Keeping the Promise Achieving and Maintaining Quality in Undergraduate Education

Nearly all the pundits of higher education point out the need to improve the quality of undergraduate education, but how is excellence to be achieved? This book suggests many possible answers. In Keeping the Promise, a spectrum of academicians-from chancellors to faculty members-discuss specific ways to increase standards, revise curricula, enhance campus life, and improve assessment. Such notables as Alexander Astin and Lewis Mayhew, as well as several deans, program directors, and professors, offer probing insight and practical advice on how to strengthen undergraduate education. The book presents not only the 'big picture' of achieving excellence but also concrete examples of actual innovative programs operating on campuses today, including SUNY, CUNY, San Diego State, Bowling Green, Western Michigan, and many others. Topics include: the campus environment, shared governance, faculty governance, teacher education, core curricula, outcomes assessment, computer literacy, honors programs, arts programs, science and math instruction, ethics instruction, interdisciplinary studies, and program evaluation.