AAC & U Shared Futures: Global Learning and Social Responsibility

Utah Valley University is a teaching institution where students learn, do and become. At UVU, the fusion of academic and hands-on learning is referred to as "engaged learning." Along with the institution's long-rooted commitment to serving the needs of the community, UVU's emphasis on engaged learning led to its classification as "community engaged" by the Carnegie Foundation. UVU's Grants for Engaged Learning Office oversees a $400,000 grant program in support of engaged learning projects that involve local, regional, national, and international constituencies. At UVU, students participate in internships, community service and curriculum that includes the "how" along with the "what" and "why."

Recent general education program changes at UVU include identifying essential learning outcomes (ELOs) and recertifying courses to align with these outcomes. The program adheres to state requirements while reflecting research-based best practices. Related to these changes, UVU has implemented a global/intercultural graduation requirement. Increasing diversity within the state and a demand for global competence in the work force require graduates who respect diversity and possess intercultural skills. UVU’s Carnegie designation as a community engaged institution and a student population with foreign language expertise and experience living abroad position us to excel in teaching and learning with a global emphasis.

With an established foundation of ELOs and commitment to global and engaged learning, the university’s next step is to fully transition from a GE program consisting of a list of courses to one that focuses on learning outcomes. Furthering this transition is the aim of this project. Our primary goal is to integrate the ELOs, with an emphasis on global and engaged learning, into the institutional culture. This involves both programmatic innovation and focused faculty development. Ideas for accomplishing this include:

1) establishing a freshman seminar course to introduce students to the ELOs and global/intercultural requirement,

2) assisting students in developing an outcomes-based learning plan with progress documented by an e-portfolio,

3) increasing engaged learning opportunities (e.g., service learning, undergraduate research, internships, capstone courses, learning communities) that emphasize global competencies, and

 4) developing an overlay system to identify general education and major courses with specific ELOs. These high impact practices support UVU’s mission of integrative learning and engaged pedagogies.

 The General Education Committee  consisting of 18 faculty and staff members serves as the locus of the Shared Futures project.  We have worked with various groups as we have developed our Global Learning Inventory including the Deans Council, the Associate and Assistant Deans, the AVPAA for Engagement, the Director of the International Center, the Intercultural Advisory Council, and the AVPAA for Academic Programs unit directors. Presently the GE Committee is wrestling with improving assessment plans and rubrics for assessing our ELOs which include two of particular relevance to the Shared Futures project, People of Integrity and Stewards of Place.  Members of the GE Committee are acquiring expertise in eportfolios which will be used to provide evidence of learning in both the Global/Intercultural requirement and the Essential Learning Outcomes.