In this era of debate over the value of higher education, Saint Michael's College continues to focus on excellence in teaching and learning and on assessing how well student learning outcomes are achieved. Saint Michael’s vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Karen Talentino, is leading the assessment efforts at the college. These include a grant to support training faculty to effectively assess student learning.
Saint Michael's College President John J. Neuhauser was informed last week that the Davis Educational Foundation would award the college $214,500 over three years to support a project titled Promoting Faculty Leadership and Governance in Learning Outcomes Assessment.
‘This is the right time,’ Dr. Talentino said, ‘to improve faculty understanding and to develop faculty leadership in assessment.’ She explained that, ‘The faculty have worked several years revising our curriculum, and have developed a new Liberal Studies Curriculum for students entering the college this fall. We need to implement an assessment program to help determine the level of success of the new curriculum,’ she said.
‘The Davis grant will enable the college to develop faculty leaders in assessment, and to use their expertise in the design and implementation of the assessment program,’ Dr. Talentino said.
In the letter to Dr. Neuhauser, the Chair of the Davis Foundation said, ‘Trustees described the proposal as a clear plan built on a clear model represented by an enthusiastic and committed faculty and administrative team.’
The grant was received from the Davis Educational Foundation established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis’s retirement as chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc.
Goal is to better assess what students learn
The grant allows for training and supporting faculty leaders (Faculty Fellows) who will guide their peers in the development of assessment strategies for each area of the new SMC general education program, the Liberal Studies Curriculum. That program includes graduation requirements in writing, quantitative reasoning, scientific reasoning, experiential learning and more. Faculty Fellows will coordinate discussions with an Assessment Group, made up of faculty who teach courses for a specific LSC requirement. The Assessment Group will focus on best practices in pedagogy and student engagement, and will recommend an assessment plan for the requirement.
The application for the grant, which will be carried out under the leadership of Dr. Talentino, and Dr. Jeffry Trumbower, Dean of the College, states that: The implementation of this program is an integral step in achieving several of the goals in the SMC Strategic Plan 2015 which include: improving student learning and program quality, increasing academic challenge across the curriculum, expanding support for faculty development and integrating student learning throughout the student experience.
Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 373 Colleges, and included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Saint Michael's College. July 8, 2011