The New REALITY Project
In September 2013, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ann Boyle initiated conversations with SIUE faculty and staff regarding the changing landscape of higher education and how these challenges may affect SIUE. These conversations were initiated after Provost Boyle and other members of the SIUE team completed the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) Leadership Summit, “Designing Learning Environments for the 21st Century.” The summit was part of AASCU’s Red Balloon Project.
SIUE’s New REALITY (Re-imagining Excellence in Academics and Learning through Innovation, Technology, and You) Project Team worked to address these challenges. Work-teams were formed to address the following work-teams:
- Expanding enrollment and reaching new student populations
- Retaining our students and improving our graduation rates
- Designing competency-based and prior learning assessments while ensuring quality
- Retooling our processes (e.g. admissions, registration, curricular reform, etc.) for speed and adaptability
- Enhancing and reinvigorating experiential learning throughout the curriculum and co-curricular activities
- Developing international programming and improving campus support for international students
- e-learning initiatives (this team will have a variety of sub-committees addressing the strategic development of online courses and programs)
- Innovating our pedagogies to support student learning and academic quality - enhancing learning in face-to-face settings
- Innovating our pedagogies to support student learning and academic quality - enhancing learning in online, hybrid, and blended formats
