Learning Resources

Abstract: If faculty senates are to maintain a place in the modern university, then they must be both effective and viewed as such by faculty, administrators, and other campus stakeholders. One way to shape faculty senate efforts is to create and exploit a clearly defined mission statement. In this article, we offer a four-step, committee-driven, technology-assisted process to develop a mission/vision statement that is anchored in the theory. The proposed process is efficient and easy to administer and can be used at other universities. We also discuss our experience with the process and offer recommendations for other university faculty senates.

Abstract: Ten recommendations outline a strategy for departments to make gradual, visible, and rewarding improvements in the learning outcomes of their degree programs. Time is a crucial factor. Change occurs slowly in universities, so the strategy needs to be persistent and cumulative.Among the levers for improvement: familiar technology used by students and faculty to save time on core disciplinary tasks, curricular change, and group work; peer support among faculty; short, accessible increments of faculty development; extensive use of assessment and evaluation to help make glacially slow change visible and subject to conscious control; and careful development of coalitions inside and outside the academy.

Abstract: Participating in the STARS sustainability tracking system can provide campuses with opportunities to do integrated analysis and planning. Campus operating decisions are often made to achieve narrow, localized optimization. More integrated analysis and planning can identify opportunities for greater financial savings and more sustainable operations by identifying impacts and interactions beyond normal planning boundaries. This article provides four specific scenarios as examples of the potential for more global optimization.

Abstract: The past decade’s growth of campus sustainability planning has created a cadre of new planners. As exemplified by Richard J. Martin’s article in this issue of Planning for Higher Education, the work of higher education planners is enhanced by the new Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). STARS is a boon for those who wish to see more comprehensive, integrated planning on college and university campuses.