with L. Dee Fink

Faculty leaders and administrators on most campuses want their institution to continually improve and work towards better teaching and better learning. Only in this way can students who enroll here expect the best quality education available. What are some of the things that campus leaders can do, that would in fact move this agenda forward?

In this discussion Dr. Fink will lay out conceptual framework and then lead a discussion focused on four central factors that need to be examined and, when necessary, changed:

• The quality of Student Learning: What kind of learning is desired of all students? How well is that goal being achieved?
• The Educational Program: The quality of the Educational Program depends on the quality of the Curriculum and the quality of Teaching across campus. How good are these? How can the be improved?
• The People: Many groups of people create or contribute to the Educational Program: faculty, students, staff, and administrators. how well equipped are they, to create and contribute to the quality of the educational program?
• The Organizational Operation and the Campus Culture: What do institutional leaders need to do, to support high quality performance of all the groups involved? Are faculty, staff, etc., engaged in improving their performance capabilities on an on-going basis overtime?

During the discussion, participants will identify which factors are presently in good shape and which factors represent "action opportunities" that can actually improve the overall quality of teaching and learning at this institution.

Discussion Leader:

Dr. Dee Fink currently works as a national and international consultant in higher education.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1976, and then accepted an academic appointment in the departments of Geography and Education at the University of Oklahoma. He established the Instructional Development Program at Oklahoma in 1979 and served as its director until his retirement from the University in 2005.

He is a nationally recognized expert on various aspects of college teaching, and has recently published two books. One is a book on instructional design, "Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses" (Jossey-Bass, 2003). The other is co-edited with L. Michaelsen and A. Knight on "Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching" (Stylus, 2004).

He is a former president (2004-2005) of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, the major national organization for faculty development in the United States.