Making the Grade!

It is so wonderful to be back on campus and to see things returning to a semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy. It is hard to believe but beyond the incoming freshman class and rising sophomore class (who primarily took courses remotely) we also have juniors who do not know our campus very well as they were only able to experience it for part of the academic year pre-pandemic. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed spending time roaming the CASL Building and helping the students orient themselves to their surroundings. There is most definitely a buzz in the air connected to our return to campus. Fingers crossed that we will be able to continue this level of campus presence! Another buzzworthy topic of conversation in CASL is a recent piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education (the nation’s leading source of news about higher education) highlighting the work that the college is doing in the area of high impact learning practices (https://www.dropbox.com/s/2pwsplmnqirhul3/ReimaginingStudentExperience-Fischer.pdf?dl=0) These pedagogical practices (such as Practice Based Learning, Study Abroad, Writing Intensive Courses, Internships, and the like) are clearly linked to retention, student learning, and academic success and they have been front and center in all that the college has done over the last 8 years and factor prominently in its strategic planning moving forward. That CASL is succeeding in its efforts and that others are aware of this success is manifest in this wonderful piece by the Chronicle. Kudos to my faculty and staff colleagues for their hard work and initiative in this vitally important area. Our students are truly benefitting, and your efforts are being noticed both on campus and off! There is much to be proud of, and excited about, in CASL!