112 - Special Session. Open Forum on the Shifting Landscape of Higher Education: Envisioning Effective Responses at Individual, Department and Disciplinary Levels (sponsored by the ASA Task Force on Liberal Learning)

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

The higher education environment is undergoing a period of rapid change along multiple dimensions. Three specific contextual changes are examined in this workshop: the proliferation of online courses and programs; the increasing scrutiny of employment outcomes in the liberal arts; and the pressure to establish shared essential learning outcomes for undergraduate majors. Developing effective responses to this shifting landscape is vital for institutional well-being and future of the discipline. This open forum will provide an overview of these trends by members of the Liberal Learning Task Force, followed by an active discussion with participants regarding how faculty, departments, and professional associations are currently, or could in the future, address these issues. At the end of the workshop we will have generated lists of potential responses to these changes that will be transcribed and shared with forum participants, as well as help inform the work of the Liberal Learning Task Force.

Sub Unit

• Special Sessions

Session Organizer

• Margaret Weigers Vitullo, American Sociological Association

Presider

• Margaret Weigers Vitullo, American Sociological Association

Panelists

• Jeffrey Chin, Le Moyne College

• Susan J. Ferguson, Grinnell College

• Melinda Jo Messineo, Ball State University