Our Guiding Purpose: We are guided by the academic success of all students. Ultimately, the measures of our success are improvements in students’ persistence, achievement, and graduation rates—particularly students who are the first in their families to go to college and those from groups historically under‐served in higher education. 

Colleagues and friends,

We announced a sweet treat for you on ❤️ day. We've opened registration for our new course design institute.  This institute is absolutely a labor of love and will be certain to be a moment to (re)engage with your purpose as a college educator in the company of faculty from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. I am so excited!! We only have 50 spots for this institute, so it is sure to fill quickly!

As a bit of a teaser, my co-conspirators on this project will be offering a workshop on March 7th.  The topic integrates social belonging research into practical strategies for building community in class.  As always these workshops are free - and all are welcome!

For those of you contemplating sending a team to the 2023 Washington Center Summer Institute for Improving Undergraduate Education, we are just TWO WEEKS AWAY from the early-bird deadline on February 28.  Getting your applications in before that date not only locks in the lowest rate but also gives us the best chance of identifying resource faculty with the right mix of skills and experience to support your team's work.  

In Community,

JuliA Metzker, Director
Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education

Registration now open!

Learning that Matters: the Course Design Insitute

August 4-7, 2023
The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA

Happy Valentine's Day! We want to show some love to faculty and students through Learning that Matters: the Course Design Institute, our brand new four-day course design institute August 4-7 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Registration is now open!  Special discount for graduate students, community and technical college faculty, and adjunct faculty.

American University 

Team Highlight

Following the remote start to college that many students encountered during the COVID pandemic, colleges and universities have had to find creative ways to help students make meaningful connections to their peers, professors, and the college experience in the sophomore year and beyond. A team from American University came to the Washington Center Summer Institute for Improving Undergraduate Education with just such a challenge in mind. Their team worked throughout the Institute on plans for the creation of the AU Compass, a sophomore-level Living-Learning Community to support students through critical decision points faced during their second year.

The AU team, consisting of representatives from Housing and Residence Life, the Office of Campus Life, and the College of Arts and Sciences, took advantage of the remote, forested setting on The Evergreen State College campus to focus on brainstorming and developing the AU Compass program. Kyle Johnson, assistant director of University College and sophomore living-learning communities, credited the limited distractions and dedicated time to rich conversations and a productive institute. “It really did spark good conversation. We represented different areas of the university, so the institute brought some diverse viewpoints to really think through this community.”

AU Compass was piloted in fall 2023 as a living-learning community for 60 sophomores, grouped based on academic interest but sharing learning experiences such as guest speakers, field trips, and core classes that focus on specific ways of thinking and knowing. Students live together on the same floor of a residence hall and participate in informal social and networking events that enrich the learning that takes place in classes with peers, faculty, and staff.

If your university or college has a project that requires some dedicated time and attention, consider applying for the 2023 Washington Center Summer Institute for Improving Undergraduate Education to reap benefits like those gained by the AU Compass team. A little time in the woods can lead to great things for you, your colleagues, and your students!

Call for Resource Faculty

If you are interested in coaching and guiding campus teams at the institute, we encourage you to nominate yourself!

The Washington Center Collaborative is a space for higher education faculty, scholars, practitioners, and administrators to come together and discuss emergent issues of importance to our collective work educating and supporting students. The Collaborative consists of free virtual workshops, a newsletter, and a slack space.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 @ 10:00-11:15 am (Pacific) / 1:00 - 2:15 pm (Eastern)

Students that better engage with their peers, professors, and advisors learn more, are healthier, and have stronger affiliations to their institutions. In this interactive workshop, participants will examine and practice strategies for building community through the lens of social belonging research. Three easy to implement strategies will be demonstrated and current research will be shared.

Facilitated by

Cynthia Alby, Georgia College and State University
Karynne Kleine, Georgia College and State University
JuliA Metzker, The Evergreen State College
Caralyn Zehnder, University of Massachusetts Amherst

* stay tuned for future workshops from our talented resource faculty*