how their various identities fuse together. It is also important to understand gender socialization patterns. Children are exposed to differentiated gendered behaviors and patterns as they come to understand what it means to be a boy or a girl as early as age five (Martin & Ruble, 2004). It is amazing to see the language and visual images in popular culture that tell men and boys who and what they should aspire to become. Men are socialized as gendered beings from a very young age. Thus, men succumb to hegemonic masculinity, the idea that acceptable male-social behavior includes being stoic, in control, powerful, heterosexual, and competitive.

Pollack (1998) contends that as men become socialized they experience a “gender straightjacket” which further represses their ability to share emotions (p. 7). Men experience gender role conflict as a result of the patriarchal system and the gender role system that serves to reify it; at the center of this is the fear of femininity, which shapes male behavior (O’Neill 1981, 1986). Men are taught not to cry or show emotion, but that they should be tough, fight, and have a high number of sexual partners. These behaviors are consistently reinforced on college campuses. Students are away from home, often for the first time, and perpetuate the male behavior they see exhibited by older members of the campus community.

Unfortunately, fraternities can become an epicenter for encouraging negative behaviors. Although chapters do exist where men can be vulnerable and in touch with their emotions, where brothers hold each other accountable for their actions, and where they form authentic relationships not based on a drinking culture,they are exceptions to the norm It makes sense that the culture of many fraternities and other all-male groups/teams across campus become a breeding ground for unhealthy behavior. According to Capraro (2000), “Men outnumber women in virtually every category of drinking behavior…prevalence, consumption, frequency… problem drinking, alcohol abuse and dependence, and alcoholism” (p. 191). This is true of men from diverse backgrounds including “age, ethnicity, geographic region, religion, education, income, and marital status” (Capraro, 2000, p. 191). While this is not an issue solely associated with fraternity men, fraternities have the opportunity and the structured environment to address the male drinking culture and other negative behaviors that other student organizations do not.

Men are forced to put up an emotional shield so they do not share their vulnerabilities. Our society encourages this behavior, reinforcing the concept of hegemonic masculinity. In a recent conversation with a former fraternity president, I found myself listening to his 70

struggles with a senior member who had been permanently expelled from the college but who had been lying about it to his chapter brothers for over six months. This member had subsequently been engaging in self destructive behavior including severe alcohol abuse.

The former president expressed to me that he was beyond frustrated with this member, but when I asked him why he thought this man was acting out, he had no idea. We engaged in a significant conversation about the pressure this member must be feeling. The former chapter president was a man, successful by societal standards, who had never thought about his own masculinity and who was initially not willing to talk with his fellow brother about the destructive behavior even though the entire chapter knew it was happening. I could not blame him; he had been socialized, as men have, to ignore feelings (save anger) and not engage in a dialogue where he could admit any fault, weakness, or vulnerability. O’Neill (1981) states, the concept of restricted emotionality comes into play as men are not taught to communicate thus driving emotional needs underground.

Fraternities offer their membership values embedded in the core purpose of the organization. The fraternal movement has allowed conversations about values to take shape, especially when documents like the Call for Values Congruence are utilized on campus.

Unfortunately, current inter/national fraternity programming is missing an important opportunity to address men’s issues. Indeed, many fraternal initiatives (e.g. Pi Kappa Phi’s Men of CLASS and Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Balanced Man), leadership development institutes, and continuous membership development programs address topics of integrity, leadership, character, health, etc. However, the amount of actual programming that acknowledges salient men’s issues is minimal, if in existence at all. This is one of the most overlooked educational opportunities to address men’s issues in the fraternity profession.

The campus approach to advising men has to change and evolve as well. No longer can men be shamed for their behavior, nor can excuses be made about “boys being boys.” We need to start talking with men about what masculinity means to them. Engaging men in discussing issues and breaking down social constructs of masculinity could be foundational pieces to solving the sexual assault, alcohol, communication, and organizational leadership issues that plague college campuses. Campus professionals are likely familiar with the offices of student activities, sexual assault/rape crisis, career services, multicultural affairs, but how much is known about resources for men and masculinity on campus? Do these resources even exist on campus?

Both campus professionals and fraternal leaders must engage chapter advisors in understanding men’s issues. Many of our advisors, specifically alumni advisors, are perpetuating behavior they witnessed or engaged in during college. We must challenge advisors to understand the pressures and issues of college men. What follows is the beginning of how we can work with men on issues of masculinity.

Campus Professionals: • Bring men together and start a conversation about their views of the state of the fraternity culture and its direction on campus. Start small. Men will engage more fully in one-on-one or small group interactions. Build a coalition of men willing to talk with one another and introduce them to each other in a safe space.

• Understand privilege and masculinity. Draw connections between the reality of being a man and being privileged; this should be done in a manner that allows men to realize this is not their fault. We live in a patriarchy; talk with men about how this influences who they are and their roles in society. Please note: you need to understand historical cycles of oppression and social justice issues as they relate to privilege if you plan to engage in these conversations. If you are not skilled facilitating difficult conversations, utilize the expertise of a colleague who has these skills.

• Expose fraternity members to positive male role models in the community (administrators – both young and more seasoned – coaches, religious and political officials, etc).

• Connect the health center and counseling resources with the fraternity community, build a coalition to address men’s issues and behaviors.

• Include programming for men about masculinity and gender within leadership training and development.

Inter/national Organization Professionals: • Create programming focusing solely on men’s issues.

Allow men to come together from various chapters and learn from each others’ experiences. Encourage men to talk about their campus experience as men.

Acknowledge the privilege and power that comes with being a man, as well as the powerlessness in regard to expressing emotion.

• Talk with men about their strengths and fears. Allow them to show vulnerability in a safe environment, where they will receive positive reinforcement.

• Pose questions about what kind of professional, partner, father, family member, and friend they aspire to become.

• Ask students why issues of masculinity rarely come into conversations with fellow chapter members.

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• • •

Include articles and resources in publications, member programs, and volunteer training.

Confront their behavior if it becomes inappropriate during annual leadership schools or conventions. This can be as easy as letting an individual know that he is seeking attention from his peers and asking him why that is.

Confront their behavior if it becomes inappropriate during annual leadership schools or conventions. This can be as easy as letting an individual know that he is seeking attention from his peers and asking him why that is.

Local, Regional, and Inter/national Volunteers: • Employ both males and females as chapter advisors.

• Engage in conversations on masculinity within the advisory board and among the undergraduates.

• Understand the differences in being a college man today as compared to previous generations (i.e. when you were in college).

• Do not allow men to get away with offensive language and behaviors; role model appropriate behaviors.

• Talk to other fraternity advisors about how to communicate with undergraduate men.

Tips for Conversations on Masculinit y: • Ask students, “What is it like to be a man at this institution?” Once this question is asked, it is imperative to listen to the responses and to not become defensive. Do not let the conversation divert into a men vs. women issue in relation to roles or opportunities on campus. Spend time engaging men in understanding their own masculinity; allow them to talk about their experiences.

• Create an activity based setting. Men tend to engage more when they are not sitting across from each other and when they are doing something. Go on a walk, take advantage of traveling in a car, work on a project together, watch a sporting event, play a video game (yes, it works).

• Listen to what they are saying and discern when it is ok to ask for more information and when the conversation should be put on hold. Not every conversation has to be a deeply moving one; sometimes it is best to just plant a seed and let men know there is a safe space available.

• Thank them for sharing information and encourage them to talk with you or other people they trust about these issues.

The following resources can assist you in understanding masculinit y and serve as a programming guide: • • • • • • •

American Psychological Association – Division 51 The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (SPSMM) http://www.apa.org/divisions/div51/ ACPA: College Student Educators International, Standing Committee for Men – http://www.myacpa.org/sc/SCM/index. html The Institute for the College Male – http://www.myacpa.org/pd/icm/ Men’s Lives (6th Edition) by Michael Kimmel Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons From the Myths of Boyhood by William Pollack The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help by Jackson Katz Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man by Susan Faludi

As my colleague, Brian Reed, once stated “we need to stop viewing our challenges with men with our hands around their necks in frustration, but rather with our arm around their shoulders to guide them.”

– Megan P. Johnson, a doctoral student at the University of Iowa, is the 2007 recipient of the Harry Canon Outstanding Professional Award given by ACPA’s Standing Committee for Men. She is the first female to be recognized with this award.

Administrators Joint Conference, presentation, Orlando, FL.

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References Capraro, R. L. (2004). Why college men drink: Alcohol, adventure, and the paradox of masculinity. In M.S. Kimmel & M.A. Messner (Eds.). Men’s Lives (pp.190-204).

Boston: Pearson.

Davis, T., Laker, J., Reed, B., Edwards, K., & Harper, S. (2007). American College Personnel Association & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Joint Conference, presentation, Orlando, FL. Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 405-414.

Kivel, P. (1992). Men’s work: How to stop the violence that tears our lives apart. Center City, MN: Hazelden.

Lisak, D. & Miller, P. M. (2002). Repeat rape and multiple offending among undetected rapists. Violence and Victims, 17, 73-84.

Laker, J., Davis, T., Helm, M. (2003). Bad dogs: Rethinking our engagement of male students. American College Personnel Association National Conference, Presentation Minneapolis, MN. O’Neil, J. M. (1981). Patterns of gender role conflict and strain: Sexism and fear of femininity in men’s lives. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 60, 203-210.

O’Neil, J.M., Helms, B., Gable, R., David, L., & Wrightsman, L. (1986). Gender role conflict scale: College men’s fear of femininity. Sex Roles, 14, 335-350.

Pollack, W. (1998). Real boys: Rescuing our sons from the myths of boyhood. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co.

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Journal of Leadership Education

Volume 8, Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2009

Leadership Identity Development: Challenges in Applying a Developmental Model Susan R. Komives Professor Counseling and Personnel Services Department University of Maryland College Park, MD komives@umd.edu Susan D. Longerbeam Assistant Professor University of Northern Arizona Educational Psychology Flagstaff, AZ Susan.Longerbeam@nau.edu Felicia Mainella Assistant Professor Leadership Studied Peace College Raleigh, NC fmainella@Peace.edu Laura Osteen Co-Director Center for Leadership and Civic Education Florida State University Tallahassee, FL osteen@fsu.edu Julie E. Owen Assistant Professor New Century College George Mason University Fairfax, VA jowen4@gmu.edu

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Wendy Wagner Doctoral Candidate Counseling & Personnel Services University of Maryland College Park, MD wwagner@umd.edu

Abstract The leadership identity development (LID) grounded theory (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005) and related LID model (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Mainella, & Osteen, 2006) present a framework for understanding how individual college students develop the social identity of being collaborative, relational leaders interdependently engaging in leadership as a group process (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 1998, 2007). Challenges to applying and measuring this stage based developmental theory are discussed and recommendations are included.

