Fourteen Colleges and Universities Recognized at ACE Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON, DC – More than a dozen colleges and universities were recognized for their commitment to effective teaching and student success at the nation’s most distinguished higher education event earlier this month.

The 14 institutions earned the recognition at ACE2017, the American Council on Education’s 99th Annual Meeting, during an awards ceremony attended by nearly 2,000 of the nation’s leaders in higher education. The institutions, which have adopted ACUE as a scalable solution to train faculty in effective teaching, were introduced as the founding class of ACUE’s partners.

“These institutions have shown outstanding leadership through their work to ensure students receive what they deserve: great instruction,” says Elmira Mangum, 11th president of Florida A&M and a member of ACUE’s Board of Advisors. “We’re proud to recognize their leadership in making great teaching a key component of their student success efforts.”

The announcement marks the first anniversary of ACE and ACUE’s landmark collaboration to promote excellence in college teaching. Inaugural ACUE partners represent a diverse set of institutions, from every sector of higher education, including large public flagship universities, a state system of higher education, a community college, and a private liberal arts school among others. (The complete list is below.)

Nationwide, higher education employs over one million college educators whose responsibility is to teach. These instructional faculty rarely receive comprehensive training in the evidence-based teaching practices that promote student retention, graduation and deeper levels of learning. ACE and ACUE’s collaboration was born out of this recognition. 

Faculty at each of the 14 founding partner institutions are participating in ACUE’s online Course in Effective Teaching Practices, the first comprehensive and scalable program to train and credential instructional faculty in the essentials of college teaching. As part of the collaboration, ACE has completed an independent review of ACUE’s Course and endorsed the program and certificate awarded to faculty who complete the Course.

“Given the needs of today’s students and the transformation of the professoriate, the omission of a comprehensive instructional development program is glaring,” says Kevin Reilly, president emeritus of the University of Wisconsin System and a member of ACUE’s Board of Advisors. “Institutions can and should do more to involve their faculty in student success initiatives. ACUE provides the training and support that these faculty seek.”

On Sunday, leaders from ACUE’s inaugural class participated in a panel to discuss their partnerships and share insights about how they are implementing ACUE’s program. The panel included Miami Dade College Provost Lenore Rodicio, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Provost Jane Gates, and The University of Southern Mississippi Vice Provost Amy Chasteen Miller. 

“At an institution our size, with over 2,000 faculty, the ability to scale comprehensive training in effective teaching is critical,” Miami Dade College Provost Lenore Rodicio says. “Through ACUE, faculty are able to participate online as well as come together and share their experiences as a group and we are seeing great benefit from it as a result.”

About ACUE
ACUE was founded by leaders in higher education to ensure that all college students receive great instruction. Through a landmark collaboration with the American Council on Education, ACUE provides the only comprehensive, scalable, and high-quality program to credential faculty in the evidence-based teaching practices necessary for student success. For more information, visit acue.org.

The 14 institutions honored were
Arizona State University
California State University, Los Angeles
The City College of the City University of New York  
Colorado State University 
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system
Delta State University
Goucher College
Miami Dade College
New Jersey City University
Rutgers University — Newark
The University of Colorado Denver
The University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Southern Mississippi
West Virginia University

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