Academy/Institute

Leadership and in particular the development of leaders in uncertain political and financial times has never been so much of a priority to the higher education sector.
The Strategic Leadership Programme aims to build flexible and resilient leaders, capable of delivering large-scale change, by providing opportunities to share insights, work with a support network of peers and reflect on leadership styles and frameworks for life beyond the programme.
The programme develops the practical tools and insight required to successfully lead within a senior team, working collaboratively across and outside the organisation. It will prepare you for the necessary step-change in thinking required when aiming for the Senior Management Team in the near future.

Leading Transformation in Learning and Teaching (designed jointly by the Leadership Foundation and the Higher Education Academy) is the leadership programme to develop, enhance or transform learning and teaching programmes and courses in higher education. The process by which university programmes are transformed, or freshly developed, to meet new needs, expectations and demands will be the main theme.
This programme will provide the opportunity for a more extended learning experience interspersed with time for both reflection and the application of ideas. The full programme builds towards a Transformation Pilot, a project of your own undertaken back in your own institution with the support of a third one-day workshop (Module Three) and two facilitated on-line action-learning sets. This highly applied approach is also supported by a Reflection and Action Planning Booklet that follows the course structure, provides a framework for recording actions, reflections and intentions, and suggests further reading and resources. With the support of your insitution this can provide a very strong piece of evidence to build towards an application for professional recognition against Descriptor 3 of the UK Professional Standards Framework.

Small, specialist and independent providers are an important part of the increasingly diverse higher education system in the UK. Run in conjunction with GuildHE, this event will explore some of the governance issues and challenges facing such institutions, including the strategic positioning of institutions and achieving good governance. The event will encourage participant networking and the sharing of best practice.

The purpose of the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI) is to prepare, enhance and advance the prospect for qualified candidates, who have progressed in their professional careers, to compete successfully, for positions of president or chancellor at universities or colleges, public or private.

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is designed for early to mid-career professionals and faculty leaders who have an interest in and talent for higher education leadership. Therefore, the goal of ELP is to provide participants with an understanding of the various aspects of the academy and how they relate with each other. The first portion of the program, a 3½-day seminar, offers participants the opportunity to explore many facets of the academy; to engage in a national dialogue with experienced leaders and experts in higher education; and to develop a network of colleagues from around the country. The program also includes completing a leadership self-assessment, development of a plan designed to help participants achieve their leadership goals and creation of an action plan to complete a project/initiative at their home campuses during the following academic year. The second portion is completing the project/initiative.

The Institute on General Education and Assessment (IGEA) provides campus teams with opportunities to refine and advance general education programs and their assessment. The Institute conveys a deep and abiding commitment to ensuring that access to excellence in higher education is available to all students, striving towards a vision of education that is energized by students’ multiple and intersecting identities. This vision of education committed to making the inextricable synergy between quality and equity the standard for excellence in undergraduate educational practice. During the Institute, teams will explore designing equity-minded approaches to integrating general education with the major, demonstrating the centrality of general education in connecting student learning with critical social issues that matter to students and society, and tjhat are intentionally aligned with the essential learning outcomes identified through AAC&U’s LEAP (Liberal Education and America’s Promise) initiative.

AAC&U 2019 TIDES Institute
Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM (TIDES)

Campus teams attending the Institute complete preparatory work to maximize their learning when they arrive. Each team completes an action plan over the course of the Institute. Teams use their time together to discover new approaches and to create and rehearse their plans.

Among the most urgent challenges facing colleges and universities today are growing economic, racial, and ethnic segregation. Increasing aversion to difference in higher education and rising distrust among communities nationally have left colleges and universities with the challenge of healing from the legacies and harm of racism. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is partnering with higher education institutions to develop Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers to prepare the next generation of strategic leaders and critical thinkers to break down racial hierarchies and dismantle the belief in the hierarchy of human value. As a national, community-based initiative, the TRHT effort seeks to address the historical and contemporary entanglements of race and racism within our communities. Each TRHT Campus Center prioritizes inclusive, community-based healing activities that seek to change collective community narratives and broaden the understanding of our diverse experiences.

Participants will enjoy a safe, well supported space in which to discover strengths in their weaknesses and also the weaknesses in their strengths. They will have the opportunity to develop their resilience whilst learning about their emerging leadership identity. Working in environments where time and space to reflect on leadership is often short, participants will gain the support, structure and advice to explore their leadership skills and consider how they can flourish using these as a new specialism.
A key model that underpins the programme, Connected Leadership, has been designed to develop effective leadership by enhancing the skills, qualities and mindset required to successfully engage both people and the wider organisation. Fundamental to this model is the idea of 'connecting people with purpose'. It explores four key intelligences through theory and practical application, these are; emotional intelligence, social and political intelligence, cultural (or narrative) intelligence and inclusive intelligence.

Future Professional Directors (FPD) is a unique programme for colleagues in professional services from all areas of the institution. Developed in partnership with nine sector bodies, it builds the confidence and skills needed to lead successfully within and across professional services and the wider institution.
Developed from the Future Leaders Programme, FPD has been designed from alumni feedback. It is a compact, strategically focussed programme that responds to the growing emphasis on collaborative working, and the need to operate with collective commitment and shared purpose across organisational boundaries.

The ever-increasing diversity of the United States means that we regularly encounter religious difference in our everyday lives. American citizens have a choice of how to respond to this unprecedented diversity and difference in our communities and nation. Rather than allowing apathy or intolerance to define the future of our democracy, we can choose to...

Read More “2019 Institute on Teaching and Learning for Campus-wide Interfaith Excellence” »

The 2019 Institute on Integrative Learning and Signature Work is intended for college and university teams interested in advancing programs and curricula aimed at building students’ capacity to integrate their learning across the curriculum and cocurriculum, foster global learning through community engagement, and capture students’ development through signature work. Institute sessions led by national experts will emphasize the value of leveraging general education, interdisciplinary approaches, and cocurricular experiences to achieve campus goals to expand integrative learning and community engagement. The Institute recognizes that today’s college graduates must be able to integrate knowledge and skills, as well as apply them within in real-world, global contexts. In doing so, campuses have the opportunity to reexamine and refresh their civic missions to support equity, student learning, and preparation for full civic lives and careers. The Institute also supports campuses to embed signature work in reform efforts as a way to promote equity, authentic assessment, and student inquiry.

The program provides practical advice grounded in leadership research and complemented by the knowledge and experience of current and former AASCU presidents who serve as Academy faculty.