Leadership Identity Development: Challenges in Applying a Developmental Model As any discipline develops it codifies a body of knowledge including theoretical frames, models of practice, as well as related measurement and assessment strategies for both program and individual effectiveness. The field of leadership studies includes a strong sense of historical evolution (Burns, 1978; Rost, 1991), theoretical frames that represent diverse approaches and philosophies of leadership (e.g., leader-member exchange, transforming leadership, authentic leadership), measures for extant theories and models (e.g., the Leadership Practices Inventory, the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire, the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale), identification of outcomes of leadership (e.g., effectiveness, productivity, group morale), contextually based applications (e.g., military, education, business, politics), and pedagogical strategies for developing leadership (e.g., case studies, academic courses). Although leadership research has attended to the development of leadership capacity often for specific groups of people such as women, youth, or business executives, far less attention has been devoted to leadership development across an individual’s lifespan (Avolio & Gibbons, 1988; Brungardt, 1996; Drath, 1998; Lord & Hall, 2005; Murphy & Reichard, in press) or to an individual’s development of a leadership self-concept or identity (van Knippenberg, B., van Kippenberg, D., De Cremer, & Hogg, 2005). Gibbons (1986) early work to identify the kind of life span learning that served as antecedents to transforming leadership held promise for this inquiry (as cited in Avolio & Gibbons). Theoretical frames and research that promote

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understanding of leadership development across the life span will greatly aid intentional leadership development interventions (e.g., Avolio, 2005; Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005; Murphy & Reichard). Leadership life span development is enriched by recent studies conceptualizing “leader” as a social identity as perceived by the self and others (Lord & Brown, 2004; Lord & Hall; Ruderman & Ernst, 2004; van Knippenberg, B., et al.). Indeed, “Identity is probably the most important aspect of leader…development” (Hall, 2004, p. 154).

In this article, we overview our 2001-2002 research that led to the leadership identity development (LID) theory (Komives, et al., 2005) and present the leadership identity development model (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Mainella, & Osteen, 2006) derived from examining the life experience of college students.

We then integrate the LID theory with other developmental theories that focus on college students including perspectives on LID as a social identity and how it may relate to other social identities. Finally, we explore the challenges and promises of applying any developmental theory to individual students including measuring LID as a developmental theory. The article also presents how students may develop their leadership identity in student organizations, in courses, and curricular programs along with challenges in those applications. Applications of LID to support the development of leadership self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Denzine, 1999; Pearlmutter, 1999) are also included. We conclude with recommendations for leadership education.

Leadership Identity Development Theory The relational leadership model presented in Exploring Leadership (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 1998, 2007) focused on leadership being purposeful, inclusive, empowering, ethical, and process-oriented. Designed as a postindustrial, collaborative model to teach and develop leadership in college students, this approach emphasized leadership as “a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change” (Komives, et al., 2007, p. 74). Observing that some students self-identified as leaders and were very comfortable engaging in inclusive, collaborative group processes whether in positional or non-positional roles, our research team sought to understand how this kind of relational leadership developed and how one’s sense of self and attitudes about leadership changed over time.

We used grounded theory methodology (Merriam & Associates, 2002; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and sought campus experts who observed college students engaging with others to nominate students who evidenced the non-hierarchical practices of the relational leadership model. This intensity sampling led to a diverse group of 13 students who participated in the research. Each participant engaged in three individual interviews with a research team member using the life

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narrative method (Riessman, 1993; Seidman, 1991; Shamir & Eilam, 2005). Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method employing standard coding procedures (Strauss & Corbin). For more detail on this research see Komives et al. (2005).

The emergent grounded theory was comprised of the key category of leadership identity which included five leadership identity stages and incorporated five related categories. The key category included the stages of: • Awareness (Stage One): becoming aware that there are leaders “out there” who are external to self like the President of the United States, one’s mother, or a teacher; • Exploration/Engagement (Stage Two): a period of immersion in group experiences usually to make friends; a time of learning to engage with others (e.g., swim team, boy scouts, church choir); • Leader Identified (Stage Three): viewing leadership as the actions of the positional leader of a group; an awareness of the hierarchical nature of relationships in groups; • Leadership Differentiated (Stage Four): viewing leadership also as nonpositional and as a shared group process; • Generativity (Stage Five): a commitment to developing leadership in others and having a passion for issues or group objectives that the person wants to influence; and, • Integration/Synthesis (Stage Six): acknowledging the personal capacity for leadership in diverse contexts and claiming the identity as a leader without having to hold a positional role (Komives, et al., 2005).

As illustrated in Figure 1, five other categories link to influence the student’s development through the LID stages. At each stage of the model there were developmental components that influence development including the role of adults in their lives, the changing role of peers, their opportunities for involvement, and time spent in reflective learning. All of these appear to contribute to the students’ development of leadership self-efficacy as an element of their identity.

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Figure 1: A Grounded Theory of Leadership Identity Development

At each stage the student engaged individual factors (their growing awareness of self, developing self-confidence, establishing interpersonal efficacy, developing leadership skills, and clarifying goals) with group factors (their changing view of groups from friendship structures to organizations to systems, having meaningful group experiences, and maintaining a continuity of membership in key groups).

Leadership is learned in a group context and the dynamic reciprocity of the individual engaging in groups was critical to LID. As that engagement happened, the student changed their view of self with others beginning in a dependent mode when in a follower role, then feeling independent when in a leader role, and finally recognizing interdependence with others. As view of self changed the student established different views of leadership moving from thinking of leadership as only the external other and always an adult, to holding a leadercentric view of leadership as anyone in a position, and as they valued interdependence they viewed leadership as happening in non-positional roles as well as viewing leadership as a shared group process. Student voices evidencing this development can be found in Komives et al. (2005) and Komives et al.

(2006).

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Leadership Identity Development Model Viewed as a model, Figure 2 illustrates that each stage of the model ends in a transition where previously held views no longer provide meaning, and the student began to engage in new ways of interacting with others. For these college students the key transition in this model was at the end of Stage Three (Leader Identified) when students began to value their interdependence with others. In the first two stages, students viewed themselves as largely dependent on others â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly adults and older peers.

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Figure 2: Leadership Identity Development Model Stages Æ

1

2 Awareness

Key categories Stage Descriptions

Changing View of Leadership

Developing Self

Group Influences

Developmental Influences

Exploration/

Transition

Engagement Transition

• Recognizing that leadership is happening around you • Getting exposure to involvements

•Intentional involvements [sports, church, service, scouts, dance, SGA] • Experiencing groups for first time •Taking on responsibilities “I want to be involved”

“Other people are leaders; leaders are out there some-where”

“I am not a leader”

• Becomes aware of national leaders and authority figures (e.g. the principal)

•Want to make friends

•Develop personal skills • Identify personal strengths/ weaknesses • Prepare for leadership • Build self confidence

•Recognize personal leadership potential •Motivation to change something

• Uninvolved or “inactive” follower

•Want to get involved

Narrow interests

Affirmation by adults (parents, teachers, coaches, scout leaders, church elders)

•Observation/ watching •Recognition •adult sponsors

• “Active” follower or member • Engage in diverse contexts (e.g. church, sports, clubs, class projects) • Affirmation of adults •Attributions (others see me as a leader)

Changing View of Self with Others

Dependent

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“I want to do more”

•Role models •Older peers as sponsors • Adult sponsors • Assume positional roles •Reflection/ retreat

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Figure 2: Leadership Identity Development Model (continued) Stages Æ

3 Leader

Key categories

Stage Descriptions

Changing View of Leadership

Developing Self

Group Influences

Developmental Influences

Changing View of Self with Others

Identified

The KEY

Emerging

Immersion

•Trying on new roles •Identifying skills needed.

•Taking on individual responsibility •Individual accomplishments important

•Getting things done • Managing others •Practicing different approaches/styles

“A leader gets things done”

“ I am the leader and others follow me” or “I am a follower looking to the leader for direction”

“Holding a position does not mean I am a leader”

•Positional leadership roles or group member roles •Narrow down to meaningful experiences (e.g. church, sports, clubs, yearbook, scouts, class projects)

• Models others • Leader struggles with delegation • Moves in and out of leadership roles and member roles but still believes the leader is in charge • Appreciates individual recognition

• Recognition that I cannot do it all myself •Learn to value the importance/ talent of others

• Leader has to get things done •Group has a job to do; organize to get tasks done

•Involve members to get the job done •Stick with a primary group as an identity base; explore other groups

• Meaningfully engage with others • Look to group resources

Take on responsibilities

• Model older peers and adults • Observe older peers • Adults as mentors, guides, coaches

•Older peers as sponsors & mentors •Adults as mentors & meaning makers • learning about leadership

Transition • Shifting order of consciousness •Take on more complex leadership challenges

Leadership seen largely as positional roles held by self or others; Leaders do leadership

Independent Dependent

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Figure 2: Leadership Identity Development Model (continued) Stages Æ

4 Leadership

Differentiated

Emerging •Joining with others in shared tasks/ goals from positional or non-position-al group roles • Need to learn group skills New belief that leadership can come from anywhere in the group (non positional)

Immersion •Seeks to facilitate a good group process whether in positional or non positional leader role •Commitment to community of the group Awareness that leadership is a group process “Leadership is happening everywhere; leadership is a process; we are doing leadership together; we are all responsible”

Key categories

Stage Descriptions

Changing View of Leadership

Developing Self

Group Influences

Developmental Influences

Changing View of Self with Others

“I need to lead in a participatory way and I can contribute to leadership from anywhere in the organization”; “I can be a leader without a title”; “I am a leader even if I am not the leader” •Learn to trust and value others & their involvement •Openness other perspectives •Develop comfort leading as an active member •Let go control • Seeing the collective whole; the big picture • Learn group and team skills • Practicing leadership in ongoing peer relationships

•Learns about personal influence • Effective in both positional and nonpositional roles• Practices being engaged member• Values servant leadership •Value teams • Value connectedness to others •Learns how system works • Responds to meaning makers (student affairs staff, key faculty, same-age peer mentors) Interdependent

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Transition

“Who’s coming after me?”

•Focus on passion, vision, & commitments •Want to serve society

•Value process • Seek fit with org. vision

•Begins coaching others

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Figure 2: Leadership Identity Development Model (continued) Stages Æ

5

6 Generativity

Key categories Stage Descriptions

Changing View of Leadership

Developing Self

Group Influences

Developmental Influences

Changing View of Self with Others

Integration/ Synthesis Transition

• Active commitment to a personal passion; • Accepting responsibility for the development of others, • Promotes team learning, • Responsible for sustaining organizations “I am responsible as a member of my communities to facilitate the development of others as leaders and enrich the life of our groups” •Sponsor and develop others • transforming leadership •Concern for leadership pipeline •Concerned with sustainability of ideas •Sustaining the organization •Ensuring continuity in areas of passion/ focus • Responds to meaning makers (student affairs staff, same-age peer mentors)

• Continued self development and life long learning, • Striving for congruence and internal confidence

“I need to be true to myself in all situations and open to grow”

“I know I am able to work effectively with others to accomplish change from any place in the organization”; “I am a leader”

• Openness to ideas • Learning from others

•Sees leadership as a life long developmental process •Want to leave things better • Am trustworthy and value that I have credibility •Recognition of role modeling to others • Sees organizational complexity across contexts • Can imagine how to engage with different organizations • Re-cycle when context changes or is uncertain (contextual uncertainty), enables continual recycling through leadership stages

•Anticipating transition to new roles

•Shared learning •Reflection/ retreat

Interdependent

From Komives, S. R., Longerbeam, S., Owen, J. E., Mainella, F. C., & Osteen, L. (2006). A leadership identity development model: Applications from a grounded theory. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 401-42. Reprinted with permission from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), One Dupont Circle, NW at the Center for Higher Education, Washington, DC 20036.

