Vice President Blimling has invited George Kuh, the Chancellor's Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University, to visit Rutgers and give a lecture. Dr. Kuh will deliver this lecture, titled, "Student Success in College" in the Busch Campus Center on Friday, October 31 at 9:00 am. (Refreshments served at 8:30 am) (See George Kuh Announcement flyer)
Dr. Kuh is best known as the founder of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), and his work is exemplary of the scholarship of teaching and learning As stated on the NSSE web site:
This proposed data collection initiative, now known as the National Survey of Student Engagement, is designed to query undergraduates directly about their educational experiences. An extensive research literature relates particular classroom activities and specific faculty and peer practices to high-quality undergraduate student outcomes. For example, we know that level of challenge and time on task are positively related to persistence and subsequent success in college. Another conclusion of this body of research is that the degree to which students are engaged in their studies impacts directly on the quality of student learning and their overall educational experience. As such, characteristics of student engagement can serve as a proxy for quality. At least as important, calling attention to the presence or absence of such practices can highlight specific things that individual colleges can do something about and provide information that external constituencies will readily understand. If technically sound and broadly representative, a national survey focused on such practices can begin to focus current quality debates around the right questions rather than falling back upon traditional reputational answers.