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As they became aware of functioning in organizations (e.g., school, student clubs), they saw these groups as hierarchical settings. In Stage Three (Leader Identified) they functioned more independently when they were the positional leader in a group and felt dependent when they were the member of a group. Once they made the key transition to Stage Four (Leadership Differentiated), they came to an awareness of the interdependence of people working together in groups.

This interdependent relational orientation was critical to the latter three stages of the model and shaped their attitudes of leadership as non-positional and as a process eventually affirming their leadership identity as someone who can work interdependently with others in any context to accomplish shared goals.

Stage Three and Stage Four were complex. The research team observed two phases of varying durations in each of these stages. In the emerging phase the student tried on new attitudes, practiced new skills, and made decisions about what groups they would commit to and the level of that commitment. In the immersion phase they were fully engaged with the philosophies of that stage and learned to do them effectively. For example, in the Stage Three immersion phase as a positional leader the student worked hard to learn to delegate responsibilities, motivate group members, and organize the group’s tasks upholding the view that it was the leaders’ responsibility to get the job done. When functioning dependently in Stage Three immersion, students embraced being good followers and sought to practice good membership or followership skills while holding the view that it was the positional leader’s responsibility to work with the group to accomplish the group’s goals and they, as members, should do their part.

Development past Stage Three into interdependence appears to move into systems views and non-hierarchical perspectives deepening and broadening an individual’s leadership identity development (Wiekiewicz, 2000). LID contributes to the “constructive-developmental framework” (p. 390) of life long leadership development in which Van Velsor and Drath (2004) theorize about adult development beyond college and posit three Keganesque “developmentally ordered sets of beliefs” (p. 391) about the self: self-reading, self-authoring, and self-revising. LID seems closely aligned with O’Conner and Day’s (2007) observation that leadership expands from the individual, relational, to collective identity levels. They speculate that one holds aspects of all three levels concurrently.

Limitations of the study are presented in Komives et al. (2005). The reader should note that this study of college students retrospectively focused on their life journey prior to college and into their college years. The model may be transferrable to others in this college context, but does not address the continued evolution of leadership post-college nor does it address the experience of noncollege people. We did not find this to be an age-based model, however, and would hypothesize that many people remain in Stage Three viewing leadership as 21

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hierarchical, directly shaping their leadership identity. As with other qualitative research, we encourage readers to determine the transferability of these findings to their context.

Developmental Integration LID is informed by integrating the theory with other student development theories. One could reasonably ask why a theory derived from rigorous grounded theory methodology is best integrated with other developmental theories when applied to the practice of leadership education. The problem with using one theory in isolation in our work with students is we risk over generalizing or misapplying theory. Integrating several applicable developmental theories furthers a holistic understanding of students (McEwen, 2003). Theory can guide, but should not prescribe our work with students. As leadership educators we draw upon multiple families of student development theory always striving to recognize the complexity of individuals.

The field of human development can be studied from the organismic worldview wherein development is directional and movement occurs toward greater complexity of the individual (Goldhaber, 2000; McEwen, 2003). Early theorists (Pepper, 1961; Sanford, 1967) described the directional development process as the differentiation and integration of the various parts of the self. LID is a directional developmental theory because we found that students proceeded through the stages in the model in a sequential way. They did not reach later stages until earlier stages had been explored. They developed from a relatively simple to a relatively complex understanding of leadership. For example, students understood leadership as existing only in the leader before they understood leadership as a process that all participate in to effect organizational change.

We find it helpful to integrate four families of college student development theory into the theory of leadership identity development. The first family of theory that informed our LID findings is psychosocial development. The psychosocial family addresses the psychological and social development of college students. The most widely used theorist in psychosocial college student development is Chickering (1969), who outlined a series of seven developmental milestones that he called â&#x20AC;&#x153;vectors,â&#x20AC;? roughly corresponding with linear stages of development. The core developmental task for college students in the Chickering theory is establishing identity, which is the fifth vector. In an update of the theory, Chickering and Reisser (1993) noted that identity encompasses and builds upon all of the previous stages in the developmental theory. Identity establishment is characterized by a clear, comfortable, and secure sense of self, such as that achieved in advanced stages of leadership development. Establishing identity most closely aligns in the LID model with the achievement of Stage Four, Leadership Differentiated. In Leadership Differentiated students were secure enough in their sense of self to 22

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collaborate and embrace differing perspectives. As such, both theories acknowledge the significant achievement of identity as it reflects the development of college students.

In addition to psychosocial theories, a second broad family of theories about college student development is the cognitive family which addresses students’ intellectual and moral development. It is important to note that the concept of learning referred to in this paper is that used in Learning Reconsidered (NASPA/ACPA, 2004) that approaches learning as a “comprehensive, holistic, transformative activity that integrates academic learning and student development, processes that have often been considered separate, and even independent of each other” (p. 18). This approach to learning leads to applications of developmental synthesis theories.

The third family is the developmental synthesis theories, which integrate both cognitive and psychosocial development (McEwen, 2003). The Kegan (1994) orders of consciousness are a developmental synthesis theory. In the Kegan scheme, development occurs through meaning making. We make meaning by differentiating ourselves so that we can see ourselves in a previous stage as object.

Kegan says that differentiation of the self always precedes development. We must come apart before we put ourselves back together. Development is stimulated by the crises characteristic of modern life. According to Erikson (1968), a developmental crisis occurs when internal conflict forces development. When we resolve these internal crises, we make new commitments. Developmental theories such as Kegan’s (1994) affirm that commitment to a new identity follows crisis.

As have other developmental theorists, we found that development occurred in the crises that characterized the transitions between stages (Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Erikson, 1968; Kegan, 1994; Piaget, 1977).

In the LID stages, as in the Kegan (1994) orders, the key crisis appears to occur in Stage Three. A crisis in the hierarchical understanding of leadership characterized

by Stage Three leads to the key transition and subsequent commitment to collaborative leadership characterized by Stage Four. An example of a crisis in students’ leadership identity might be when a hierarchical leader is disliked and subsequently resigns. The crisis of positional leadership is followed by the students’ commitment to leadership as non-positional and then as a process. The commitments students made manifested in the form of commitments to groups characterized by Stages Five and Six, when students applied their leadership development to addressing generativity (developing leadership in others) and synthesis (applying leadership in new contexts). Using Kegan’s language, the crises and mental demands of modern college student life represent an opportunity for cognitive and psychosocial leadership development in college students.

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Meeting the mental demands of modern life requires strength of self, and the ability to follow one’s own journey (Baxter Magolda, 2001). Because developing strength of self is a challenging process, educators should be good partners and walk with students along their leadership journey (Kegan, 1994). An example of the challenge for students demonstrating a collaborative model of leadership is that in doing so students risk being perceived as weak leaders by their peers who hold a positional leadership frame. To demonstrate leadership as a process may require self-authorship, and reaching a collaborative leadership style is encouraged by support from mentors (Baxter Magolda, 2001; Kegan, 1994).

While mentoring can encourage leadership development, identifying the specific mentoring practices that are most effective depends upon an understanding of the full complement of students’ social identities. For example, students of color, successful in the predominantly White institution of the LID study, all mentioned mentoring by adults or older peers as significant to their leadership identity development (Komives et al., 2005).

Social identity theory is a fourth family of college student development theory.

This family of theory is so integral to understanding leadership as an identity that we discuss it in greater detail in the next section.

LID and Social Identities. Social identities reflect one’s membership in groups of commonality (Hogg, 2001). Leader identity can be viewed as a type of social identity. LID found that one’s thinking about leader identity developed from holding a view of the leader as positional to the leader being anyone engaged in the leadership process. In applying the LID model, leadership educators must also acknowledge the ways leadership identity intersects with other dimensions of identity such as race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, disability, religion, and social class. A challenge in using the LID model is recognizing this intersectionality (Collins, 1998) and how students’ multiple identities shift in relative salience depending on context and relationships (Abes, Jones, & McEwen, 2007). If, as social constructionist approaches to identity development posit, identity is socially, historically, politically, and culturally constructed (Weber, 2001), these factors must be considered in LID application and research.

There is a growing body of research that relates racial and cultural factors to leadership development (Arminio, et al., 2000; Balón, 2003, 2005; Harper & Quaye, 2007; Hoppe, 1998; Kezar & Moriarty, 2000; Liang, Lee, & Ting, 2002; Richardson & Loubier, 2008; Ruderman & Ernst, 2004). Students of color may experience the LID stages differently than their White peers. In developing the LID grounded theory, several participants of color described their experience of Stage Three (Leader Identified) in more collectivist ways than other study participants. For some students of color there was little independent experience of hierarchical leadership. Rather, there was an understanding of leadership as a positional, leader-centric phenomenon in the western world around them, but 24

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these students were able to move more quickly through Stage Three views to arrive at relational views of leadership more congruent with their cultural backgrounds.

The LID findings are in keeping with different forms of cultural cognition where students from individualistic cultures experience the self as separate and discrete while collectivist cognition of self depends on group relationships and obligations (Helms & Cook, 1999). As views of self and views of self with others shift across the LID model from dependent to independent and finally to interdependent, cultural cognition may shape the development of leadership identity. For example, whether students of color are in conformity, immersion, emersion, internalization, or integration statuses of racial identity development may affect the experiences that shape their leadership development (Helms, 1990). More research is needed about the intersection of race, culture, and leadership identity.

Gender was a factor for some participants’ experiences of leadership identity development. Several LID participants articulated that challenging gender stereotypes led them to seek leadership roles and experiences (Komives et al., 2005). Though much has been written about the intersection of gender and leadership (Astin & Leland, 1991; Chin, Lott, Rice, & Sanchez-Hucles, 2007; Eagly & Carli, 2007; Helgesen, 1995; Hoyt, 2007; Jones, 1997; Kellerman & Rhode, 2007; Klenke, 1996), much remains to be explored. Because LID measures how people develop a relational leadership identity, female gender orientations toward relational, collaborative, and democratic models should be considered. Recent research reveals women have higher scores on measures related to leadership and social change and lower scores on self-efficacy for leadership than their male counterparts (Dugan & Komives, 2007). How women connect their competence and confidence across LID stages merits further exploration. In addition, women’s cognitive development shifts across LID stages.

Analogies can be made with awareness and exploration as received knowing, leadership identified as subjective knowing, leadership differentiated as procedural knowing, and later stages of generativity and integration as constructed knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986).

In addition to gender orientation, sexual orientation intersects with leadership development. Some lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) students become highly involved in college. Studies of LGBT students and leadership identity show queer students articulating activist identities in very early stages of their leadership identity development (Renn 2007; Renn & Bilodeau, 2005). The role of LGBT student involvement in identity specific organizations and activism seems to positively promote the development of leadership identity. In addition, campus climate for LGBT students may have an effect on both leadership and LGBT identity development (Evans & Broido, 1999; Longerbeam, Inkelas,

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Johnson, & Lee, 2007). Additional research is needed to examine the intersections of LGBT and leadership identity.

Challenges of Assessment The LID model provides a useful framework for formative assessment. Angelo and Cross (1993) describe formative assessment as activities that are intended to help the educator understand studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current level of comprehension and development in order to optimize student learning. By assessing how students define leadership, how they understand their roles in groups and their sense of independence and interdependence with others, educators are better able to adjust messages and adapt the learning environment to the way the learner currently makes meaning of leadership and his or her readiness for a more complex development of leadership.

Although leadership educators have drawn on many student development theories, they have not applied one that specifically addressed the developmental processes involved in the development of a leadership identity. Studies on the development of college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; leadership capacity have been few, despite a large number of leadership programs and a call to infuse those programs with the assessment of their outcomes (Cress, 2000; Zimmerman-Oster, 2000). While the LID study addressed the lack of research on how leadership identity develops, it also introduced into leadership program assessment plans the challenges and potential missteps that come with using any developmental theory in assessment.

We want to emphasize again that it is a misuse of developmental theory to categorize students into boxes rather than to gain insight into how they experience and interpret their world. Unfortunately, in many ways the assessment process, particularly quantitative assessment, can be designed in just this way. A survey is too often used to assign students to a particular box and students are later posttested to determine if the learning environment resulted in their being categorized into a better box. Instead, these assessments are best used to understand groups of students and design curriculum and other program interventions to combine theoretical frames and assessment findings.

The reality of leadership identity development is much more complex and appears cyclical rather than linear (Komives, et al., 2005). Rather than exhibiting behaviors and meaning making strategies that reflect a single stage, student responses and behavior may be more likely to signal multiple stages concurrently.

Additionally, students may recycle to an earlier stage when faced with a situation that challenges their way of understanding themselves as leaders or in understanding a new leadership context. These factors can make it difficult to assess which stage a student primarily operates from. Learning to use LID to

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inform learning outcomes and program assessment without oversimplifying both the student experience and the LID theory itself is a challenge to be addressed.

Another challenge to assessing leadership identity development is that some students are able to discuss leadership in ways that would indicate one stage, but their actual behaviors reflect an earlier stage. This challenge is not unique to LID research. In self-report data it is not uncommon to find that participants self-report survey responses that are one stage higher than their actual behavior. Their observed behaviors may then mask the identity they are developing.

Quantitative Assessment. Assessment methodology for the LID model is currently limited. A quantitative measurement scale for LID is not yet available, but development is in progress. Two scales representing Stage Three and Stage Four were piloted in a sub-study of the 2006 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL). This national study of students on 52 campuses used an eight-scale measure of the social change model of leadership development (SCM) as the primary leadership outcomes (Dugan & Komives, 2006, 2007). The Stage Three scales included items like “The head of the group is the leader and members of the group are followers” and “I think of myself as a leader ONLY if I am the head of a group (e.g. chair, president).” The items in Stage Four included “Group members share the responsibility for leadership” and “I feel inter-dependent with others in a group.” Preliminary analysis of data from over 10,000 students in the LID sub-study of the MSL showed that holding Stage Four perspectives contributed significantly to SCM leadership outcomes over Stage Three views alone (Komives, in press). In this exploratory analysis, students were categorized as being in Stage Three if they were high in Stage Three scores and low in Stage Four scores. Likewise, they were categorized in Stage Four if they were high in Stage Four scores while being low in Stage Three scores.

Preliminary analysis shows that after controlling for their pre-college views on each outcome, stage four thinking and beliefs contributed 10-25% over stage three beliefs on all leadership outcomes…Those classified in stage three were significantly lower on all [the scales of the SCM] than those in stage four. It would appear then that holding interdependent views of leadership as non-positional and as a process contributes to more ability in the values of the social change model of leadership. (Komives) Qualitative Assessment. When other student development theories have lacked inventories that are practical or affordable for use by student affairs educators, it has been suggested that the practitioner’s own interactions and observations of students can provide useful clues for how students make meaning (Evans, Forney, & Guido-DiBrito, 1998). While several qualitative researchers have or are conducting their own LID studies on their campuses (Durham, n.d.; Renn & Bilodeau, 2005), the leadership educator need not be an expert in qualitative research methods to be able to use LID as a tool for powerful informal 27

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assessment. Observational methodologies and student interviews (as individuals or in focus groups) are exceptionally useful sources of data.

Angelo and Cross (1993) describe many simple techniques for formative classroom assessment that could also be adapted to co-curricular contexts. By using LID to guide these techniques, they can be even more useful for designing optimal learning environments. For example, a popular technique which Angelo and Cross call the “Background Knowledge Probe” (p. 121) involves collecting information from students on the first day of class about their current understanding or approach to the class topic. By shaping the questions and probes in this assessment around the LID model, the educator can begin to formulate an understanding of what stages the students are primarily operating from. This knowledge facilitates the leadership educator in designing experiences to develop skills in that stage and supports for students as they may transition to the next stage. Other opportunities to collect data and look for themes include interviews, focus groups, direct observations of students, and analyses of student work such as written papers, journals, or portfolios (Palomba & Banta, 1999; Upcraft & Schuh, 1996).

Portfolios, especially electronic portfolios, can be powerful tools for assessment and learning. Because they often feature multiple selected examples of student work, include reflection, and are context rich, portfolios can allow educators to examine development over time (Cambridge, 2001). Portfolios can reveal student developmental stages in ways that more traditional assessments might not and may even elucidate transitions between stages. For example, a student might use inclusive language to describe their collaborative, relational leadership style in a written reflection, leading an evaluator to identify them as likely positioned in Stage Four, Leadership Differentiated. However, suppose the same student includes evidence of their approach to leadership in their portfolio that reflects more hierarchical Stage Three thinking – a piece of student government legislation that they drafted without input from others or a photo of themselves standing behind a podium holding a gavel. This mismatch between espoused relational views of leadership and artifacts that reveal more hierarchical approaches might lead portfolio evaluators to identify this student as in LID Stage Three-Stage Four Transition. Thus, portfolios and other formative types of assessment can be used to more accurately to identify student leadership transitions and stages and intentionally to encourage processes that promote increasingly complex leadership identities.

We emphasize that a critical way to informally assess students is by being alert for LID related themes in student reflections, whether those reflections are in the form of written journals, group discussions, interviews, or creative work. The guiding questions and themes for such reflections need to focus on issues that the educator can fit into the LID model. For example: 28

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• Can you think of a time when you defined leadership differently than you do now? Describe it. How do you define leadership now and how is it different from your earlier view? [Note: This technique is similar to Kegan’s (1994) subject-object shift inquiry.]

• When you have a position of authority in a group, what is your role with others?

• What is your role in a group when you do not have a position of authority?

• What strategies are you using to ensure that this group and its goals will continue after you are no longer a member?

Developing Educational Programs and Outcomes Using LID Increasingly throughout higher education, leadership educators are expected to design programs based on student outcomes; these outcomes are focused on what students will know, believe, or be able to do as a result of their participation in designated college experiences (Palomba & Banta, 1999). The LID model provides a framework to design leadership development opportunities with clear and definable learning outcomes. For example, the International Leadership Association (ILA) is considering guidelines for quality curricular programs. In 2006, the ILA convened a learning lab focused on identifying the questions essential to the development of leadership education programs at post-secondary institutions (Ritch, 2008). The LID model was adopted by the learning lab to scaffold the guidelines for teaching and learning so that guidelines addressed students’ needs and concerns at different levels of leadership identity development. The ILA Guidelines address the roles and responsibilities of both instructors and learners across LID stages as well as suggest appropriate teaching methodologies, learning projects, and learning outcomes at each relevant stage of leadership identity development. We look forward to following how this project will develop.

This section explores possible applications of LID in program design and in curricular design as well as key connections of LID to the development of leadership self-efficacy. The section concludes by focusing on the key role of group experiences in the LID process.

Using LID to Promote Leadership Self-Efficacy Grounded in the work of social learning theory, the LID model frames development as a student’s capacity to increase his or her self-efficacy within the specific domain of relational leadership (Bandura, 1997; Komives, et al., 2005).

Efficacy is defined as the “belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1997, p. 3)

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and with regard to leadership can be viewed as “a student’s beliefs about his or her abilities to exercise their leadership knowledge and skills in a given situation” (Denzine, 1999, p. 3). Application of this social learning construct is a helpful framework for the delivery of leadership programs. Focusing on self-efficacy enhances the leadership development outcomes of educational interventions (Hannah, Avolio, Luthans, & Harms, 2008; Hoyt, 2002; McCormick, Tanguma, & López-Forment, 2002; McCormick, 2001; Chemers, Watson, & May, 2000).

Indeed, findings from MSL support that leadership self-efficacy contributes significantly to one’s leadership in the social change model beyond various college experiences and pre-college factors (Dugan & Komives, 2009).

Building on the foundation that self-efficacy is a key variable influencing leader development (McCormick, 2001), educators can use Bandura’s (1997) four developmental sources of efficacy in the design and delivery of leadership development programs. The four sources are: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states.

Throughout the LID research participants’ journeys, these four sources of efficacy development emerged time and time again as the modes of transportation that guided them from one LID stage to the next. Descriptions and sample applications of these sources as a method to deliver leadership identity development programs are presented in Table 1. (See also Pearlmutter, 1999).

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Table 1: Opportunities for Developing Leadership Self-Efficacy Antecedents in SelfEfficacy for Leadership Mastery Experiences Involvements that provide students’ indicators of ability

Vicarious Experience Observations that allow students to compare self with others

Provide opportunities for students to: • develop skills associated with each stage; • provide recognition of responsibilities through formal roles, job descriptions, portfolio projects, and increased involvement; • practice through peer development, mentoring, and student assistant roles; and • teach the language of leadership to identify stages and behaviors.

• observe role models and peers create change on campus; • hear from local, national, global speakers; • learn from case studies; • watch stories of leadership on YouTube, videos, film, and TV; and • identify with advisors through advisors’ own leadership development stories.

Verbal Persuasion Supports and other social influences impact students

• gather developing leaders together to learn from each other; • connect with an individual mentor • develop formal and informal relationships across organizational involvement; • engage and react to faculty, staff, community guests at organizational meetings; and • use social networking sites to reinforce leadership dialogue and conversation.

Physiological and Affective States Emotional cues shape students’ judgment about their capability to lead

• reflect on their leadership experiences and future journey; • retreat from the stress of their multitasking, plugged-in, over-committed schedules to take stock of fears, hopes, goals, lessons learned; • connect to their spiritual source of strength; and • wrestle with the big questions and purpose of their leadership journey.

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One co-curricular example applying the LID model on campus is the Florida State University’s I-LEAD plan. An individual leadership development plan, the ILEAD plan is a three-hour workshop designed to (a) introduce the LID model to students, (b) walk them through a self-assessment of their leadership journey, (c) reflect upon their placement in the model, and (d) identify what experiences and lessons they need to transition between LID stages. The workshop begins with a brief introduction to the LID model. Following this overview, students respond to a set of life narrative questions. Once completed, students complete a selfassessment of their written responses to explore their current LID stage and the most salient developmental sources of efficacy that relate to their development.

Students then work in pairs to share and gather feedback on their leadership journey and identification of transformative experiences. Based on these conversations, students walk through a planning process to create an individualized leadership development plan to transition to the next LID stage. At the conclusion of the workshop students have created their own personalized LID chart in addition to a visual model of how their leadership journey will continue into the next LID stage. The workshop is congruent with Denzine’s (1999) comment that “students should be active participants in measuring and regulating their own efficacy beliefs” (p. 5).

Using LID in Program Design As teachers, advisors, programmers, and facilitators, leadership educators can effectively use the LID model as an instructional guide for the design and delivery of co-curricular programs and helps focus curricular course design. The grounding philosophy of the LID model may provide a pedagogical framework to design and deliver leadership programs in the leadership curriculum. The six developmental stages of LID’s key category (developing a leadership identity) form the building blocks of an outcomes-based leadership program. Whether designed as short, moderate, or long term co-curricular programs, LID provides an architectural structure from which to build students’ leadership capacity.

Using LID as a program design guide, each stage encompasses a set of leadership learning outcomes and a student’s transition from one stage to the next is an indicator of his or her leadership identity development. As a sequential stagebased model, it is critical to design programs in alignment with the leadership identity development process. Referencing Sanford’s (1967) classic “plus-one” educational theory, students did not jump randomly through the LID model, neither therefore should leadership programs. It is critical also to remember that students in the same organization may identify with different stages in the model.

This lesson rang true for one of the authors who recognized she over programmed for students who identify in Stage Five while completely ignoring her students’ with leadership developmental needs in Stage Three. LID research indicates, for

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example, that students must first understand and practice the skills of a hierarchical structure in order to recognize the interdependent relationships within that structure supporting their transition to viewing leadership as non-hierarchical and process. Focused research is needed to further understand these connections yet research (see Wiekiewicz, 2000) indicates that hierarchical thinking precedes systemic perspectives. Programmers intent on developing a more complex understanding of leadership within students may be well advised to first help students develop a relatively simple one. A holistic leadership development program may seek to move all students and groups of students in student organizations from their current understanding and practice of leadership to more complex, integrated understanding and practice.

The five related categories (developmental components, individual factors, group factors, view of self, and view of leadership) that support LID also serve to guide important learning and program outcomes. Specifically, as program outcomes they may serve as an internal assessment of advisory roles and teaching strategies, organizational structures, and environmental messages. Knowledge of the related categories and their associated dimensions allows advisors to design advising strategies or classroom instructors to respond to journal reflections that recognize developmental cues. An understanding of the five related categories leads to questions such as: • How do we encourage students to commit to one organization instead of hop from one to another? Increasing the depth and complexity of a student’s organizational relationships and knowledge assisted in students’ transition from Stage Three to Stage Four (Komives, et al., 2005).

• How are older students pulled further into the mentoring and advising of younger students? The influence of older peers gained significance as students moved through the model, pointing to the critical role they can serve in leadership training and development programs and affirming that they are learning leadership themselves by being peer mentors (Komives, et al., 2006).

• What is our commitment as advisors to challenge and support students through the developmental crisis that leads to the key transition from Stage Three to Four? An effective educational response to a student’s crisis of positional leadership has the ability to facilitate that student’s grasp of the more complex leadership identity needed to solve his or her current complex organizational challenges (Komives, et al., 2006).

• How are the concepts of power, vision, values, and leadership discussed and applied in the office environment or in a classroom setting? Solely equating position with leadership, and reinforcing and recognizing only the extroverted students, awards programs that highlight one type of leader, and may teach and promote a simplistic view of leadership.

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Using the leadership identity development model as a framework allows leadership educators to build holistic programs and curricular models designed to explore student development along the stages of the LID model.

Using LID in Curricular Applications LID can be a valuable tool for making the leadership curricular design process more intentional. Determining exactly what should be included in a single leadership course or a sequence of courses can be a daunting task. First, it is important to recognize the difference between a leadership studies course and a leadership skills course, both of which can play a role in leadership identity development. If a course is primarily designed around teaching leadership skills it may be very useful to those, for example, in the emerging phase of Stage Three when they need to learn and practice foundational skills. However, this can appear to be a leader-centric approach to teaching leadership and may not be productive in helping students in LID Stage Three move to the more interdependent stages of their leadership identity development. We repeat again that one of the challenges of using any developmental stage model, particularly in a classroom setting, is that not all of the students in the course will be at the same developmental level.

Although we believe, based on our experience, that college students tend to come to college in Stage Three (Leader Identified) (Komives et al., 2006), it is important for leadership educators to recognize that the students in their course will most likely be in different LID stages. Therefore, instructors need to incorporate pedagogical strategies that will meet the needs of students at various stages of their leadership identity development.

This section includes several suggestions for leadership course instructors to be purposeful in their facilitation of student’s growth in their leadership identity development. We strongly suggest leadership educators begin an introductory leadership course with the “Background Knowledge Probe” (Angelo & Cross, 1993) described earlier in which students share their current definition of leadership on an index card. In addition, have students share the messages they have received about leadership and then report out to the entire class. These two activities allow the instructor to informally assess the students’ leadership identity development stages and to start a dialogue on what leadership is. At the end of the course the instructor might hand back the index cards and have students write their current definition of leadership again. As a final exam essay, have the students reflect on how their thoughts about leadership have changed since the beginning of the course, including the specific theories, concepts, and experiences that influenced this change. Considering that learning the language of leadership for Stage Three students was found in the LID study to help facilitate their growth into the transition of Stage Four (Komives et al., 2005), it would be important in a foundational course to include the two major leadership paradigms (Rost, 1991), where the difference between leader and leadership, the important role of 34

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followers, and the purpose of leadership is emphasized. Providing an overview of leadership theories and models consistent with both the leader-centric view and the relational or process-oriented view of leadership and having students compare and contrasts these various theories and models will also bring attention to a new way of thinking about leadership and who is responsible for leadership. Showing video clips that highlight these particular theories will help bring the leadership theories and perspectives to life and allow students to see the possible problems with leader-centric approaches as well as seeing the strengths of such leadership theories as transformational and servant leadership.

Our LID research revealed that students in Stage Three had never thought about the difference between leader and leadership and usually began their leadership definition as “someone who.” In order to get students to reflect on the important role of followers and to have them realize that other individuals besides the positional leaders can do leadership, students in Stage Three would benefit from discussing the difference between an effective follower and a passive follower/non-participant (Kelley, 1992). There are negative views associated with followers, especially when students have received messages such as “Be a leader, not a follower.” Incorporating Rost’s (1991) chapter on the role of followers in the leadership process as well as Kelley’s (1992) five types of followers can challenge the misconceptions many students have about followers and their role in leadership. An in-class activity for getting students to see that the expectations for effective leaders and effective followers are quite similar is to have half of the students brainstorm on the qualities that they look for in an effective leader, while the other half of students brainstorm a list of qualities that they would want from their ideal followers if they were a positional leader. Have them discuss the differences, but also the similarities. To further address the idea of being a leader without having a position or title, through a journal assignment have students share at least one time where they were not in a position but felt that they were essential in contributing to the group’s completion of their desired goals. These activities that broaden students’ view of leadership can be a cognitive bridge (Kegan, 1994) to Stage Four and a shift in identity as a leader.

Situating learning in the student’s personal context and experience is a basic tenant of effective learning (Baxter Magolda, 2001). Another way for students to relate to course content is for instructors to use discussion questions and journal assignments that require students to relate the various leadership theories and concepts to the students’ out-of-class group involvements (such as their family, jobs, student organizations, sports teams, class projects, volunteer work). Such reflective opportunities proved to be a central component to developing a leadership identity (Komives, et al., 2005). Students in LID Stage Four, for example, might observe a group and write a paper on what they observed with specific suggestions for how the group can become more effective. Students in an upper-level organizational leadership course, who may be transitioning into LID 35

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Stage Five, may benefit from an appropriate assignment to design and facilitate a strategic planning session for a student organization in which they are currently members. Our LID participants described how teaching peers about leadership and practicing facilitation was beneficial for their own development as leaders.

The LID participants experience lead us to recommend that students in a senior leadership capstone course and upper-class students in organizations would benefit from opportunities to co-facilitate a leadership or team building workshop with a seasoned leadership instructor. Mentoring was an important process throughout the LID experience and the co-facilitator could also fill the role as a coach and mentor to the Stage Five students.

Using LID to Address the Challenges of Group Work Participants in our LID study shared that group projects in courses had a great impact on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thoughts about leadership, typically negative (Komives et al., 2005). Students come to leadership organizations, programs, and courses with various views about working in groups. Leadership educators can quickly find out some of these views by asking students to choose whether they prefer to work alone or to work in a group. Educators should allow the students to share their reasons behind their choices in order to informally indicate which LID stages the students are bringing to the group. One problem with many group projects in courses is that the instructors may be assuming that the students know how to work in group settings and that all students are fully committed to the project.

Similar phenomena occur in task groups in student organizations. If the groups consist of mainly students in LID Stage Three or earlier stages, the group members may assume that there needs to be one student in charge, while the other individuals are the passive followers; therefore, leading to a frustrating experience for the leader, the followers, or both. Class groups are often assigned as a leaderless group activity (no one is appointed chair, leader, or facilitator). Until the Stage Three student sees the benefits of group work through having a successful shared leadership experience, they will continue to blame the concept of group work as the reason the experience was bad. Leadership educators need to highlight the difference between a dysfunctional working group and an effective, productive group as well as provide guidelines for creating and maintaining effective groups. For students with Stage Four thinking about the importance of group, but who lack the knowledge or skills of how to assist groups to be effective and productive (Hickman & Meixner, 2008), video clips from movies that address the process involved in developing an effective team such as Remember the Titans, Hoosiers, Drumline may be useful.

Instructors or advisors who facilitate a process of establishing group norms including how leadership will be shared in the early stage of group formation may find they are both teaching leadership and enabling more focused task outcomes (Johnson & Johnson, 2008). In the first or second-class session or committee 36

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meeting, for example, instructors or advisors could have students brainstorm and build consensus on a set of class or group norms and expectations and discuss how students will be held accountable to these expectations. This is a good way to convey at the beginning of a group experience that every group member plays an essential role in the success of the group. In order for students to put to practice what they are learning in a course and to experience group leadership in a safe and educational environment, we suggest that instructors consider assigning groups at the beginning of a course that will be used throughout the semester. To be intentional in teaching how to be an effective group, provide specific guidelines for the groups, require students to rotate roles, encourage students to give constructive feedback to one another, and have students reflect on their group experience. If time and money allow, we strongly suggest that classes and student organizations incorporate a weekend leadership retreat that focuses mainly on team building and putting to practice the relational leadership model.

All leadership courses and other educational experiences should integrate opportunities for self-awareness and personal assessment that were critical to the development in each of the LID stages. Strategies for self-awareness in a foundational leadership course can include pairing up students in the class and having them interview one another on such topics as values, strengths, talents, interests, personality, passions, careers, and relationships with others. We encourage formal assessments such as the MBTI, SLPI, and Strengthsfinder 2.0.

Feedback from peers, supervisors, teachers, and co-workers should also be included to allow students to hear how others perceive them. For courses that incorporate group dynamics and team building, watching a videotape of their involvement in group discussions and activities can be extremely informative for students. Exit interviews are an excellent tool for students to be able to articulate their current philosophy of leadership, how they plan to incorporate this philosophy into their future plans, and steps they plan to take to continue learning and growing as an individual and as a leader.

Recommendations for Meeting the Challenge of Implementing LID The usefulness of the LID theory is in improving leadership education and practice. Theory can be used to describe student behavior, explain it, or predict it, but what we really want to do is influence student development (McEwen, 2003).

These 10 recommendations are possible applications of LID to leadership education practice drawn from the LID research in addition to related student development theory or research. Readers are reminded that the grounded theory methodology utilized in the LID study seeks to heighten an understanding of this identity development process that may be transferable to the readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s context; it is not meant to be generalizable, but it may be applicable and may lead to further studies that do seek to explore these observations further.

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Know your personal LID path. Leadership educators should reflect on their own leadership identity journey. How does it fall within the model?

Does the model transfer to illuminate your own experience? What transitions and interventions were significant in your learning? Through reflection how might you understand, recognize, and empathize with students struggling through the developmental challenges of LID? Ask students to reflect. Reflection is widely regarded by those using experiential learning pedagogies as an essential step in making meaning of experience (see Kolb, 1983). Processing events in a student organization, debriefing an experience, or pausing to think about the dynamics in the classroom all enhance learning.

Teach group process. Students need to learn functional group skills to help them approach groups as interdependent participants (Johnson & Johnson, 2008). Understanding group process from how groups form to dynamics within groups may facilitate further differentiation of relational leadership as a group process (Komives, et al., 2007) Teach the language of leadership. Students told us that when they could put words to what they were discovering (e.g., interdependence, collaboration, process), it helped them redefine their understanding of what leadership is (Komives, et al., 2005).

Encourage students to stay committed to a group over time. Sustained group commitment allowed students to observe and resolve group conflicts to begin to develop concerns about generativity and sustainability. We learned that students had to stay in a group to reach differentiation, the crisis of Stage Three, so crucial to the struggle for integration that is the key indicator of growth (Komives, et al., 2005).

Help students connect their LID stage and the dynamics of their organizations. Those graduating students who may be in LID Stages Four, Five, or Six may demonstrate a value of interdependence and may view leadership as positional, non-positional, and as a process. They may need to be prepared to enter work environments that may practice Stage Three hierarchical practices where they may become stifled and frustrated. They may also need affirmation that they indeed can engage in leadership in any organizational setting now that they have a more complex leader identity (in Table 2 we called this dealing with “contextual uncertainty”).

Use mentors. College student leadership efficacy is supported by the use of peer mentors and professional mentors (Jabaji, Slife, Komives, & Dugan, 2008). Mentors teach through Sanford’s (1967) classic concept of challenge and support and may serve as anchors for students moving through stages of consciousness and transitions between LID stages (Kegan, 1994). They may become good companions on the developmental journey (Baxter Magolda, 2001) and serve as threshold people opening up new avenues for growth (Daloz, Keen, Keen, & Parks 1998).

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View the role of educator as a coach. Co-curricular leadership educators need to expand upon their intentional teaching or facilitation roles. As coaches, educators can provide feedback, enhance opportunities for practice, and create simulations for students to examine their beliefs and ways of thinking (Van Velsor & Drath, 2004).

Establish partnerships among leadership educators (student affairs and faculty). Building upon the work of Learning Reconsidered I and II (NASPA/ACPA, 2004), educators must create partnerships across campus to design holistic leadership outcomes that recognize and integrate LID development opportunities across curricular and co-curricular campusbased experiences.

Establish a K-20 development model. LID research has implications for a life-narrative approach to leadership development. Students bring their pre-college leadership perspectives, experiences, and identities with them to college. Partnering with K-12 educators to enhance a more comprehensive leadership education model would provide continuity for more students. The importance of this partnership is evident in the recent MSL findings that identify the significance of pre-collegiate impact on collegiate leadership outcomes (Dugan & Komives, 2007).

Conclusion This presentation of the LID grounded theory and related model has attempted to provide a useful framework to guide the journey that leadership educators take with their students. To explore the complexity of the LID findings, we integrated LID with other developmental theories and accepted the challenge to apply LID to curricular, program, group design, and assessment practices. With this knowledge, leadership educators may better meet the needs of their students and the organizations and communities those students lead. In the evolving field of leadership education, theoretical frames on leadership identity development such as LID need to be operationalized to determine the validity of the theory. Further research such as that underway in the Multi-institutional Study of Leadership (see www.nclp.umd.edu or www.leadershipstudy.net), the longitudinal Fullerton project study (www.claremontmckenna.edu/kli/research/fls.php), and other developmental studies (see Murphy & Reichard, in press) hold promise for advancing informed, intentional leadership educational practices for students.

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Seidman, I. E. (1991). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Shamir, B., & Eilam, G. (2005). What's your story? A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development, The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 395-417.

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Upcraft, M. L., & Schuh, J. H. (1996). Assessment in student affairs: A guide for practitioners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. van Knippenberg, B., van Kippenberg, D., De Cremer, D., & Hogg, M. A. (2005).

Research in leadership, self, and identity: A sample of the present and a glimpse of the future. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 495-499.

Van Velsor, E., & Drath, W. H. (2004). A lifelong developmental perspective on leader development. In C. D. McCauley & E. V. Velsor (Eds.). The Center for Creative Leadership handbook of leadership development (pp. 383414). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Weber, L. (2001). Understanding race, class, gender, and sexuality: A conceptual framework. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wiekiewicz, R. M. (2000). The Leadership Attitudes Beliefs Scale: An instrument for evaluating college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thinking about leadership and organizations. Journal of College Student Leadership, 41, 337-349.

Zimmerman-Oster, K. (2000). How can I tell if it's working? Ten strategies for evaluating leadership development programs in higher education.

Concepts and Connections, 9(1), 9-11.

47

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community

“although psychological writing has been androcentric, it has also been gender blind and it has assumed a male perspective but has not really explored what it means to be a man any more than what it means to be a woman.”

- Richard Meth, Robert Pasick, Barry Gordon, and Jo Ann Allen, Men in Theray: The Challenge of Change “Nobody is born in the Act Like A Man Box. It takes years and years of enforcement, namecalling, fights, threats, abuse, and fear to turn us into men who live in this box By

AFA Annual Meeting November/December 2006 New Orleans, Louisiana

Zachary D. Nicolazzo Community Director/CFS Advisor Office of Residential Education Dartmouth College 5 Rope Ferry Rd., HB#6112 Hanover, NH 03755 zdn@dartmouth.edu (603) 646.8550

Megan P. Johnson Assistant Director Coed, Fraternity, Sorority, Undergraduate, and Senior Society Administration Dartmouth College 5 Rope Ferry Rd., HB#6112, Room 310 Hanover, NH 03755 megan.p.johnson@dartmouth.edu (603) 646.2766

“The Still North” comic published in The Dartmouth, November 6, 2006

Presentation Outline I.

Introduction and Overview

II.

Framing Question: What challenges have you experienced when working with fraternity men?

III. Foundational Knowledge and Theoretical Framework IV. Hegemonic Masculinity: How is this Learned and What is the Impact?

V.

Next Steps: What Do We Do Given What We Know?

VI. Questions and Open Discussion

Learning Objectives Participants will…

• Gain a common understanding regarding how men are socialized to behave within the rigid confines of hegemonic masculinity.

• Gain a foundation for the ensuing discussion on both scholarly research and student development theory.

• Gain a framework for understanding the rationale and need for addressing such behavior within the fraternal movement.

• Be able to recognize and be able to address both explicit and tacit forms of hegemonic masculinity within their fraternity communities.

• Engage participants in coming up with proactive measures to be able to recognize, address, and provide healthy alternatives to attitudes and behaviors such as: • Male perpetrated violence (i.e. hazing, sexual assault, and verbal abuse).

• Oppressive views regarding women’s role in society.

• The objectification of women.

• Homophobia.

• The inability to express emotion and the value placed on stoicism.

• Difficulty in establishing positive and deep friendships with other men.

• The discomfort men may feel due to the unacceptability of showing weakness as a man.

Definitions Hegemonic Masculinity: The thought that only one definition of masculinity, which includes the traits of being dominant, stoic, powerful, successful, heterosexual, in control, and competitive, exists and is the correct lens through which to view all men.

Socialization: A philosophical stance which assumes that an individual’s identity is influenced by the cultural, political, and historical contexts of the environment in which they exist. It is also noteworthy to mention that such contexts can change, which means that one’s identity is fluid, rather than being static.

Social Identity: Socially constructed messages and stereotypes associated with each identity dimension, which are culturally transmitted.

Agent Identity: Identity dimensions related to dominant social groups; privilege (birth/acquisition).

Target Identity: Identity dimensions related to underrepresented/disenfranchised social groups; subject to oppression.

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community Zachary Nicolazzo and Megan Johnson, Association of Fraternity Advisors, Nov./Dec. 2006

Foundational Knowledge and Theoretical Framework 1. Multiple Dimensions of Identity Model (Jones and McEwen, 2000) Context Family background Sociocultural conditions Current experiences Career development

Culture Sexual Orientation

Core

Sex

Class

Personal attributes Personal characteristics Personal identity

Religion Race

2. Patterns of Male Gender Role Conflict and Strain (Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neil, 1981, 1986) Restricted Emotionality

Homophobia, Restricted affectionate behavior

Fear of Femininity

Socialized control and competition

Success/Power Orientation

Restrictive emotionality: Men who have learned restrictive emotionality will need to understand that emotional expressiveness is not a part of some feminine stereotype, but part of being a full human being.

Socialized control, power, and competition: The man who validates his masculinity through power and control makes himself vulnerable in many ways. The tragedy of the controlling man is that he forfeits interpersonal and emotional flexibility, which are essential for open communication, conflict management, and intimacy: all of which help sustain and revitalize interpersonal relationships.

Restrictive sexual and affectionate behavior: for men, sex is often seen as a means of measuring performance, achievement, and oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s masculinity. Men who demonstrate restrictive interpersonal affection view sex as an objective-impersonal process and have a difficult time expressing affection in ways other than sex.

Obsession with achievement, work, and success: Preoccupation with work, accomplishments, and eminence can cause conflicts between career and domestic responsibilities. Men who define their self-worth primarily as career success experience intense pressure to succeed. Furthermore, it is often not enough to succeed once; men feel they must keep on succeeding.

3. Promoting Social Justice Among College Men (Davis and Nicolazzo, 2006) Dynamic interplay between personal experiences, meaning making ability, and the male gender role: For men in the study, there was a correlation between the frequency of past experiences and the ability to make meaning of such experiences to the understanding of there being more than one set way to act as a man.

One-on-one v. group interaction: Men display differing types of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors when they are in different settings. Men tend to open up more in an intimate personal setting, whereas they are more prone to putting up a front in a group setting; thus bringing to light the power of social capital and the socialization process.

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community Zachary Nicolazzo and Megan Johnson, Association of Fraternity Advisors, Nov./Dec. 2006

Hegemonic Masculinity Question: If hegemonic masculinity portrays a restrictive and unrealistic view of who men should be, and if this view is predicated on the philosophical underpinning of socialization, then in what ways are men taught that there is something to gain from staying within the rigid boundaries established by such a view?

Exercise: In a small group, come up with examples by which men learn what attitudes and behaviors will be rewarded/admonished for each category below.

Media

Personal Interactions

Tacit/Unchallenged Messages

Next, make a list of attitudes and behaviors through which these lessons manifest themselves.

Attitudes (i.e., â&#x20AC;&#x153;men should be toughâ&#x20AC;?):

Behaviors (i.e., physical violence):

How do I encourage this behavior (both explicitly and implicitly)?

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community Zachary Nicolazzo and Megan Johnson, Association of Fraternity Advisors, Nov./Dec. 2006

Next Steps: What Do We Do Given What We Know?

Within all of our roles, we have the chance to use the information we gain to inform our work with three distinct levels of impact: the individual level, the group/organizational level, and the community level. In addition, we all interact with a wide variety of constituency groups, ranging from: alumni/ae, student leaders, current members, advisors, field consultants, I/HQs, prospective members, law enforcement, colleagues, and peers to name a few.

Based on the information shared in this session, the question turns from what new knowledge can we gain to: what do we do given what we know regarding men, the socialization process, and the effects of hegemonic masculinity?

Below are some best practices for our work with men in challenging the hegemonic masculine standard: • Confront the behaviors and the underlying beliefs from which the behaviors emanate.

•

Find the balance between “bad dogging” and embracing a “boys will be boys” mentality (Laker, 2003).

•

Make sure to address these issues in a manner that is congruent with our personal beliefs and values.

•

Be proactive – take advantage of opportunities to discuss these issues before they become a problem.

•

Understand and implement cross cultural communication styles that work for a broad range of identities.

•

Be aware of your timing and surrounding environment.

•

Challenge groupthink, but do not publicly shame men.

•

Create ways in which men feel their voices are heard and valued – this does not mean you must agree with what is being said.

References and Resources * References Faludi, S. (1999). Stiffed: The betrayal of the American man. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A Conceptual Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41 (4), 405-414.

Kivel, P. (1992). Men’s work: How to stop the violence that tears our lives apart. Center City, MN: Hazelden.

Laker, J. Bad Dogs: Rethinking Our Engagement of Male Students. In P. Brown (ed.), Men: On Campus Series.

Washington: American College Personnel Association Standing Committee for Men, 2003.

O’Neil, J. M. (1981). Patterns of Gender Role Conflict and Strain: Sexism and Fear of Femininity in Men’s Lives. The Personnel and Gudiance Journal, 60, 203-210.

O’Neil, J. M., Helms, B. J., Gable, R. K., David, L., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1986). Gender role conflict scale: College men’s fear of femininity. Sex Roles, 14, 335-350.

Resources Ashton-Jones, E., Olson, G. A., & Perry, M. G. (2000). The gender reader. (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Bly, R. (2004). Iron john: A book about men. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community Zachary Nicolazzo and Megan Johnson, Association of Fraternity Advisors, Nov./Dec. 2006

Davis, T. & Wagner, R. (2005). Increasing men’s development of social justice attitudes and actions. In Reason, R., Broido, E., Davis, T., & Evans, N. J. (eds). New Directions in Student Services: Increasing Students’ Development of Social Justice Attitudes and Actions.

Kellom, G. (2004). New Directions in Student Services: Developing Effective Programs and Services for College Men. Kimmel, M. & Messner, M. (2004). Men’s lives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Monro, S. (2005). Gender politics: Citizenship, activism, and sexual diversity. London: Pluto Press.

Pollack, W. (1999). Real boys: Rescuing our sons from the myths of boyhood. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Nicolazzo, Z. D. (February 2006). Men Behaving Badly: Making Connections Between Moral Development and Fraternity Men. Association of Fraternity Advisors Essentials.

Katz, J. (2006). The macho paradox: Why some men hurt women and how all men can help. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Inc.

*

A special thanks to Dr. Tracy L. Davis from Western Illinois University, from whom the layout and some of the content for this handout came based on a presentation at the 2006 ACPA National Convention with Zachary Nicolazzo titled Promoting Social Justice Attitudes in College Men: A Preliminary Investigation.

Boys Will Be Boys: Negative Implications of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Fraternal Community Zachary Nicolazzo and Megan Johnson, Association of Fraternity Advisors, Nov./Dec. 2006

Coverage of 'School Shootings' Avoids the Central Issue

by Jackson Katz Published on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 by CommonDreams.org In the many hours devoted to analyzing the recent school shootings, once again we see that as a society we seem constitutionally unable, or unwilling, to acknowledge a simple but disturbing fact: these shootings are an extreme manifestation of one of contemporary American society's biggest problems -- the ongoing crisis of men's violence against women.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so let's take a good hard look at these latest horrific cases of violence on the domestic front. On September 27, a heavily armed 53-year-old man walked into a Colorado high school classroom, forced male students to leave, and took a group of girls hostage. He then proceeded to terrorize the girls for several hours, killing one and allegedly sexually assaulting some or all of the others before killing himself.

Less than a week later, a heavily armed 32-year-old man walked into an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and ordered about 15 boys to leave the room, along with a pregnant woman and three women with infants. He forced the remaining girls, aged 6 to 13, to line up against a blackboard, where he tied their feet together. He then methodically executed five of the girls with shots to the head and critically wounded several others before taking his own life.

Just after the Amish schoolhouse massacre, Pennsylvania Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said in an emotional press conference, "It seems as though (the perpetrator) wanted to attack young, female victims."

How did mainstream media cover these unspeakable acts of gender violence? The New York Times ran an editorial that identified the "most important" cause as the easy access to guns in our society. NPR did a show which focused on problems in rural America. Forensic psychologists and criminal profilers filled the airwaves with talk about how difficult it is to predict when a "person" will snap. And countless exasperated commentators -- from fundamentalist preachers to secular social critics -- abandoned any pretense toward logic and reason in their rush to weigh in with metaphysical musings on the incomprehensibility of "evil."

Incredibly, few if any prominent voices in the broadcast or print media have called the incidents what they are: hate crimes perpetrated by angry white men against defenseless young girls, who â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whatever the twisted motives of the shooters -- were targeted for sexual assault and murder precisely because they are girls.

What is it going to take for our society to deal honestly with the extent and depth of this problem? How many more young girls have to die before decision-makers in media and other influential institutions stop averting their eyes from the lethal mix of deep misogyny and violent masculinity at work here? In response to the recent spate of shootings, the White House announced plans to bring together experts in education and law enforcement. The goal was to discuss "the nature of the problem" and federal action that can assist communities with violence prevention. This approach is misdirected. Instead of convening a group of experts on "school safety," the president should catalyze a long-overdue national conversation about sexism, masculinity, and men's violence against women.

For us to have any hope of truly preventing not only extreme acts of gender violence, but also the incidents of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence that are a daily part of millions of women's and girls' lives, we need to have this conversation. And we need many more men to participate. Men from every level of society need to recognize that violence against women is a men's issue.

A similar incident to the Amish schoolhouse massacre took place in Canada in 1989. A heavily armed 25-year-old man walked into a classroom at the University of Montreal. He forced the men out of the classroom at gunpoint, and then opened fire on the women. He killed fourteen women and injured many more, before committing suicide.

In response to this atrocity, in 1991 a number of Canadian men created the White Ribbon Campaign. The idea was for men to wear a white ribbon as a way of making a visible and public pledge "never to commit, condone, nor remain silent about violence against women." The White Ribbon Campaign has since become a part of Canadian culture, and it has been adapted in dozens of countries.

After the horrors in this country over the past two weeks, the challenge for American men is clear: will we respond to these recent tragedies by averting our eyes and pretending that none of this happened? Or will we at long last break our complicit silence and work together with women to turn these tragedies into a transformative cultural moment?

Jackson Katz is the author of "The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help" (Sourcebooks, 2006).

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 1999 A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FRATERNITY ADVISORS

Fraternity Darwinism Who will become extinct?

By Mike McRee, Listserv Editor

“All great truths begin as blasphemies.”

– George Bernard Shaw Writer’s note: The following comments represent my attempt to provoke, prod, challenge, cajole, and to push as many buttons as possible. So, when you feel your buttons being pushed…….don’t say I didn't warn you.

Genesis: Introduction The question is not whether man descended from the ape, but when is he going to stop descending?

In the beginning, our organizations evolved. They evolved from just a few individuals believing in certain values and principles to many individuals. As the new millennium approaches, one can reflect back on the evolution of fraternities and sororities and notice how, over time, many changes have taken place. If we look introspectively within fraternities and sororities you can see the change that has transpired: shortened new member/pledge programs, the elimination of kegs, minimum standards/standards of excellence, shift from new member education to membership education, and substancefree housing. Some of these changes took weeks, months, and in many cases, years-others happened relatively quickly. This change, or evolution, allowed the best ideas to prevail; ideas that many at the time did not believe would happen. Evolution of our organizations is inevitable and predictable. When you apply Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to fraternities and sororities, you find some very interesting parallels to the process of change within these organizations. This begs the question: Why are we not allowing our fraternities and sororities to evolve?

From Darwin we learn: Perspectives

6

– Be cautious in saying that any organism, or any whole structure, could not have arrived at its present state by many graduated steps.

– If we look at long enough intervals of time, geology plainly declares that species have all changed; and they have changed in the manner required by the theory, for they have changed slowly and in a graduated manner.

– There is good reason to believe that slight changes in the conditions of life give vigor and fertility to all organic beings.

– Natural selection has been the main, but not the exclusive means of modification.

– What limit can be put to this power, acting during long ages and rigidly scrutinizing the whole constitution, structure, and habits of each creature-favoring the good and rejecting the bad?

The State of the System “Never be afraid to stand with the minority, when the minority is right, for the minority that is right, will some day be the majority.”

– William Jennings Bryan How often do you get a unanimous vote…for anything? Why do we insist that we must have “buy in” from a majority for change to occur? When will we learn that waiting for a unanimous vote for “real change” will never happen? Unilateral change and fraternities/sororities only mix unless forced or mandated. Too many campuses are sitting and waiting (like the fraternity headquarters they criticize) and allowing opportunities to pass them by. Why not establish an incentive or support program for chapters who want to, at their own pace, make good decisions and receive benefits NOW? Months and terms pass, leaders change office, and individuals willing to do the right thing become frustrated and burned out because we don’t offer them anything other than “majority” or “unanimous” as options. And we wonder why our alumni won’t get involved? We never allow individuals or groups to be reinforced for making good decisions.

Imagine if your daily priorities as a fraternity and sorority professional were subject to a majority or unanimous vote of the chapter presidents. Would you still remain motivated? Persistent?

Dedicated? We must start creating opportunities for small wins now and give students “options.” It’s “Fraternity Darwinism.” Am I the only one that gets this?

From Darwin we learn: – Species which have long been exposed to nearly uniform conditions, when they are subjected under confinement to new and greatly changed conditions, either perish, or if they survive, are rendered sterile, though retaining perfect health.

– Variability is not actually caused by man; he only unintentionally exposes organic beings to new conditions of life, and then nature acts on the organization and causes it to vary. But man can and does select the variations given to him by nature, and thus accumulates them in any desired manner.

– Of the species which do change, only a few within the same country change at

the same time; and all modifications are slowly effected.

– There will be a constant tendency in natural selection to preserve the most divergent offspring of any one species.

Neanderthal man meets women “He simply wants the transaction to take place. She’s interested in creating a relationship!”

– Faith Popcorn, author, Clicking The fraternity social function formula: Alcohol + music + theme, Second party: Alcohol + music + theme (Ooh…Toga), Third party: Alcohol + music + theme (Ooh…Barndance). Who in women’s fraternal organizations is teaching women how to walk out of an unsafe or illegal social function-not put up with fraternities not following policy? The police?

Ladies, tell me we have some leadership planned sometime in the near future. We have modeled a way that shows that we must do things “unanimously” rather than individually. No wonder the Ohio

State Panhellenic was challenged so much from the Panhellenic hierarchy regarding recruitment-they challenged the status quo and tradition. They challenged what was safe and known. When do we break the “cycle” and stop abusing and re-abusing? (The police show up, they talk with the student conduct coordinator, or the fraternity and sorority advisor and few men come clean with the facts-women support their “spouse” while the men look you straight in the eye and say “it won't happen again.”)

Until women learn that this “social” cycle is the same as an abuse cycle…and that they impact it, significant change will continue to elude us.

From Darwin we learn: – With animals having separated sexes, there will be in most cases a struggle between the males for the possession of the females. The most vigorous males, or those, which have most successfully struggled with their conditions of life, will generally leave most progeny.

– Success will often depend on the males having special weapons, or means of defense, or charms; add a slight advantage will lead to victory.

Darwin provides tangible evidence on how stereotypical undergraduate fraternity males act. Too many fraternities, even today, define brotherhood and good male bonding as something that involves a combination of alcohol and pornographic material.

From Darwin we learn: – Under domestication we see much variability, caused, or at least excited, by changed conditions of life; but often

in so obscure a manner that we are tempted to consider the variations as spontaneous.

Students, especially males, are scared. They are scared to believe that they really can have a good time without alcohol. They are scared to act for fear of negative peer pressure. And, they are scared to death about the recent women’s resolutions in support of substance-free housing. Fraternity men are looking detox straight in the face.

Think about it-when have you as a fraternity and sorority professional been most successful? Most likely it was one-on-one or in small groups…the “minority.” It was this that allowed for the evolution of change.

The Missing Link: Identifying the Stages

National Selection: Through lack of action

Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests that first came the ape and then man. Often times I feel that fraternity men and women prove that it can go either way.

“Whatever made you successful in the past won’t in the future.”

– Lew Platt, chairman and CEO, Hewlett-Packard

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

dependency on alcohol

Learn how to identify what “type” of undergraduate fraternity male or female you come in contact with by being able to assess what stage he/she is in: STAGE 1: The Clueless Wonder: no respect for authority, Joe spit cup brother who sits in the back of the chapter meeting and says “this is BS”, Sally sorority who just doesn't understand why we have all of these “rules”.

STAGE 2: The Partier: acting before thinking, Sony Playstation/Nintendo/Sega 24hours/7 days a week, stupid neighbor tricks, “I didn’t know this was against the policy” folks, men who wear a ball cap with a suit, women who think their national policy doesn’t apply at a fraternity house.

STAGE 3: The Enabler: easily swayed by what is perceived as the majority (the loud talkers), buckles in group-think environments, the “I don’t want to hurt their feelings”, “There’s nothing I can do”, and “I can’t control my members” folks, the Dave Westol “Wha ‘sup’ group of men.”

STAGE 4: The Wanna Be: wants to do the right thing, frustrated by the errors and flaws he/she sees in his chapter, Abercrombie shirt and Old Navy khakis [Beware: some individuals easily look like Stage 4 but often they are in Stage 1 or 2].

STAGE 5: The Perfect Member: critical thinking, contributing and successful citizen. Constant learning and continued education. The “I know I don’t know it all” folks. Some of our members never reach this stage...others reach it only after graduation from college.

The above mentioned stages are easily graphed on a bell curve. Limited numbers represented in Stage 1 and 5 with our largest group being in Stage 3. Stage 3 and 4 individuals will support change and change earlier if they have proper motivation and a reason to change. Those in Stage 1 or 2 don’t respond to logic or reason.

From Darwin we learn:

Perspectives

8

– The theory of natural selection, even if we look no farther than this, seems to be in the highest degree probable.

– New species have come on the stage slowly and at successive intervals; and the amount of change is widely different in different groups.

– The extinction of species and of whole groups of species which has played so conspicuous a part in the history of the organic world almost inevitably follows from the principle of natural selection; for old forms are supplanted by new and improved forms.

Are we really going to put the eminent fate of the Greek community in the hands of the “majority”…those who think F.I.P.G. is a four-letter “f” word? In workshops I often ask this question: “How many of you believe that alcohol isn’t the number one thing that your organization is about?” “Raise your hands if you agree.” (Everyone’s hands go up) Okay…I say… “Prove it.” Prove to me by your actions that you believe what you say. Then at least half of your social functions should be alcohol-free right?

That would be actually proving it…right?

I am perplexed and dumbfounded with national organizations that do not enforce their own fraternity alcohol policy at their regional conferences, leadership schools, and conventions.

What is this? See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil? Don’t ask, don’t tell? I guess I should look to the “adults” to role model…r-r-right? Probably won’t see any fraternity staff, volunteers or board members at the bars…guess they are at the strip club instead. It’s not surprising no students (or alumni) take my personal challenge to not drink for the next few days–they can’t because they won’t. Let’s have another workshop on the importance of following the ritual…and then not do what we say we will do. Please!

From Darwin we learn: – Nature may be said to have taken pains to reveal her scheme of modification, but we are too blind to understand her meaning.

– Habit no doubt often comes into play in modifying instincts; but it certainly is not indispensable.

– A grain in the balance may determine which individuals shall live and which shall die-which variety or species shall increase in number, and which shall decrease, or finally become extinct.

– As the individuals of the same species come in all respects into the closest competition with each other, the struggle will generally be most severe between them; it will be almost equally severe between the varieties of the same

species, and next in severity between the species of the same genus.

Evolution: Helping those who want to help themselves “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.”

– From Machiavelli’s The Prince Most headquarters have this figured out. They recognize that not all of their chapters are at the same place-accept it and work with those who want to move forward. Campuses, on the other hand, often are like the ostrich with its head in the sand. Are we going to have another debate about how we are a “closed” campus to expansion? When do “we” as advisors check our ego at the door?

“Your” campus does not need to meet a certain benchmark and all groups don’t have to be at a certain place, for change to happen. In fact, that thinking is precisely why significant change has not happened on many campuses.

Radical change requires more than incremental thinking. Why shouldn’t we have different groups at different places? Remember…part of “Fraternity Darwinism” is that some organizations (organisms) die…and that’s okay. The process of natural selection takes it’s own course and the weak die off.

Headquarters doesn’t want to close their chapter for fear of never being able to come back (and win the dog and pony show with IFC/PHC). Sure we can teach a man to fish, but if he won’t show up or even cast out a line-he deserves to die.

Change doesn’t happen with a vote and change doesn’t wait for others to catch up…it’s absurd to think so.

From Darwin we learn: – Why should not variations or individual differences, which are in any way beneficial, be preserved and accumulated through natural selection, or the survival of the fittest?

– The gradual diffusion of dominant forms, with the slow modification of their descendants, causes the forms of life, after long intervals of time, to appear as if they had changed simultaneously throughout the world.

– This has been effected chiefly through the natural selection of numerous successive, slight, favorable variations;

aided in an important manner by the inherited effects of the use and disuse of parts; and in an unimportant manner, there is in relation to adaptive structures, whether past or present, by the direct action of external conditions, and by variations which seem to us in our ignorance to arise spontaneously.

– All the individuals of the same species, are descended from common parents; and therefore, in however distant and isolated parts of the world they may now be found, they must in the course of successive generations have traveled from some one point to all the others.

The Old Testament “It’s generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially. Organisms by design are not made to adapt…beyond a certain point.

Beyond that point, it's much easier to kill them off and start a new one than it is to change them.”

– Kevin Kelly, author, Out of Control Stop trying to save the dying. This isn’t a discussion about student development theory-or a discussion about right and wrong. This is about adults who make conscious decisions or choices and who continually choose to knowingly violate policy: national, university or other.

These individuals and organizations choose their own fate. Make no mistakethis applies to undergraduates and alumni.

I have been told by some "veteran" fraternity and sorority advisors that without advisors, there wouldn’t be a Greek community today...”Who puts out all the fires,” they say. I’m fully aware of the financial constraints of national organizations, but know this: there is no excuse for lack of responsiveness. Almost every Monday morning I’m in discussions with individuals and chapters who continually choose the situation they find themselves in. There is nothing that I have to do to shut a chapter down-they will do it fine all by themselves.

I remain convinced that the two biggest roadblocks to real change are: 1. The egos of our members: undergraduates, alumni/ae, fraternity and sorority professionals, headquarters and national boards 2. The complete void of an open and free market, the lack of capitalism and entrepreneurship-survival of the fittest and “Fraternity Darwinism” Neither roadblock allows for experimentation, trial and error, mistakes, and

the development of pilot programs, ideas or prototypes. Both want to stick with the status quo, resist change, and keep doing the same things…over and over.

From Darwin we learn: – New and improved varieties will inevitably supplant and exterminate the older, less improved, and intermediate varieties.

– As natural selection acts solely by accumulating slight, successive, favorable variations, it can produce no great or sudden modifications; it can act only by short and slow steps.

– As natural selection acts by competition, it adapts and improves the inhabitants of each.

Revelation: Conclusion “If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

– Mario Andretti, race-car driver The only objection to evolution is that it is too slow for this age. “We” are just as scared as the students for change-I’ll argue even more so. As you age, you only become more set in your ways-not less…regardless of their relevance. This can be a strength and a weakness. But the question remains: Why are we not allowing our fraternities and sororities to evolve? Show me where organizations are allowed to experiment, try new things, challenge the status quo and are reinforced for doing so-and I'll show you fraternal organizations that have evolve…for the better.

Unfortunately, whether we look at universities or national organizationsthe message is clear-don’t rock the boat.

What was I thinking?

From Darwin we learn: – The slightest advantage in certain individuals, at any age or during any season, over those with which they come into competition, or better adaptation in however slight a degree to the surrounding physical conditions, will, in the long run, turn the balance.

"If you are not bloodying your nose in today's warp speed…we have a name for you. Dead."

– Forbes ASAP Bibliography: Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species: Chapter XIV: Recapitulation and Conclusion

Mike McRee can be reached at mamcree@oregon.uoregon.edu